I am completely enchanted by this little owl, which was carved from rough marble and granite.
Actually, I just wanted to try out a new technique and wasn’t at all sure if it would turn out to be anything worth showing off.
In this method, the tesserae are first laid out on a template. Next, apply a thick layer of tile adhesive to a second, identical template covered with plastic sheeting. As a result, the adhesive does not bond to the substrate, and once dry, the finished mosaic can be removed as a single piece and transferred to a permanent backing.
Since I deliberately wanted to place the tesserae at an angle to suggest the softness and fluffiness of a bird’s plumage, this technique proved to be ideal.
The owl’s head came together surprisingly quickly. Then my gaze wandered to my woodpile.
The bark of an olive tree from Ayvalık seemed perfectly suited to capturing the structure of the plumage. In addition, there was a cedar shingle, the kind traditionally used in the United States to clad house facades. It provided the perfect backdrop for the little owl.
For the base, I chose a bamboo tray, which I coated with a quartz primer. I liked the green, mineral-based paint right away, and little by little, everything fell into place. Now the owl sits on its cedar shingle, framed by a bamboo tray that serves both as a display surface and a frame.
The idea of using a tray as a frame came to me while I was still in China. This naturally creates a framed mosaic, and bamboo is highly resistant to the moisture from tile adhesive and grout.
I’m very happy with the result. Until now, I had been somewhat resistant to the idea of mosaics as freely movable images. I did enjoy making the little owl, though.
