From the Studio 2015: Pam Stratton

My mosaic work is all about texture! If you look at my work you will notice 90% is highly textured. Texture is one of the things I enjoy the most about modern mosaic work. I cut my materials by hand using the same tools used by the Roman mosaic masters, the hammer and hardie. I am now teaching its use in my mosaic classes. Every hand cut tessera or piece is unique in size and shape. I like to mix materials in my mosaic work so it will have varying textures and reflective qualities. I often use fossils, minerals,stone and glass together.

Recently I have been experimenting with monochromatic or a muted color palette in my stone work pieces. With very little emphasis on color the andamento of the mosaic really pops. Andemento is the Italian word for the flow of the tessera, the path your eye follows according to how you have laid your tessera

I am currently working on a couple of new pieces. In one, I hand made an undulating substrate. It will be all about movement and texture. The other is a large work that is inspired by plate tectonics. The andemento in this mosaic will highlight the different movements of the earths crust. Some of the stone I plan to use will be limestone in which you can see the fossilized remains of the ancient sea creatures that lived at the bottom of the ocean.

Pam Stratton info