'Who knew?

A couple of days ago, I went with daughter and son-in-law, a glass artisan, to Falmouth here on Cape Cod to see an exhibit of work my many mosaic artists. The show was a revelation to me because mosaic conjures floors as in St. Marks in Venice or in Roman ruins or else walls with pictorial subject. There were references and modern takes on both but mostly the pieces were wall hanging pieces, nothing larger than 3x4 feet, if that. Thus surprise and lesson #1: modern mosaic artists use their craft to express the same kind of artistic impulses as painters and textile artists.

Many pieces were not just pieces of ceramic tiles. Lots of other materials were incorporated from strips of bronze to semi-precious gem stones, to river rocks to glass and ceramic beads and even including broken tea cups and vases. As to be expected sometimes it worked better than other times. Lesson #2: mosaics can incorporate a wide variety of materials.
I only took a few photos and am sorry I did not take more [I'll include a couple more tomorrow] Also I only jotted down a few names of the pieces and none of the artists' names which I'm sorry I omitted. The final piece had a name I liked a lot, "What the Leaf Peepers Don't See" - I had been drawn to it because of it's autumnal brilliance and because it is entirely squares used as fabric might be used in a quilt. Of course the ceramic surface gave the piece a sheen not even silk can give in textile work. A bit more tomorrow or the next day. Lesson #3, more photography is needed and a notebook in which to jot names.