Iskandria: Video Tour

What is this little mosaic all about? I'll tell you about it in the above video.

Storyteller: Video Tour

The above video takes a closer look at my mosaic Storyteller. 

Paths Taken: Yet More on Andamento

In this video, I'm discussing some of my challenges in working out how to express the flow that I would like to express.

Paths Taken: More on Andamento

After reflecting on my previous discussion about andamento, I wanted to talk about it a little more and clarify my understanding of the term. 

To summarize:

1. The English translation of andamento is a/the trend. Mosaically, I understand andamento to be the way things go, the movement, or more specifically, the sense of movement.
2. There are multiple ways to express the chosen andamento for a mosaic, including cutting and laying techniques—different opuses, and material and color choices.

In the above video, I talk about andamento as it relates to my current project, and I offer a couple of examples of different andamenti and the techniques chosen to express those andamenti.

Anatomy of a Mosaic: Paths Taken

I started this mosaic about 4 years ago, but retreated from it as I was heading into a sabbatical of sorts. I had decided that I did not like the pattern of the pieces of shale that I had adhered to the substrate. I thought that, at some point in the future, I would remove the pieces or just throw it away. 

Now, 4 years later, I think it will make a great andamento challenge for me. I've decided to finish it, and to take you along with me as I go. 

I'm calling it Paths Taken, and I will blog the making of it, starting with this post. I'm not very good at making videos, but what the heck! I think even a so-so video can help explain things and be a useful accompaniment to photos and text. So, here goes!

The first thing I needed to do was to make a support frame for the back of the mosaic. Adding a support frame allows for more flexibility in hanging and framing decoratively, and takes care of the problem that Wedi creates in making such choices. With a support frame on the back, the mosaic can be decoratively framed or not, and hanging hardware can be installed on this back support frame.

I used 8 Kerdi washers, which are similar to Wedi washers, to properly bolt the support frame to the back of the Wedi board.

View fullsize

View fullsize

Let's just talk a bit about the materials:

Back when I started this mosaic, I printed images of it in which I whited-out the bare substrate so that I could play around with the andamento. Fortunately, I kept a couple of my attempts and I recently found them:

I'll take some time now to revisit and complete my andamento drawing, and I'll be back with you when it's ready to go!

Stabby: A Video Tour

Above: Stabby, detail

To watch the video, click on the small, white right arrow—difficult to see—centered in the above image.