[Charithea]

Hello Hilary. Yes, I have a workroom but do not use it as it has other projects to be completed. I work on the front verandah If I want the light and the sunshine or the back verandah for easy access to the kitchen and garage for my materials. Sometimes I create a lot of mess depending on what I am cutting. I am by nature Untidy! My cats keep me company as they sit on the bench or even on the work in progress. I look at books for ideas and at plants and flowers. I also use photographs which I copy on to graph paper and then draw on to the slabs or on wood. Deciding on colours depends on what materials are available. My fingers are not nimble any more so very fine work is out of the question. By the way I love all the photos you have been posting. I am a terrible photographer even with an iPad. Happy epiphany Day. Charithea

[KatG]

Continuing the mosaic theme.... no prizes for guessing where!

[Hilary]

Charithea,
I was going through photos last night looking for a suitable photo depicting a floral mosaic  to send you then remembered we have some mosaic here in the house.
Here is a mosaic of pomegranates and another of a bird.
They are  both 10cm by 10 cm .
The bird is a wall plaque and on the front balcony.
The pomegranates are on the lid of a jewellery box.
Both were bought in Madaba, Jordan,  where you look at Byzantine mosaics, buy modern mosaic and look at the Promised Land

[Charithea]

Hi Hilary. I like your mosaics very much. Simple but very effective. If you don't mind I would like to copy them and have them somewhere on the wall outside.  In the mean time I am trying to cut and grind some glass to represent cyclamen. My fingers and nails suffer. I hope the final product will be worthy. Charithea.

[John J]

Slab No 6.

[Hilary]

I like slab number six and note that apart from cutting little squares you also cut different shapes.
Here is a photo of a tiny box 4cm x 5cm my daughter brought from a trip to Agra, India

[John J]

Slab No 7. A representation of the Cyprus endemic, Arum sintenisii, with a photo of the actual plant.

[Charithea]

Hi Hilary, the pattern on the tiny box is lovely. I think the stone pieces were cut with a rotary cutter and then ground to fit. I limit myself to a hand cutter and then grind the class. IF I had a rotary one I could clear up the tiles I saved in two large bins besides the shed and the place would look tidier.

[Alice]

Your slabs are getting better and better, Charithea.
The arum is stunning.

[John J]

This morning we visited a sculpture park that I had only recently discovered existed. It is actually the private garden of the sculptor's own house, a house that he built himself. He created all of the exhibits on display, large and small, including the little church. Many of them can only be described as impressively majestic. The planting in the garden was done by his now, unfortunately, late wife.
The first 3 photos are general shots of plantings. The rest are, in order;
Petreos - ruler and guardian of the area.
Grigoris Afxentiou - freedom fighter from the 1950s EOKA era.
Wisdom presiding over a gathering of philosophers.
Representation of the Equality of Man & Woman.
Pavlos Liasides - a folk poet from Lysi village.
The last one is entitled Group Burials and, to quote from the sculptor's info leaflet: Group burials of the Greek and Turkish Cypriots from the period 1958 to 1974 that can be found scattered throughout the island. It captures the casualness with which the victims where buried and the aggressiveness caused by fanaticism.

[Umbrian]

Fascinating John - one man's thought provoking tribute to the troubled history of the island where you live. I would imagine it had a very special atmosphere?

[John J]

Carole, my feelings at the time were of amazement at the sheer size of some of the works and of the fact that I had only just heard about its existence. If you would like to see more there is a web-site, although it doesn't appear to have been kept up to date as the lady of the house passed away 16 months ago. It is www.petreonsculptures.com.

[John J]

No 8. Another Cyprus endemic, Onosma fruticosa (Cyprus Golden Drop).

[John J]

Hilary, last month you asked if Charithea had a tidy workroom for her mosaics. Here's your answer.

[Umbrian]

Impressive! Tidier than my house when the lure of the garden is strong - which is most of the time