In our workshop, we will trace the roots of the mosaic art and explore the evolution of techniques and materials. We will examine the traditional methods of stone cutting and smalti (colored glass), as well as the basic principles of mosaic setting through the creation of individual small-scale works.
Stefania Chlouveraki & Theocharis Katrakazis_ Mosaic: Style and manufacturing techniques
Type of seminar: Hands-on workshop
Participant level: Open to all levels
Daily hours: 5–6 hours per day
The mosaic workshop will take us back in time, to an art that was born and flourished in Greece from the 4th BC and soon spread throughout the Mediterranean. The mosaic, sometimes with geometric or floral designs and sometimes with detailed pictorial representations, was one of the most important means of decorating private and public spaces, adding luxury, brilliance and durability to architectural surfaces. Today, mosaic finds a variety of applications, both on architectural surfaces and in portable structures, using a wide range of natural and artificial materials.
In our workshop we will take a look back to the roots of the art of mosaic and the evolution of the style and materials. We will demonstrate the traditional stone and glass cutting techniques and the basics of mosaic making techniques, through the creation of small-scale works.
Stone by stone, you will build your own work and develop your personal style, opening up a new path of creativity. Our aim is to pass on to you both the technique and our love for this art, so that we can keep it alive and pass it on to future generations.
Preparation for the workshop:
- Attendance of two online introductory lectures prior to the start of the seminar, a) a historical review of the art of mosaics, b) style, materials and construction techniques. The link to the lectures will be announced at the end of registration by direct communication with the participants.
- Selection of a design for creating a mosaic work of approximately 20X20 cm.
A few words about the mosaics: The first mosaics were made with natural pebbles, while later on, mosaicists began to cut natural rocks into small cubes, known as ‘tesserae’. In this way they created mosaic floors with geometric and floral motifs, inspired by weaving and tapestry works, as well as representations inspired by Greek mythology. Later on, mosaic was extended to the decoration of walls with the use of colorful glass tesserae. Wall mosaics of high artistic value and elaborate technique adorn the most important ecclesiastical monuments of the Byzantine era. Today, mosaicists combine a wide range of materials to create portable works, and are also continuing the traditional techniques, using stone and colored glass to decorate architectural surfaces. There are over 100 shades of natural stones, while the color palette of glass is unlimited.
BIOGRAPHIES:
Stefania Chlouveraki is a conservator of antiquities, a graduate of the Technological Educational Institute (T.E.I.) of Athens, and holds a PhD from the Institute of Archaeology at University College London. Her doctoral research focused on the use and deterioration of gypsum in Minoan architecture.
From 1997 to 2014, she served as head of the Conservation Laboratory at the INSTAP – Study Center for East Crete, specializing in the conservation of ceramics and architectural remains. Her work encompasses the study of materials, technology, and the conservation of mosaics, with involvement in numerous projects across Greece, Jordan, Syria, Cyprus, and Istanbul.
She is a founding member of the Hellenic Society for Near Eastern Studies (EEME) and has collaborated with the European Centre for Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Monuments in designing and delivering training programs on mosaic conservation in Jordan and Syria. Since 2006, she has taught mosaic construction and conservation techniques, and since 2014, she has been a faculty member at the University of West Attica.
She has been a board member of the International Committee for the Conservation of Mosaics (ICCM) since 2008, serving as its Vice President since 2014. In recent years, her work has focused on the study and conservation of Byzantine portable mosaic icons at the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul and at the Dumbarton Oaks Museum in Washington, D.C.
Theocharis Katrakazis is a conservator of antiquities, a graduate of the T.E.I. of Athens, and holds a postgraduate degree from University College London (UCL Qatar). He has participated in conservation programs across Southern Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia.
He has worked at ICCROM in Rome, contributing to research activities within the “Heritage Science” program, and at ICCROM’s regional office in the United Arab Emirates, where he helped design conservation training programs for the Middle East.
Through INSTAP and the University of West Attica, he has contributed to conservation studies and projects at archaeological sites in Eastern and Central Crete. He is currently employed at the National Centre for Scientific Research “Demokritos,” working on a research project investigating the impacts of climate change on heritage monuments and archaeological sites.
Since 2017, he has served on the board of the International Committee for the Conservation of Mosaics (ICCM).