Pressing the mortar well into the gaps of the support net is essential for holding the mosaic tesserae.

Working “a giornata” (It. “by the day”) In a complex mosaic it is essential that the artist considers how many tesserae can be placed in the mortar before it dries out. The name comes from the ancient times, when lime mortar was used; the workers would spread a layer of …

«Arriccio» layer. It is the intermediate grip layer between the mosaic and its support. A well-made grip layer is essential to the successful execution of the work. In this case: support panel in aluminium honeycomb and resin epoxy adhesive sharp-edged gravel

«Punti Attenzionali» –«Points of Attention» Points of Attention are the areas that capture the observer’s eye. Each composition may contain one or more points of attention. If there are too many, placed at random, this will divert the observer’s attention from the message or the emotion that the artist wants …

«Mosaic Language»(Linguaggio Musivo) Every art discipline has its own «language», a specific proprietary semantic. When an artwork, that has been executed in other art forms, must be interpreted in Mosaic Language, it must undergo a simplification in its patterns and areas of colour. In painting, colour is obtained by mixing …

«Indoors or outdoors?»«Dentro o Fuori?» Where a mosaic work is to be placed, must be decided at the design stage. All materials with which the work shall be carried out, must be capable of withstanding adequately in the place of destination. Materials to be evaluated include the tesserae and the …

«Quale supporto?»«What support?» The permanent support of a mosaic is a crucial part of the work. What kind of support shall receive the mosaic is a vital and essential part of the planning phase. In deciding, the following factors must be considered: location, indoors or outdoors placement on floor or …

A «spacco»«Split» side The natural stone most frequently used for making mosaics is marble. The Mohs scale of mineral hardness classifies marble as a semi-hard material -between 3º and 5º-. The generic term «marble» is indeed imprecise; however, I shall not expand on the subject now. Marble lends itself well …

Le «Sezioni»«Sections» From the late 19th century, architectural mosaic processing methods have been developed which allow the work to be prepared in the artist’s workshop, and later assembled in its destination site «section»-wise. Before, works had always been performed on site – like in the ancient times. Modern methods allow …