Stencilitating

The second week of classes is over and this time I feel the hours using the martellina a little in my bones. This may also be due to the fact that autumn has arrived here in Friuli. Or it’s because we didn’t have hot water in our flat for three days when we moved in. Or the last of all the movings this year is to blame …

However, there are not just exercises with the hammer on the curriculum. This leaves a little time to relax the muscles. In addition to the 18 hours we have terrazzo mosaic (Venetian flooring technology), drawing, technology (a mixture of materials science and chemistry), mosaic history, geometry, and computer science.

Of course we are still just starting in all subjects. In terrazzo we’re learning how to create plaster elements with the help of self-made stencils. The plaster is applied bit by bit on a waxed concrete surface. With the template you pass gently over the plaster, accumulating material again and so on, until a homogeneous shape appears.

Lessons learned this week

  • To have only mosaic lessons would be quite exhausting. 18 hours of mosaic per week are enough to start the weekend with tensions.
  • In just 3 minutes I arrive at school now, so that I can sleep a little longer. Which is quite important if the first lesson starts at 8 am.

 

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2 Comments

  1. says: Justin

    I toured the school a little over a week ago and was shown around by an old mosaicist who graduated from the school more than 50 years ago. He told me that the section of the pavement in the above photo (with the horses) would have taken a student more than a month to complete. Each piece would be individually shaped with a martelina and then a grindstone (una mola). One of the problems faced by mosaicists now, is that a lot of the marble and stones used 50 years ago are no longer available commercially. It’s amazing to see this work. Thanks for the photos.

    1. says: miriam

      Dear Justin, sorry for the late reply. Yes, I was quite impressed by these mosaics, too. And many more you can see in school. I didn’t know they used a grindstone, though. Always thought these are strictly forbidden :-) Will ask some of my teachers about that story…
      Cheers, Miriam

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