ARTIST STATEMENT
"Interpreting oriental rugs into mosaics is like a childhood dream come true. I was always lured and fascinated by the colors, patterns and the mystery of rugs. When I adventured into interpreting them in mosaics at a small scale, it immediately became an addictive challenge. Looking at an oriental rug, I get the sense of happiness as is the feeling I get while interpreting a rug into a mosaic.
I am very attracted to tribal rugs from all parts of central Asia and my passion is to pay tribute to them by reproducing, reinterpreting, or composing them in mosaics. The process of doing them is technically challenging in view of the non traditional way of making the cuts. From start to finish the satisfaction to me is visually infinite."
Suzanne Spahi, 2014
WORKSHOP DETAILS
DATES: August Friday 28th, Saturday 29th, Sunday 30th
TIMES: Friday Introductory Evening 6:30pm - 8:00pm
Saturday Workshop 9:30am - 4:30pm
Saturday Social Evening 4:30pm - 6:30pm
Sunday Workshop 9:30am - 4:30pm
LOCATION: Rear 747 Darling St, Rozelle NSW 2039
COST: $360 plus GST
MATERIALS: $30 cash on the day
WORKSHOP IS NOW FULL - REGISTER BELOW TO BE PUT ON WAITING LIST
WORKSHOP OPTION #2:
Colour and Mosaic: How it Works and Why it Matters
Colour is like a language. Because we can all identify colours, we assume it’s one we all speak. When learning a new language, we know how to communicate to some degree once we’ve grasped a few rules, but in order to convey meaning at greater depth, it’s important to keep working at it, and the more you work, the more you comprehend, and the more you realise there is to know. In mosaic making, tone is the most important principle to grasp. Hue, intensity, reflectivity of surface, texture, contrast and mode of laying all have a role to play in how colour conveys its meaning, but understanding how tone works is the key to using colour really effectively. Students at all levels should be able to take away something new from this course.
We will begin with a powerpoint presentation. We will look at images both of mosaics, and the environment – photos of landscapes -- both urban and rural. The idea is to train the eye to see what it really sees, and to stop the mind getting in the way and sending the eye false messages. We will begin the practical work with colour exercises, and then work on individual pieces to see how to apply the principles in practice. If the group would like to do so, we can finish with a very short powerpoint presentation designed to sum up the lessons of the day.
The fascination of colour doesn’t run out. The more you know about it, the more you understand how much there is to know.
WORKSHOP #1 DETAILS
DATES: August Friday 14th, Saturday 15th, Sunday 16th
TIMES: Friday Introductory Evening 6:30pm - 8:00pm
Saturday Workshop 9:30am - 4:30pm
Saturday Social Evening 4:30pm - 6:30pm
Sunday Workshop 9:30am - 4:30pm
LOCATION: Rear 747 Darling St, Rozelle NSW 2039
COST: $360 plus GST
MATERIALS: $30 cash on the day
ENROL NOW - only 4 spots left!
Miniature mosaics workshop:
Tribute to Hundertwasser
Learn the fine art of working miniature mosaics using Mexican smalti. Suzanne will transmit her precise techniques for working small and intricate mosaics according to the works of Hundertwasser. It is the same technique she uses for oriental mosaic rugs. See Suzanne's work on her website: www.suzannespahi.com
You will learn the skill of how to use the wheeled nipper to do precision cuts into small pieces that are 3mm squares and 3x5mm rectangles. You will get to combine some bigger pieces to bring balance to the work visually. The work you create in this workshop will be 5x7 inches (12.7x17.7cm), and you will be using the ‘Mosaika Method’ on the sticky film over an intricate pattern design and will be guided constantly on the working method. Suzanne will pass on all her little tricks of her trade! The last day of the class you will learn the delicate process of transferring the mosaic onto the wood surface and the special coloured glue recipe. Mastering the transfer process took Suzanne 5 years! The mosaics are decorative for hanging and involve no grouting as the small pieces would loose their charm with grout.
WORKSHOP IS NOW FULL - REGISTER BELOW TO BE PUT ON WAITING LIST
WORKSHOP OPTION #1:
Mosaic Pattern and Visual Complexity
This course asks students to look at how pattern is used in mosaic. We discuss its role in aesthetic concerns: color, tone, texture & reflectivity, but also in conceptual ones – the way ideas repeat and become patterns themselves.
The aim of the course is to make every student freer as an artist by doing something really difficult: having a long, close examination of his or her work. It involves putting under the microscope all the internal contradictions there may be – to give a practical example, framing a mosaic. What does it mean when a mosaic that is about texture, and surface properties of material and mortar, is bounded by a rectangular wooden frame? Do those two sets of ideas – material and mortar, and the conventions of framing a painting, which after all is quite different from a mosaic – enrich one another when they are combined, or do they confuse the message? There’s no right answer, but there is an urgent need for the mosaic artist to realize it is a question they need to ask -- just one of potentially thousands of such questions.
Why? Well, for work to have real impact, the artist needs to know what he or she is attempting in order to deliver it effectively. This is more important than technique unless the work is ABOUT technique. It is liberating to realize that not every work needs to strive to include everything – it just needs to deliver one thing very well.
suzanne spahi
Suzanne Spahi is from Montreal, Canada. In her personal works, Suzanne specializes in interpreting antique oriental rugs in miniature mosaics. Such decorative works take between five and nine months to make. This subject matter came to her naturally, as she is a fan of elaborate rugs and has always had a desire to own the most famous antique ones. So now she weaves her personal stories in mosaic. www.suzannespahi.com
emma biggs
Emma Biggs is from London, UK. She is one of the founders of the renowned Mosaic Workshop, the largest mosaic studio in Britain. She has authored and co-authored many books on mosaics. She also makes collaborative paintings with her husband, the well-known art critic Matthew Collings (presenter of the UK television Channel Four’s Turner Prize programme) who will be joining her on this trip.
Mosaic Art School of Sydney: Visiting Mosaic Artists - Suzanne Spahi & Emma Biggs mosaic workshops in Sydney NSW
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visiting mosaic artists & their workshops
visiting mosaic artist WORKSHOPS COMING UP in 2015
WORKSHOP #2 DETAILS
DATES: August Monday 17th, Tuesday 18th, Wed 19th
TIMES: Monday Introductory Evening 6:30pm - 8:00pm
Tuesday Workshop 9:30am - 4:30pm
Tuesday Social Evening 4:30pm - 6:30pm
Wednesday Workshop 9:30am - 4:30pm
LOCATION: Rear 747 Darling St, Rozelle NSW 2039
COST: $360 plus GST
MATERIALS: $30 cash on the day