Exhib it ion Guide

2009Mosaic Arts Internat ional

February 28th –April 26th

San Diego Museum of ManP.O. Box 624Ligonier, PA 15658

©2009 Society of American Mosaic Artists

www.AmericanMosaics.org1-866-902-SAMA

2009 Exhibition Guide was produced by JeanAnn Dabb and

students in the “Mosaics: History and Techniques” classes

at University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, Virginia,

2007-2009: Melody Fitzgerald, Elizabeth Goble, Sarah

Hagan, Michael Howard, Ashley Jones, Patti Kuny, Kandy

Lovelidge, Emily McAlpine, Aidan McCurdy, Jane Mangione,

Amanda Shackelford.

2009 Exhibition Guide made possible through the generoussupport of SAMA past-president Sonia King, mosaic artist and

author of Mosaic Techniques & Traditions.

Materials Used Throughout This Exhibition

Granite

Stone

Methods of Product ion

An igneous rock composed ofquartz, feldspar, and mica. Thestone can range in color fromwhite to black and also appears inshades of green, pink, or red andis a very popular mosaic material.

See Lynn Adamo, Silver Moon

MarbleMetamorphosed limestone appear-ing in a variety of colors, the purestform of which is white. Thismaterial, because of its prevalence,was often used in ancient mosaicsand continues to be widelyemployed in contemporarymosaics.

See Kate Kerrigan,February Morning, Paris

Obs id ianA natural glass formed as igneousrock without crystal structure. It isproduced when lava cools. Thecolor can vary due to the presenceof impurities but is typically darkor black. It can be sharpened andwas used as material for cuttingimplements as early as thePaleolithic era.

See Virginia Gardner, Origin

PebblesSmall stones that are generallyused in their natural states as theyhave been refined through erosion(i.e. by water) or in the process ofquarrying larger blocks. Pebblesare among the earliest mosaicmaterials used in ancientMediterranean and Greek cultures.

See Ilana Shafir, Wishing Tree

Selen i teA variety of colorless, transparentgypsum. The crystals can be usedwhole or cleaved into thin slices.

See Bill Buckingham,Day One: The Birth of Light

SlateDark stone that is prone to splitinto thin slices as a result of thecomposition of layers of shale andclay.

See Eric Rattan, Born to Dance

Sect i leFrom the Latin sectilis, “to cut, cutwork.” Describes a type of mosaicin which multicolored stones arecut into thin slabs of organic orgeometric shapes, and the mosaicimage relies on the careful joiningof these shaped pieces of stone.

See Brooks Tower, Patricia at Rest

Tesse latumFrom the Latin tessellates, “setwith small cubes.” Genericallyrefers to any mosaic usingtesserae (usually cubes), though itcan refer to a regular placing oftesserae in uniform horizontal orvertical lines.

See Jacqueline Iskander, Pulse

AndamentoFrom the Italian andare, “to walkor ride.” Describes the placementof tesserae in a flowing patternsuggesting movement andrhythm.

See Michael Welch, Wood Spirit

OPUSLatin for “work.” A series of labels developed to describe thevarious styles and visual effects of laying mosaics, including:Opus Sectile, Opus Tesselatum, and Opus Vermiculatum.

Vermicu latumFrom the Latin vermiculus, “littleworm.” Describes a mosaic inwhich tesserae are placed inirregular lines. Originally themethod was used in smallsections of Roman mosaics tooutline details. The technique isnow used most often to add thesuggestion of movement to amosaic.

See Nancy Ross, Path

Tessera/aeNarrowly defined as a cube orsquare, these are the “buildingblocks” of mosaic design. Abroader definition would includeall individual components of anyshape which, in company withothers, form the complete mosaic.

See Patricia Monroe, Apollo

Materials Used Throughout This Exhibition

AsphaltA black, highly viscous semi-solid.It is made almost entirely frombitumen, a natural tar-like sub-stance that in antiquity was foundon the shores of the Caspian andDead Seas. It may be used inmosaics as a binder or a materialfor creating tesserae.

See Laurel True,Crack /Peterson at Chapman

BeadsRound decorative elements ofvarying sizes pierced through thecenter to allow for threading. Theyare made of many materialsincluding glass, ceramic, bone,and polymer clay.

See Donna Billick, String Theory

CeramicKiln-fired clay that can be porousor non-porous.

See Sherri Warner Hunter,Swimming Tiger Bench

ConcreteA common construction materialcomposed of cement, water, andaggregate such as gravel, sand, orchemical admixes that alter itsproperties. Mosaicists sometimesuse concrete to create bases formosaics, casting it from molds,pouring it into slabs, or creatingsculptural forms.

See Kim Wozniak, Discharge

Tempered GlassAlso described as “toughenedglass,” is known for its strengthand use in everyday products likeautomobile windshields. One safe-ty feature is its ability to shatterinto thumbnail-size pieces uponimpact. While compressed onrollers and heated to high temper-atures, unlike other glass-makingtechniques, tempered glass israpidly cooled to increase itsstrength and durability.

See Susan Crocenzi, Sierra Fall

Vitreous GlassA uniform manufactured glass tileused widely in architecturalapplications.

See Dominic Johns, Telescopus

GroutA paste made of cement and sandthat is inserted in the gapsbetween tesserae in a mosaic forboth decoration of the work andstabilization.

See Mark Brody, Diving Into a Book

Fused GlassGlass fired in a kiln. Most often,thin sheets of glass in variouscolors are heated together to formone piece with varying shades andpatterns. First used by the ancientEgyptians and later refined by theRomans, fusing was the mainmethod of making small glassobjects until the advent of glass-blowing techniques. Fused glasslost favor during the Renaissance but enjoyed a resurgence in themid-20th century.

See Luz Mack-Durini, Oro Bianco

Mirrored GlassGlass that covers a layer of metalto produce a highly reflectivesurface.

See Laurel Skye,Shattered Dreams Pillow

Sta ined GlassA thin glass sheet that be cuteasily into desired shapes.Iridescent stained glass has ametallic sheen, like oil on thesurface.

See Aida Valencia,Imagination and Magic

Dichro ic G lassGlass resulting from a method ofcoating glass sheets with anextremely thin layer of metaloxide, such as gold, silver, magne-sium, or titanium. No two piecesof dichroic glass will be the same.

See Julie Richey, Night Shirt

Foss i lA remnant or trace of an organismof a past geologic age, such as askeleton or leaf, embedded andpreserved in rock.

See Kim Emerson,Reflections of Baja, California

Found ObjectsCan include a wide range ofmaterials discovered in variouslocations. Examples include, butare not limited to, old plates,marbles, jewelry. When placed in amosaic, various found objects,often inexpensive, can providedifferent textures and give apersonal, creative aspect.

See Jeannie Houston Antes,Follow Your Bliss

GlassAn inorganic substance consisting of silicates and various metaloxides which may determine properties such as color, hardness,and transparency. Said to have been invented by the Phoenicians,glass began to be used widely for mosaics during the Roman era.Among the most renowned glass mosaics are those from theByzantine period.

2009 Mosaic Arts InternationalExhibition Guide

Welcome to the eighth annual exhibition of contemporarymosaic art sponsored by the Society of American MosaicArtists. The detail photographs in this guide illustratesome of the many materials and techniques used increating mosaics, as well as core design concepts usedthroughout the ages.

We hope you find it a useful enhancement of yourvisit, whether you are already a mosaic art enthusiast orencountering the medium for the first time.

Mil lef ior iMeans “one thousand flowers” inItalian. Canes of glass arearranged to create flower-like orgeometric patterns. The techniqueoriginated in ancient Egypt.

See Julie Dilling, Keep Me Warm

Mixed MediaA combination of various distinctmedia in a single work.

See Sophie Drouin, Waves Adrift

Polymer C layA lightweight synthetic clay thatcan be modeled or sculpted and isgenerally cured in an oven.

See Laurie Mika, The Four Seasons

Smalt iThe plural of smalto, also knownby some as enameled glass. Thisis glass, mostly opaque, in whichmetal oxides are mixed to give anextraordinary range of color. Themolten glass is poured into disks,cooled, and cut into smallerrectangular pieces which themosaicist will further shape usingtools such as a hammer. Smaltiare typically laid with the cut sides face up to achieve the mostbrilliant effects. Traditionally, smalti are produced in Venice andMurano in Italy, though today there are factories in Mexico. A moreexpensive variety of smalti contain a thin layer of copper, gold, orsilver leaf sandwiched beneath a thin layer of clear class and athicker glass base that may be clear or colored. Some mosaicistsprefer the term Venetian Gold although, like the colored smalti, thismaterial is now also produced in countries other than Italy.

See Lynne Chinn, Undulate