The Italian Bathroom - II

 

The bathroom cabinet over the sink. This is a mosaic made of glass and tainted mirrors, I had never used these materials to this extent before, and I must say I enjoyed this experience. 

  

Another interesting aspect of this project is that I used the direct method for the first time. in the past, I have always used the inverted method, because i was generally using materials of various thickness. With the kind of glass and mirrors I used here, it was not necessary.

Detail of the mosaic on the cabinet door

 As I am now writing (June 2011) I just started my first big piece with the direct method. A different - and interesting experience... 

It's a surprise and  should be competed by the end of July...

 

The Peacock

Actually I have been working on this one all winter, and had not progressed for lack of time...

I designed "Peacock" at the same time I did  "Rising Sun"

It was inspired by the cover of a book in the Art Deco Style. 

Peacock is made of Terracotta, with colored glasses, mostly irridized, brought back from France 2 years ago.

18 x 25", Wood frame

LIO - Portrait from Watecolor

Well, this is the last creation: A portrait of Lio a Portuguese Actress and Singer, very popular in France in the 80's.

This piece is made of travertines, granites and iridized glasses (brought back from France last year).

The original for this mosaic is a watercolor portrait by HUGO PRATT.

I am currently working on more portraits from pictures, Black and White, and Sepia. I take orders. It takes about 2 month to realize a portrait from the time you submit a picture to the delivery. A mosaic portrait is a really unusual and beautiful gift for a special person...

Contact me !

The Roman Mosaic of Lod

In 1996 a series of gorgeous mosaic floors was accidentally uncovered during highway construction in the modern Israeli town of Lod, 15 km (9 miles) from Tel Aviv. 

Lod is the ancient town of Lydda, which was destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 66 during the Jewish War and later rebuit.  

The mosaic floors measure approximately 17 by 9 meters (50 by 27 feet). Debris of pottery and coins of the third and fourth centuries A.D., suggest they were laid in about A.D. 300. 

They are of exceptional quality and in an excellent state of preservation. The three best-preserved and most interesting panels have been selected for the loan exhibition that is to tour America during the next couple of years while a permanent display is constructed at Lod itself.

Mosaics were a costly and time-consuming addition to a property, although they would thereafter require little maintenance and could be expected to last a lifetime. Because of the heavy initial investment however considerable care and attention was paid to create designs that were attractive and appropriate, both to the owner and to the setting.  

  

Despite all the diversity in their manner of execution, design, geographical setting, and dating, Roman mosaics display a number of similarities. So it is very possible that some elements of the Lod Mosaic drew on standard pattern books in use by mosaicists of the Roman Empire. Dolphins are common on Greek mosaics from Delos, marine scenes in Pompeii, and panels with animals and birds within geometric frames in German  Cologne of French Arles.

The central Panel

The depiction on the Lod Mosaic of solitary or paired groups of creatures, such a large feline hunting a grazing animal, forms part of the common stock of genre subjects. 

The central panel with its assortment of African and other animals is absolutely remarkable. The depiction of an elephant, giraffe, and rhinoceros must have been very striking on the coastal plains of ancient Palestine, where such animals were unfamiliar. 

Exhibition Schedule in the USA :

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

September 28, 2010-April 3, 2011

Legion of Honor, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

April 23, 2011-July 24, 2011

The Field Museum, Chicago

later

Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, Ohio 

later

Arles Archaeological Museum

The modern Musée de l'Arles Antique  is located about 20 minutes walking away from downtown Arles . The museum was built on the site of the enormous Roman circus where horse races and bullfights were organized (The Gladiators were fighting in the Amphitheater).It presents models of ancient monuments, objects from daily life from the prehistoric period to the 6th century AD, with a great emphasis on the Roman Era.

Among the displays are one of the world's most famous collections of 4th-century Roman Christian sarcophagi as well as sculptures, mosaics, jewelry and inscriptions.

 

Medusa

Medusa was celebrated for her personal charms and the beauty of her locks. Neptune fell in love with her, and obtained her favors in the temple of Minerva. This violation of the sanctity of the temple really pissed Minerva, and she changed the beautiful locks of Medusa, which had inspired Neptune’s love to serpents... Don't mess with Minerva.

I visited the Museum last November to see the expo about the archaeological underwater investigation of the Right Bank of the Rhone River, which produced the most beautiful torso of Julius Casear ever excavated.

Among the Mosaics displayed there were beautiful pieces : 

Zeus and Europa

Europa was the beautiful daughter of the Phoenician king of Tyre, Agenor. Zeus, the King of the gods according to Greek mythology, fell in love with her. (He had a tendency to do that...)

Overwhelmed by love for Europa, Zeus transformed himself into the form of a magnificent white bull and appeared in the sea shore where Europa was playing with her maidens. The great bull walked gently over to where Europa stood and knelt at her feet. The appearance and movements of the bull were so gentle that Europa spread flowers about his neck and dared to climb upon his back overcoming her natural fear of the great animal.

But suddenly, the bull rushed over the sea abducting Europa. Only then the bull revealed its true identity and took Europa to the Mediterranean island of Crete. There, Zeus cast off the shape of the white bull, and back into his human form, made love to Europa beneath a cypress tree. Europa became the first queen of Crete and had by Zeus three sons: King Minos of Crete, King Rhadamanthus of the Cyclades Islands, and, according to some legends, Prince Sarpedon of Lycia. She later married the king of Crete, who adopted her sons.

Orpheus Mosaic

The Greeks of the Classical age venerated Orpheus as chief among poets and musicians, and the perfecter of the lyre invented by Hermes. Poets pretended that, with his music and singing, he could charm birds, fish and wild beasts, coax the trees and rocks into dance, and even divert the course of rivers. He was one of the handful of Greek Heroes to visit the Underworld and return.

A Mexican Kitchen

The Mexican Kitchen of the Japanese House... This is the Dojo I built behind my house. It also includes an Italian Bathroom (see previous post)

I have used a great number of exotic and rich materials : Italian Green slates and red ceramic for the floors, Mexican multicolored azulejos and various stone and glass tiles for the walls, Black and Gold Granites for the counter tops.

The walls are venetian plasters.

The Italian Bathroom

I am close to completing my Japanese house. It will be used mostly as a dojo to study and practice martial arts and zen. To the main practice hall, I added a small kitchen and bathroom. The Kitchen is in a Mexican style, and the Bathroom in the Italian one. 

This is the entrance to the shower. The walls to the bathroom itself are venetian plaster. The shower is a mosaic of travertine, granite and glass. 

I wanted to give the idea of water running on the walls. In order to show that, I have used some wide travertine tiles lid in a diamond pattern, interrupted by lines of small stones giving that running impression. The contrast between the wide flat travertine tiles and the small mosaic stones is very interesting.

The top and bottom of the shower are exclusively mosaic (no big tiles) laid to show meanders in the water running toward the drain. 

The whole enterprise was very time consuming, but it was well worth my time and effort!