Why the fascination with mosaic art?
Mosaics are experiencing a renaissance in the U.S. and abroad. You see evidence in both the quantity and the quality of mosaic art being produced and the degree to which architects and designers are incorporating commercially designed mosaics into homes and public spaces as expressive focal points or sophisticated backgrounds texture. The growth of mosaic fine art is an important aspect of this trend, as contemporary artists are drawn to mosaics by way of its rich traditions, creative possibilities, and technical challenges. What makes mosaic unique among the art media? Few media provide such powerful and direct testimony to the process of artistic creation as mosaics. The finished piece is the product of literally thousands of interrelated decisions, the mosaicist selecting from a broad array of exquisitely tactile materials, then cutting, manipulating, or editing each piece (called a tessera, plural form tesserae) and positioning it just so, for maximum visual and expressive impact w
