A Stroll of the Mosaics at Villa Rustica

2 Mar

The rendered walls and lush tropical gardens at Villa Rustica offer plenty of opportunities for mosaic art. Imagine discovering a pathway of mosaic pavers leading to a secret garden, or seeing the rays from the setting sun fall on a golden icon in an architectural niche? Each mosaic has a story behind it that recalls friendship, travel holidays and the rich history of art. Here are some of these stories:

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Luke, the Peacock

The most prominent mosaic at Villa Rustica is a larger-than-life peacock created by English artist and friend, Martin Cheek. You will meet Luke, the peacock, hiding behind raphis palms on your way from the house to the gallery. He’s made of fused dichroic glass that sparkles in the evening light. Visitors often pause to stroke and look carefully at him as they wander past – which is fitting given we spent five (nervous) days installing him!

Inspired by the Peacock Room in Udaipur, India

Inspired by Travel

Many of my mosaics are inspired by travel. My 3d peacock is one of my first mosaics, and was made after visiting the Peacock room in the City Palace in Udaipur. Modelling clay was used to build up the relief on the neck and I was never sure it would survive in our rainy climate! Twenty years on, the Udaipur peacock greets visitors in the carport and reminds me of that first time in India when a mosaic took my breath away.

This small work on slate is a mosaic sketch of the pretty village of Sauzon on Belle Ile, an island off the western coastline of France. We had visited the island on a mission to trace an ancestor, and I fell in love with the brightly coloured fishermen’s houses flanking the port. We stayed in the attic of a guesthouse with blue shutters and a huge palm tree in the garden. The mosaic is mounted on a slate roof tile gifted to us by the owner of the guesthouse!

A Mosaic Rug

The most intricate mosaic in our collection is by Italian-based mosaic artist, Suzanne Spahi. Tuduk or Not Tuduk 2 comprises thousands of miniscule gold and deep red pieces of glass surrounded by a soft blue border. Suzanne’s mosaic rug speaks to her Egyptian heritage, and we were fortunate to have Suzanne stay with us on her visit to Australia in 2015.

Angels and Icons

Byzantine mosaics are my favourite style of mosaic, and I enjoy re-interpreting religious figures and icons from this time. Coptic crosses and angelic faces, rendered with lashings of Venetian gold glass, can be seen all around the villa. The golden coptic cross in my mosaic studio is wonderful in the afternoons when lit by the rays of the setting sun.

Floors & Garden Pavers

I’ve always been drawn to the durability of mosaics – they never fade, you can walk on them and they’re easy to fix if they break! This garden paver is part of a pathway taking visitors on a secret route around the Moroccan courtyard.

The floor mosaic in a small rotunda is made using porcelain tiles. I love the earthy tones of the colour scheme and the way the mosaic looks as though it’s always been there. The geometric design is an adaptation of a floor mosaic from an English church.