Shih-Tsu

Shih-Tsu, originally uploaded by ari kokomosaico.

I recently came across this mosaic artist on flickr – her work is phenomenal. This, among many others, really caught my eye just because I would love to start doing mosaic portraits. I don’t, simply because it is not my strong point, so I admire…

Ari has the knack of really capturing the moment. There’s such expression caught in her work that I don’t really see in many others’ work… She is from Ravenna, Italy and teaches 🙂 Definitely on my list of places to go when the kids are older and I’ve saved some money (and time!!!) to travel again. I’m dragging my friend, who I started mosaicing with, along for a garden and mosaic world tour 🙂 That’s the dream anyhow, as we are both mosaic maniacs, gardening freaks but also presently mothers of 3 young children too 😉

From Arianna’s flickr profile:

“Driven by passion and their desire to practise mosaic art, Arianna Gallo and Luca Barberini, founded their own workshop in Ravenna, the Mosaic capital of the world. Here, ancient techniques and contemporary projects and ideas merge, forging a link between past and present.

Koko Mosaico creates mosaics of the highest quality by using the best materials on the market which guarantee long life to every individually-crafted piece.
Mosaics can be integrated into architecture as decoration of external or internal walls or flooring, used in swimming pools or fountains or can stand alone as sculptures.

To create a mosaic, tiny tesserae (of polychrome, marble, stone, Venetian glass or gold) are hand-cut and individually placed, one by one, onto the design. The resulting play of light, reflecting off the art work gives life to each unique, handcrafted piece.”

Check out more of her work on Flickr and go to the Koko Mosaico website for more information. Looks like I have to brush up on my Italian… it’s been a while 🙂