Opening Reception
Come meet the artists and see all the incredible mosaics.
 

Artist in Residence
Gary D. Girton, Jr.

Gary will be using one of the simplest yet most elegant materials during his artist in residence demonstration - unglazed porcelain. Unlike smalti and marble, Gary finds that unglazed porcelain is a more "forgiving" medium, not as difficult to shape and more predictable than other mosaic materials. The matte finish of unglazed porcelain can create a wonderful backdrop, modestly accenting the more light-reflective materials (smalti, mosaic gold, vitreous glass) in a mosaic. And when used entirely on its own, a finished mosaic made entirely of unglazed porcelain has an appearance that's understated, yet bold. Gary will demonstrate cutting unglazed porcelain, then will use the direct method of mosaic making on one or more of his works in progress.

Mosaic Workshop
Pam Stratton, Instructor
Introduction to Smalti
(This workshop will be held in Rockport, MA)  

Lecture on Roman Mosaics
Kathleen Coleman, Harvard University

Kathleen Coleman is a scholar of Roman literature and culture, with a strong interest in the material record left behind by the Romans, especially mosaics. She was born and raised in Zimbabwe. She studied at the University of Cape Town (BA 1973), the University of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) (BA Hons 1975), and Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford (DPhil 1979). Before joining the Harvard faculty in 1998, she taught at the University of Cape Town (1979-1993) and held the chair of Latin at Trinity College, Dublin (1993-1998). She is a former Fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung. In 2002 she delivered the 15th Todd Memorial Lecture at the University of Sydney (see photos below), and in 2003 the opening lecture in the 2003 series of Wolfson Lectures at Oxford to honor the centenary of Sir Ronald Syme. In the same year she was appointed Harvard College Professor, a five-year appointment in recognition of contributions to teaching, and in 2005 she was the recipient of the Joseph R. Levenson Teaching Prize for Senior Faculty, awarded by the Undergraduate Council of Harvard College. In 2007 she was awarded a Walter Channing Cabot Fellowship, an annual award given to Harvard faculty members in recognition of achievements in literature, history or art. In 2008 she received the Ausonius-Preis from the University of Trier, and delivered the Syme Lecture at Victoria University Wellington, in New Zealand. She has been elected an Honorary Member of the Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies.

Professor Coleman is the author ofProfessor Coleman is the author of Statius, Silvae IV: Text, Translation, and Commentary (Oxford University Press, 1988, re-issued in paperback by Bristol Classical Press/Duckworth, 1998) and Martial, Liber Spectaculorum: Text, Translation, and Commentary (Oxford University Press, 2006), and co-editor, with J. Diggle, J. B. Hall, and H. D. Jocelyn, of F.R.D. Goodyear. Papers on Latin Literature (Duckworth, 1992). In addition to her work on Latin literature she has published numerous articles on Roman spectacle, including "Fatal charades: Roman executions staged as mythological enactments", Journal of Roman Studies 80 (1990), 44-73, and "Launching into history: aquatic displays in the early Empire", JRS 83 (1993), 48-74.

Mosaics feature in much of her writing, but she has also devoted one whole article (a short one) to a detail on the famous mosaic of the Nile from Palestrina: “The ‘upside-down animal’ at Palestrina,” Archäologischer Anzeiger (1994), 255–60.

She has participated in several radio programs and television documentaries about the Roman amphitheatre, and she was the featured "Scientist on the Spot" on the Science Buzz feature at the Science Museum of Minnesota for August-September 2007. (Click here.) Her current book-length projects are a monograph on Roman public executions for Oxford University Press, and a study of arena spectacles for Yale University Press.

Professor Coleman is the editor of Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, a member of the editorial boards of The American Journal of Philology, Exemplaria Classica, Mnemosyne and Mnemosyne Supplements, and Oxford Bibliographies Online, a member of the Comité scientifique of the Fondation Hardt in Vandoeuvres, Switzerland, and co-editor with Richard Rutherford (Christ Church, Oxford) of Oxford Approaches to Classical Literature, a series published by Oxford University Press (USA). In her capacity as Chair of the Thesaurus Linguae Latinae Fellowship Committee of the American Philological Association, she is a member of the Internationale Thesaurus-Kommission in Munich, Germany.

Pam Stratton will be working with Italian and mexican smalti in the direct method. She will be demonstrating The cutting of Smalti using both wheeled cutters and the traditional hammer and hardie.

Pam Stratton's fascination with stonework and mosaics began with learning of Pompeii in ancient history class. Her transition from admiring mosaics to creating them was triggered by creating a brick patio of intersecting concentric circles in her backyard. The design was inspired by the beautiful stonework she saw in the piazzas and churches of Italian cities and towns. The first simple fish made from leftover brick evolved into intricate mosaic designs of stone and glass. Pam was hooked! Pam is mostly self taught--weekends at Mass Art; workshops with Lynn Moore, Mateo Randi and Ilana Shafir; and continuous experimentation. She is a member of the Society of American Mosaic Artists. This spring her work was exhibited at the Chicago School of Mosaic and as part of the International SAMA Exhibit at the Museum of Man in San Diego, CA. She teaches Mosaic 101 classes in her studio in Rockport, Ma. Pam has worked as a licensed acupuncturist on Cape Ann for the last 14 years. She is the owner of the Acupuncture Center of Cape Ann.

http://www.PamStrattonMosaics.com

Mosaic Workshop
Nancie Mills Pipgas (Sacramento, California) and Bill Buckingham (Wakefield, MA), Instructors
Classic Mosaic Design - The Roman Tradition
 

Lecture on the Antioch Mosaics
Paula Artal-Isbrand, Objects Conservator, Worcester Art Museum

Paula Artal-Isbrand holds a M.A. in Art Conservation with a specialty in objects conservation from the Art Conservation Program at SUNY Buffalo. Prior to graduate school she completed four years of internships at various Smithsonian Institution museums and the Institute for Anthropological Research of the National University of Mexico.

She moved to Boston in 1994 to do a post-graduate fellowship at the Museum of Fine Arts where she focused on ceramics conservation. As archaeological site conservator she has participated in a number of excavations in Turkey, including Sardis (Harvard University) and Ephesus (the Austrian Archaeological Institute).

Ms. Artal-Isbrand joined the Worcester Art Museum ( http://www.worcesterart.org) twelve years ago where she is now Objects Conservator responsible for the archaeological objects in the collection as well as for sculpture and decorative arts. Among the projects she has overseen are the conservation of the remarkable Antioch mosaics and, more recently, the conservation of the Museum’s important Paul Revere silver collection.

Ms. Artal-Isbrand has consulted with other museums on mosaics including the Harvard Art Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, and the Yale Art Gallery. She has also been invited to lecture on mosaics at the Winterthur-University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation, as well as the Institute of Fine Arts Conservation Training Program at New York University. She has delivered papers at professional conferences in the US and abroad and published widely on the conservation of archaeological material as well as on other materials like historical silver. Ms. Artal-Isbrand lives in Somerville where she also runs a private art conservation business.

Architectural Installation Presentation
by Deb Aldo of Pietre Dure Design

Mosaic has been used for thousands of years to adorn surfaces. This ancient art is intricate, tactile and creates spectacular installations in private homes and public spaces. Mosaic is the perfect medium to add a sense of grandeur and opulence, a bit of history or a sense of the owner’s personality. Interior architectural installations can be found in kitchens, bathrooms, foyer insets, columns, windows; Exterior installations such as water features, walls, benches and sculpture will also be discussed. During this presentation Deb will discuss site analysis and why different sites require different fabrication, substrate and adhesives. The choice of materials can run from simple to sumptuous. There will be adhesives, materials and substrates on-hand for you to look at as well as lots of pictures of installations that Deb and other mosaic artists have created.

http://www.pietreduredesign.com

Mosaic Workshop
Pam Stratton, Instructor
Introduction to Smalti
(This workshop will be held in Rockport, MA)  

Artist in Residence
Bill Buckingham and Michael Welch

Mosaic artists Bill Buckingham and Michael Welch have had their works exhibited in national and international juried exhibitions. They are the founders of Mosaic Rocks!, an web-based business that supplies mosaic artists with natural stone materials, as well as the Mosaic Art Now magazine and the successful international Mosaic Yearbook project.

Buckingham and Welch will demonstrate their work using a variety of traditional and non-traditional materials.

Artist Presentation: New uses for old ceramics
Richard Youngstrom

Richard Youngstrom is a mosaic artist who uses recycled ceramics and found objects in his work: broken dishes, tiles, shells, stone, mirror shards and metal objects. He will discuss and demonstrate the basic steps in creating images and functional objects from these discarded bits and pieces of our world. These “lost” materials are “found” and reused to create the mosaic.
The basic steps include:

• Finding the raw materials (in attics, basements, thrift shops, dumpsters, trash, wherever)
• Breaking and nipping (making useable pieces for the mosaic)
• Base materials (can you mosaic almost anything?)
• Adhering the mosaic pieces to the base (indoors vs. outdoors)
• Grouting (including an actual demonstration)

Unlike other warnings you may hear, please do try this at home!

http://www.RichardYoungstromMosaics.com
 

Mosaic Supplies Vendor Show

On this last day of the exhibition, a variety of business that sell mosaic materials, tools, and publications will set up shop in the Somerville Museum. If you are new to mosaic art or an experienced mosaic artist, this is a great opportunity to see and purchase some great materials for your next project!
 

Mosaic Voices Reception; Meet & greet artist Lynne Chinn

Come meet internationally acclaimed and award winning mosaic artist, Lynne Chinn and view a new collection of mosaic art in the encore exhibition, Mosaic Voices.

Mosaic Master Class
Lynne Chinn (Plano, Texas, Instructor

The Elements of Design for Mosaic
Designing and Creating Award Winning Mosaics

Saturday-Sunday, November 14-15
REGISTRATION REQUIRED

Mosaic Master Class
Sophie Drouin (Kitchener, Ontario), Instructor

Listening to the Rocks