Most of my pieces are inspired by Greek themes - Byzantine stone carvings, ceramics, wall paintings and, of course, mosaics, and I draw on ancient designs.
The mosaics are made using Greek stone and marble although I also use ceramic, glass, millefiori and smalti. Each piece takes many hours to make – the stones are all individually cut to size and then put in place with tweezers. The mosaics are labeled to show what materials are used and whether they are suitable for an indoor and/or outdoor position.
I use both the ‘direct’ method whereby the stones are placed ‘face’-side upwards directly onto board, and the ‘indirect’ method which means the tesserae are stuck upside down onto paper. Most of my direct pieces are set on treated, painted and sealed plywood which is suitable for outdoor conditions. However, in some cases I have left the direct-method mosaics un-grouted in order not to tone down the brilliance of the natural colours.
I have used the ‘indirect’ technique to make cast pieces. This involves placing a temporary wooden frame around the mosaic into which concrete is poured and left to set. When it is ready, the frame is removed and the paper peeled off to reveal the finished piece. These pieces (see ‘Cast Pieces’ in the Works section) are extremely durable in all settings including floors, but they are heavy. They are perfect if you looking for a pre-made mosaic which can be set immediately into a wall or floor without the time delay of commissioning a piece.
