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Cosmati
In a very minor way, tonight I took a few small footsteps in the journeys of the great Cosmati. Who were the Cosmati, you might ask? If you answered 'the secret society in the film Tomb Raider', that...
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Merry Christmas (Buon Natale)
In the late nineties, way back before the turn of the century, I was friends with some professional musicians around the Dallas area. Todd and April were brother and sister playing bass and drums...
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Holiday Tradition Mixed With Archaeology
The sterling cuff links in the Cosmati style using authentic green porphyry are back from the jeweler. I think they turned out well, and I’ll be giving them as a gift for one of my stone suppliers....
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Article 21
Happy new year to all! I unfortunately was reminded recently that my personal champagne consumption is not, in fact, unlimited. It was nothing that a few Advil and hours in the spa couldn't cure...
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Recent Films (Cigni Troppi in Film)
Being quite busy at work lately, I haven't had time to see as many films as I usually do. Some friends recently told me about one that sounded really strange called 'Black Swan'. The tedium of a...
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SAMA, Now With More Tesserae (Incontro di SAMA)
Last week I went to the SAMA conference (mosaic stuff). It turned out better than expected because they had dropped me from workshops which I had registered for months before, so the legendary 'bar of...
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Deja Vu
So I have to ask, have you read this blog post before?Some years ago, I'd read a book called 'Innumeracy' by a fellow named Paulos. In it, he pointed out how most people don't have a good scale for...
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Mongorians (i Mongoli, fanno carne buona!)
Well, well, well my blogchum lovelies, it's been a busy week and a half-ish, but we meet again. I've chopped more mosaic marble pieces than I'm comfortable to admit. Also, I'm working on some top...
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Hooked on Sardonyx (Affeto Sardonice)
It's a cloudy dreary chilly day in Dallas, which is fine because it all goes well with my mood today. Downtown, the streets are filled with people on their way to lunch. I've just ducked into one of my...
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Ouch (Mia Cicatrice Non Guariscono Per Sempre)
Recently I was chipping dried mortar off the back of a small mosaic piece so I could reset it somewhere else. The chipping off was going great with a sharp new hammer (recently purchased from the...
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Sometimes, Insects Decide (Decidere di Insetti)
This past Friday, I had received a shipment of an extraordinarily expensive and rare stone from Rome to use in an art project. It was the legendary 'imperial porphyry' from ancient Egypt. Until...
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A Moment of Silence (Un Momento di Silenzio)
We should all pause for a moment's silence. Silence in memory of 'Sportsman's Guide, Incorporated' based in St. Paul Minnesota, publisher and purveyor of shooting targets. Decreased revenues from their...
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Keys (Tasti vecchio)
In media and life, I've seen a coincidental confluence in the past few months of keys, both the physical kind that you might open a lock with and more abstract kinds. My brother misplaced his car keys,...
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The News (Notizie)
Hello Blogchums!What's been going on, you might ask? I reckon a few things, work is always a factor, but there are many moving parts to this 'macchina' called life. My brother drilled his first oil...
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Squirrel spirits and the Past (Storia con Scoiattoli)
All of you, gather around the evening fire, and hear the story of 'Pale Face Walks With Stones'. It was a summer ugonawa, oh, I should say 'hot'. It was after many days until the ground cracked and...
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Meeting A Blogger! (Incontrato i Blogger Fantastico)
It was very hot, not 'Dallas hot', but incredibly humid. It was the kind of humid which causes sweat to drip from your nose and wonder which it is that you are breathing, air or water. I had just...
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Italy 2011 - A Few Photos (Un Po' Foto di Italia)
Step right up and guess the name of the famous actress whose visage I've attempted to render in the ancient art of origam... uh I mean, mosaic!Below is the result of my portraiture class with Luciana...
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A Good Head for Mosaics (Testa Robusta per Mosaico)
Hmmm, I can really think of no finer way to welcome you guys back after an excessively long blogging hiatus than to bore you all with a tale of woe and accompanying vacation photos. I've been super...
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Driving Crazy in Sardinia (Guidando Pazzo in Sardegna)
It was mid-afternoon at the airport in Olbia, Sardegna. Rushing around trying to get a car rental because although the island looks small compared to the whole European mainland, it is huge and...
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In the Parking Garage (Nella Casa di Parcheggio)
I have to drive down a large parking garage structure when going to lunch or home. A few days ago someone was leaving at the same time driving behind me. With a cement wall to my left and a cement wall...
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Mosaics from Seeds (Mosaici di Semi)
I had been putting in way too many hours at the office over the past few months. Although it had been very profitable, I couldn't help but think of the work as too much of a tradeoff of my time...
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Ancient Red and Black Ceramics (Ceramic Antichi di Grecia)
A few years ago, I was really keen on buying an ancient piece of pottery. The specific piece I was looking at was a red figure krater from the Attic region, 2400 years old at a cost of around 4 USD for...
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I made some mercury last Sunday (La domenica, creato un po 'di mercurio)
For a moment, consider mercury, a silver metallic poisonous metal but also the mythical messenger of the Roman gods and diety of trade. It's from this name we have 'merchandise'. Mixed with sulphur, it...
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Ancients had Lasers!
The people of antiquity had lasers. More correctly, I should say they had a spice called 'laser', also known as silphium. It was a large stalked plant with flowers on the end. Ancient sources described...
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Cbep Mondjeh
Ok, I missed Cyber blog Monday... But I've been busy with life (my ridiculously beautiful and talented fiancee, work, gym, trips). It is good to see those of you out there from the good ole (tm) days...
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