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Behind the Scenes ~ Master of Horse for The Ruins Project

9/25/2020

6 Comments

 
Earlier this year I was invited to create a portrait for an ongoing, international collaborative mosaic installation at The Ruins Project in Western Pennsylvania.  The project, located on the Great Allegheney Passage, at an abandoned coal mine site, celebrates the rich history of the coal mining industry.  
My subject, John Moskal, was born in 1887 in Poland, and immigrated to the United States in 1907.  He joined other family members who already lived in Whittsett PA and began working in the coal mines.  He, and other members of his family, worked in the mines, until it shut down in 1946.

This small black and white photo is the only one I received of him with a horse, to use as my reference.  Definitely a challenge!
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These are a couple other photos of a younger John with his daughter
​& later in life with his wife, Kathryn.
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I began by drawing several freehand sketches, coming up with a simple "cartoon"
from which to begin the mosaic work. 
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details of the work & color pallet
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For his face I used Italian, Mexican & Chinese Smalti.
I started with the eyes, and worked outwards from there.
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Next I moved on to creating his hat, altering the cap from the original image into a hard hat. I used the bottom of a crystal glass to represent the the miner's light.  Ceramic & crockery shards were used for the remainder of the hat. I love the texture & interest that the crockery rims creates.

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Next came his shirt & sweater, using a combination of marble and unglazed porcelain, to create additional textural contrast.  I was delighted to find this horse image, in my stash of dishes, to button up his shirt. 
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Next came the all important horses, flanking the portrait/
Again starting with simplified drawing as my guide.
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I felt the need to use some metal pieces for the horses' bridles​.  I was thrilled when Rachel, the proprietor and creative genius behind The Ruins , found & sent me a few wonderful rusty bits (below) that were scavenged at The Ruins.  Equally fun, was finding a way to incorporate them into the mosaic.
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Rachel sent 3 small rusty circles, but I needed one more. I created a 4th, faux rusty ring, using metallic Mexican Smalti.  The horses themselves are all marble and stone, cut by hand ​with the traditional hammer & hardie.  I also found glass taxidermy eyes in my stash, which give them a realistic look.  One in particular, is forever staring back at the viewer!
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Once the horses were complete, I moved on to
​grouting the hat & sweater sections.
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The portrait of John Moskal, Master of Horse, complete & pieced together!
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It was my intention to visit The Ruins in early September to install the work myself, but due to the ongoing pandemic situation, alternate plans have been made. The mosaic will be shipped to The Ruins & installed by Rachel, before the cold sets in!
To get ready for shipping, I laid out all the pieces, taped & marked them for installation alignment, and wrapped each section for safe shipping.
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Next time we see Mr Maskal, he'll be part of The Ruins Project landscape!  

Thank you Rachel for inviting me to be a small part of your larger vision.
It's an honor to hang with the ever growing international list of artists
​whose work is already, and has yet to be, installed there!
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​I anxiously await what comes next & being able to visit in person!
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Bon Voyage! ​

6 Comments

Double Commission - Behind the Scenes

7/25/2019

8 Comments

 
For the past several months I've been working on a commission for the garden of a private residence.  

In February I gave a talk to a local art group about my experience attending The 3rd Contemporary Mosaic Art Symposium in Sardinia Italy (subject for another post - long overdue).  The following day I was contacted by a woman who had been at the talk,  who commissioned me to create 2 mosaics for her beloved garden.  She'd been introduced to a variety of materials during my talk, and as a result decided on Mexican Smalti, as her material of choice.  OK by me!    
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I composed the second design from a selection of pics the client sent me, of her favorite flower varieties.   This final painting,  was done after several drawings, revisions, and chats with the client.

​The first directive I received, was for lots of color!!! An osprey and flowers.

As the osprey would be comprised of neutral colors, I wanted to create a dramatic and colorful background for him to soar above.


The Smalti Arrives!

Mexican smalti is absolutely luscious.  Every tesserae  unique, with lots of color variation, making it both exciting and complicated to work with. 

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​I chose to use a lightweight, waterproof, substrate which comes in a variety of thicknesses.  The Osprey was cut out of the 1 inch substrate which was latter attached to the 1/2 inch background substrate.  I was thrilled to find that the 1/2 boards come in 4'x5' sheets, the size of the flower mural.
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Here I am holding the completed osprey, so you can get a sense of its size.
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Finally, with all the materials in the studio, I started by cutting out the osprey shape.
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& the adhering begins!
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I really enjoyed working on the dramatic seascape, folding each colorful band into the next.  Slowly, cut by cut & piece by piece, surrounding the osprey.
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​Adding some white caps... and more color!
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The Osprey flew off to his new garden home .... On to the flowers!

I started by transferring a cartoon of my design to the substrate, and began the setting here....
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You can see how much variety there is in the Mexican Smalti color mixes.  The red is more  burgundy.  I was hoping for a bit more of a true red, but that didn't seem to be available. As ever, I enjoyed the challenge of improvising and experimenting with lots of different color combinations.
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​After many weeks of work the mosaic is ready for grout!





​The Flower mosaic is now ready for installation in the garden, along with The Osprey.  Stay tuned for photos of both works in situ!
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8 Comments

    Artist

    Gila Rayberg
    With precision and spontaneity, I strive to create texture and movement; something you want to reach out and touch!
    ​

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  • Home
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