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| Sunday, 27 July 2003 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Mosaic art given a new lease of life by LAKMAL WELABADA Mosaic art is a world tradition that has been buried and rejuvenated again and again through the sands of time across many civilisations.
Here little pieces of natural stones, marble, glass, pebble or a variety of other substances are used to decorate floors, walls, furniture and home accessories. The history of this art goes back to the time of the great Egyptian civilization, ancient Mexico and Graeco-Roman civilisation. And even earliest known Mosaics were found in ancient Mesopotamia between the Tigris and the Euphrates, now Iraq, in around 3000 BC. This appealing medium is easily adaptable to domestic conditions, even today. Hence some of today's art lovers adopt such dying arts as their hobby. Kameela Nazir is also one such art enthusiast who is nurturing Mosaic art as her pastime. "The idea of doing this art came to my mind when I saw the pieces of granite thrown aside in the site of our newly built house. So after that, I collected ceramic and granite pieces from the shops and did a few decorations," she said. The broken 'pieces' thrown away from the tile shops are one of the ideal substances for this. By using this method we could turn out an unique beautiful decor or give a novel look to an old piece of furniture or wall or anything else we like.
First we select and separate the 'pieces' according the sizes and colours. Secondly we sketch down a pattern on a piece of paper. We can either trace down the sketch on to the 'surface' or just keep it aside and use it as a guideline. Then we paste the 'pieces' on the 'surface' with a glue or wet cement, according to the pattern of the sketch, explained Kameela. Once we finish pasting, we should fill the gaps in between the 'pieces' by using a grout. Grouts are also available at the tile shops. Though it's time consuming, Mosaic art is a fascinating medium," said Kameela showing us some of her Mosaic work. Kameela has turned out an old coffee table to a novel piece of Mosaic art. Along with that a garden lamp with an old tile as the top and a glass cube with a wrought iron stand, a mirror - clock, a flower clay pot and a bird bath are some the exquisite items to which she had given a new look by using Mosaic. Kameela's 'Mosaic coffee corner' arrangement won the Award for Miscellaneous at the Design Fair of Sri Lanka organised by the Sri Lanka National Design Centre held at the BMICH last month (June 20 and 21). "I am grateful to Swarna Obeysekara, Chairperson of the Sri Lanka Design Centre and my husband for encouraging me to revive and develop my pastime to an enchanting homecraft," said Kameela. She hopes to conduct free classes in Mosaic art for the underprivileged to help them use it for self employment. |
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