Mosaicos La Pasera, an update.

As a mosaicist and whilst living at La Pasera, I have designed and created numerous decorative pebble mosaics that now adorn paths and a small terrace. My passion for this mosaic genre stems from my love for pebbles and a holiday we once took in the Greek Island of Rhodes where we saw many decorative mosaics been used as pavement. After returning home, Ian got me as a present, a book by Maggy Howarth titled "the art of pebble mosaic". Since then, I have completed a good number of mosaics that decorate our garden and have had several as commissions.

For my latest pebble mosaic of a flower pot made out of small pebbles and terracotta roof tile, I spent several hours selecting the right sized pebbles no grater than 1 cm in diameter. Using these small pebbles, I was able to create small mosaics light enough to be used as a decorative picture hung on a wall,

This little Mosaic (31x22 cm)  was made as a present for a mosaic artist friend of mine who comes from Belgium and whom I recently met when I travelled to Chartres in France to visit several international mosaic exhibitions.

Although I usually I work with natural stones for my Roman style mosaics my last two commissions required me to use smalti (vitreous paste) made by the Orsoni family in Venice following centuries old recipes. This allows me to choose from a wide colour palette. This was the case of my latest commission for a birthday present depicting a lobster.

Using smalti has been an enjoyable challenge that not only required me to learn to use new tools but also required to adapt and use different processes and as a result I am researching several mosaic courses to see which one can suit my needs better specially since I want to learn more about colour use within mosaic art.

XII th century stone carving in one of the porticoes of the Gothic cathedral in Chartres.

I recently returned from Chartres where I attended the opening ceremony of the 10th edition of the internationally renowned mosaic "Prix Picassiette" celebrated on alternating years. During this event, I met many mosaicists and mosaic artists with whom I have been communicating via the Internet and several mosaic art forums I am a member of.

In Chartres I was able to spend time not only admiring the beauty of many works of art but also having an opportunity to study different mosaic techniques specially those used in 3D mosaics as I have in mind several projects for mosaic sculptures that in time I want to create and place around our garden here at La Pasera. You can follow my mosaic work on my dedicated and newly updated blog: Mosaicos La Pasera