The Mosaic Man, New York

I saw this breathtaking picture of Central Park in New York on LA Times today and thought..New York..one of the places I would love to visit. Look at those fascinating colours! On a whim I googled "new york mosaic" to see what happens and what do you think popped up? The Mosaic Man!!! A New Yorker who decorated lampposts with mosaic, an artist from East Village who in 2004 won a City Lore People’s Hall of Fame Award.


Here are some links for this unusual guy:

the villager 1st article

the villager 2nd article

new york daily photo blog


Last but not least, a video of the Mosaic Man...Isn't this like a fairy tale?


Mosaic Man from Sahar Sarshar on Vimeo.

Mosaic stars

This was such a temptation. I was doing Google search for some future posts and I could not resist posting this one. Those familiar with mosaics have seen this breathtaking, outstanding mosaic sky before. It adorns the ceiling in the Galla Placidia Mausoleum in Ravenna, the famous Italian mosaic city.

More info and pictures here.

Happy and starry new year to all my friends and followers! Thank you for being here!

Ktisis mosaic (good wishes)

via

The woman personifies foundation and donation whereas the little man brings good wishes. A positive message to all of us for the new year. To build those solid foundations necessary to develop and work on your dreams and more heartfelt wishes.

You should read a wonderful description of this superb mosaic here.

Happy holidays

Birth of Christ. Mosaic by Pietro Cavallini 1291.

via

Merry Christmas and Happy holidays to all !

Mosaic for all levels: A brief review of 7 books

This post is for those interested in purchasing a book on mosaics for themselves or as a gift. In a previous post I featured a new book on mosaic portraits if you have missed it. For this post I have used the archives on mosaic matters website and my personal opinion. But for more, please click on the links under the book. It will take you to the book's full description.

1.
Mosaics in a weekend may sound too good to be true but it is recommended for beginners (should be good, Martin Cheek is a well known UK artist.)



2.
Stylish and simple mosaic. The only book I have from this list. Good for the paving slab and mosaic on mesh for bathroom tiles project. Well known authors. Biggs and Hunkin.



3.
The mosaic sourcebook. Because it is Conran Octopus ...details here.



4.
If you love broken china or want to vent creatively perhaps you could try with this book.



5.
Finding your own voice..I heard it is excellent for inspiration. Click here.



6.
Because of Jane Muir. I have only seen one work of her and it was enough to "establish" her in my mind as someone special. More on the book here.



7.
This last one, details of which you will find here, is what I would love to see on my bookshelf. Because it is written by an indisputable and influential personality of the mosaic world Isotta Fiorentini Roncuzzi.

View the complete book reviews on mosaic matters here.

Books will never substitute a good, non-secretive and open-minded teacher, available to answer to all your questions, guide you through what could be daunting in the beginning. More important is that books are only a companion and basically your best teacher is yourself by means of the mistakes you will make.

I love these Christmas street decorations: Milan, Italy

Thank you Dlife for posting these!

Mosaic portraits book

via

Books are the best gift, so here is an idea.

More mosaic books here.

View the MOSAIC ART NOW wish list here.

Best Blog Follower Award

Everybody talks about Best Blogger awards, I even got one and I truly appreciate it! But what about a follower award? The people who come to your blog, read your posts, make comments, actually spend the time to get involved in what you do? Time is precious and they are giving out their time...I am very thankful for all of you for being here and I am happy I post on matters that interest you and even happier this blog is gaining positive remarks. I am a person that has learned to be satisfied with the few little things. It is the best way to start in life. Don't you agree? (Ok, if I inherited a villa on Patmos island or Malibu I would appreciate that too..)

I am not sure if such an award exists but I invented one improvising something tailored to the person receiving this, a mosaic enthusiast, Bored Neoclassical Guy, to thank him for his dedication and especially for getting inspiration from my post here to craft a sweater that you can see on his blog here.

Thank you Eric and thank you all!

Theodora, the woman who seduced the Emperor

Theodora was a woman of humble origins who married Emperor Justinian around 525. Her name Theodora - Θεοδώρα comes from the two Greek words Theos (God) and Doro (gift). Could we say she was eventually a gift of God? And to whom? To her husband, one of the greatest rulers of New Rome whom she helped as very few wives of rulers did? To her people because of her contribution to the governing of an Empire throughout the glittering years of Justinian's rule? Was she a gift to the mosaicists who where commissioned to depict her extraordinary and blinding beauty on the walls of San Vitale in Ravenna? Was she a gift to the mosaic world in general if you consider that it was mainly due to Constantinople that Ravenna or Venice (cities under Costantinople's rule/influence) became such remarkable and leading centers for mosaic art. And this was not just for the mosaics but for Rennaisance art. I leave the author of Greece Travel Blog to explain it:

Byzantine art was what Italian Renaissance artists were reacting to and improving upon, but it’s crucial that they had Byzantine art to build upon. All of our Western art basically comes from or responds to Renaissance art, and Renaissance art basically comes from or responds to Byzantine art.

When Rome fell and the Empire was transferred to the East (in the new city named after Rome's Emperor Constantine), nothing was left in Rome to be safeguarded. Rome yielded to barbarian invasions. It was New Rome - Constantinople that undertook the perilous role to keep and nurture culture, arts, the Roman and the Greek language. It was done so in a place that was both West and East. An Empire that lived for approximately 1100 years.

The Empire in which a humble girl could marry an Emperor....Theodora.

notes-credits:

Images from the internet with copy link location option.

The amazing virtual Theodora is work by Lady Thera, taken from this fantastic blog post.

Learn about the Byzantine Empire through the main 12 Emperors:

12 Byzantine rulers

Blue mosaic wall featured on Habitually chic

via Habitually chic blog

If this was a plain blue painted wall it would be a different scenario. The beautiful "broken" quality of mosaic provides any type of room with a powerful statement. Mosaic has a long life, it is easy to clean and is waterproof. Regarding the costs, it is not always that costly if the design is simple and you choose few colours or opt for a monocromatic look like the one above.

Musings on Milan + highlights from the lakes

How could I have forgotten? Yesterday it was Sant Ambrose's, Milan's patron Saint and considering I have lived in Milan for 11 years that was something I should have recalled and do a little post on Milan. I feel strange about Milan because part of me detested living there, another part of me knew that the place offered a lot once you know how to adapt and accept some realities. What I am talking about?

Milan is huge and the transport is still undergoing improvement and enlargement. I had friends that I never visited because it would take me 3 hours to get to there and 3 to return. No kidding!

What a foreigner notices when living in Milan is that the Italians are very serious about sticking to their own lifestyle and mentality and that there is no such thing as true culture mix, people with different mentalities as you experience in NY or London. There's only one mentality running through the veins of Italian life. What happens is that knowingly or unknowingly, the Italians preserve their culture so well, in ways that are beyond comparison with other European countries. Italy is doing so well in exporting their products and way of life, vino (wine in Italian), tortellini, grappa, parmigiano, prosciutto etc. - but is rather slow in receiving from the countries to which it export. I truly admire them of the fact that in the USA they have latte (latte means milk, I guess in the USA is a kind of coffee? ..seen in the movies all the time!) but in Italy if you are from France or you are Canadian, or Greek or German, or you name it you will end up following When in Rome do what the Romans do to an extent that you feel that your identity is under the shade.

I think that this mentality is positive and helpful in a world where traditions fade away and local cultures tend to be swallowed by globalisation.

Anyway, overall I love Milan, I think I have left a piece of my heart there - I worked, commuted, suffered, cared etc. - seeing all this beauty surrounding it picks of which I am sharing with you.

Interesting places near Milan worth visiting:

Bergamo a medieval hilltop town divided into upper and lower town - Bergamo Alta - the hilltop medieval city - and Bergamo Bassa - the lower city. The city hosts the Orio al Serio airport which regularly welcomes many tourists who want to visit Milan and the surrounding area.

More on Bergamo here




A place I used to go for a stroll, a lovely l place, is Varenna on Lecco lake, shown here below:


Butt the place I love most is on Lake Como and it is Menaggio, it has this classy and solemn appeal, nothing like the extravagant San Tropez but lovely:





The cafe above is the place we used to go for a coffee and relaxing with a view to the lake.
Happy I could find that on internet.

About Milan website - very interesting, it has everything a tourist needs to know!

Lake Como overview here - detail, fantastic webpage

Paintings that inspire mosaic making

This post is about the possible sources of inspiration as well as the basis of work for a mosaic from paintings or photographs. A good design, a drawing, painting or photograph can be translated into mosaic or act as a start for exploration. Not an easy task. I have always made simple drawings for mosaics or copied ancient ones, depending on the project. Today I want to feature 3 artists whose work fascinates me in a particular way as I think they provide a valuable foundation for mosaic work.

The blogs are in order of appearance:

Vasiliki of free paint (peacock)

Catherine Nolin of Catherine Nolin blog (partridge on an orange bench)

Elisabeth of Colorfic (meet the beettles)