New England Mosaic Society Presents: The Roman Rules of Mosaic Making And Introduction to Andamento

Date: Saturday, October 1, 2022 Time: 11:00 am Eastern Time
Location: Online Via Zoom
Speaker: Helen Miles, Mosaic Artist, Teacher, Author

The presentation will focus on the ancient principles of mosaic making as they have been applied since Roman times. Firstly, we will look at the rules regarding the sizing and placing of tesserae with examples from ancient mosaics. These rules largely have relevance to traditional mosaics but are also useful when making contemporary abstract pieces. We will then look at the concept of andamento. I will explain the ancient opuses or ways of laying the background of a mosaic, as well as the idea of using andamento to achieve a sense of flow or movement within the mosaic. Finally, the term andamento is often used to refer to the idea of line building in mosaics so we will finish with an explanation of how to achieve successful lines in a contemporary mosaic.

Speaker Bio

Trained in Greece, Helen Miles has more than 20 years of experience designing, making and teaching mosaics. As a mosaic artist Helen believes in the importance of understanding the fundamental principles of the ancient art and the joy and the creativity that can be found in pushing the medium in new directions.

Helen’s first book about mosaics, Mosaics: Ancient Techniques to Contemporary Art, is due out in March 2023. She teaches mosaic classes from her studio in Edinburgh, Scotland as well as residential courses in Greece.

Date: 10/01/2022 (Sat.)
Time: 11:00am - 12:00pm EDT
Location: Online Via Zoom