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Ü 80 Mosaic workshop

Published by gertrud

In July 2024, my first workshop for over-80s took place in my parents’ retirement home.
7 residents of Lepsiusstr 4 in Naumburg/Saale embarked on the adventure.
One of the residents brought her granddaughter along.
The communal room of the Nofretete shared apartment was the perfect place to sit around a table and get to know each other while working. There was great enthusiasm for the glittering, colorful mosaic tiles when everyone appeared in the room.
It quickly became clear that not all hands could handle the mosaic tongs.
The broken mosaic stones collected from previous workshops came in very handy, so that even participants with disabilities could work independently. Overall, the atmosphere was concentrated and cheerful at the same time.
Everyone was proud to be able to take their own mosaic back to their rooms after the two days. I was amazed to discover the creative talents of my parents.
What a great discovery after more than 50 years!

My teachers for natural stone mosaics

Published by gertrud

Floor mosaic for shower room/turkish bath, 2015/16, 4m2, in private residence, Ayvalik, Turkey

8 years ago I designed, produced and laid a 4m2 floor mosaic in our vacation home in Ayvalik on the North Aegean coast.

This work and my involvement with it brought me into contact with Turkish artists who taught me a lot and, from whom I learned how to work with natural stone and roman cement.

My first teacher was Mustafa Salih Kamanlioglu. He runs a mosaic studio in Ankara. He taught me how to break natural stone into small pieces for mosaic (tesserae).

Mustafa Salih Kamanioglu with one of the mosaic replica in his studio in Ankara 2013

My second master was Nusret Özdemir. He lives in Gaziantep, in the south east of Turkey and taught me how to assess field stones for mosaic suitability. I also learned from him how to break a tessera into a small tooth so that they can be placed closer together.

Master craftsman Nusret Özdemir in search of a suitable stone that can be broken into small mosaic pieces

Nusret smashes a sawn rock.

A third teacher was Hande Kökten, who was the director of Ankara University’s School of Restoration Technicians at the time. Despite my limited Turkish, she admitted me to her lessons on the conversation of ancient mosaics. There I mainly learned how to produce and use Roman cement (made from sand, slaked lime and brick dust).

Mosaic Conservation Training 2015

During my visit to artist Mieke Ceusters in Geel near Antwerp, she drew my attention once again to the specific mosaic laying techniques of the Spilimbergo Mosaic School. This made me want to continue my education at this school.

Visit to Mieke Ceusters in Geel near Antwerp in June 2024

You never stop learning!

 

 

What’s going on @ MosaicMoments studio?

Published by gertrud

I’m am super happy that 5 mosaic projects were realized during the summer in the studio.

The first project: two door signs for my apartment and studio in Berlin. I opted for natural stone as material. The stairwell in Berlin, where my studio is located, has a marble floor, which I repeat with similar material in the background of the door signs.

The letters are made of dark green granite.

I design the cartoons myself and have fun drawing them by hand.

Cartoon for door-sign

I value the time I can be together with other people in the studio. Sabine made this mosaic for herself in 4 sessions. I am happy we spent a relaxed but creative time together.

Celine made a tray for her cousins wedding present

Jutta mit Hahn @ MosaicMoments Studio Berlin

Finally I bought a flex and tried it cutting large tile to size.