Often our life experiences manifest themselves in ways we don’t realize. Like this mosaic I drew for a interior design project I was involved with, in San Francisco last year. Inspired by ancient Roman floors (not unlike those I live near in Selcuk) and made from my rough sketch by Tunisian artists who do incredible things with tiny pieces of marble, this floor (and the surrounding antiqued mirror walls) has transformed a tiny bathroom into a mini Mediterranean holiday. Like any inspired design can transform a mood, a perspective, even a way of living.
As my Dialogue 2010 sister Judith commented today, “While mosaic is often made of pre-cut standardized materials, what comes to my mind are the beautiful chards of ceramics and pottery, put together to form a tantalizing image; something new made out of something broken, something splendid created from what might have been discarded, but was saved by a thoughtful mind, a creative person with the eye of an artist, the soul of a warrior-poet, the heart of a lover.”
I call this mosaic the “Fire Worshiper” because it reminds me of my husband, descendant of Zoroastrians. Judith’s quote sounds a bit like him as well. Especially now that it’s spring and we’ll be jumping our own fire of renewal soon…but more on that to come. May we take Judith’s fine words to heart as we take the leap.
Meanwhile, visit my latest post at expat+HAREM….
GORGEOUS, Catherine ! Did you really design that ?
Thanks Bron – yes, it came from a hand-drawn color sketch I did, inspired by a 3C BCE Roman mosaic. But the real talent was in the hands of the Tunisian artisans who did the hard work of laying out all those tiny marble bits! They are incredible – give them just an idea and they turn it into art.