The Art of Translation

Color board for the mosaic

Translating the artwork into a mosaic is for me one of the more exciting parts of a project. Usually, first comes the choice of colors for the glass tiles or tesserae. Because the mixing of colors in a mosaic is not done on a palette, but happens in the eye of the beholder, a range of colors is used to create the illusion of a particular hue. This creates visual interest and brings the color to life.

On this project we decided to use Mexican smalti. Glass smalti is poured in pizzas or tortillas (depending on wether it's Italian or Mexican), around 14" in diameter which are then cut in smaller pieces as you can see in the image bellow. Mexican smalti, unlike Venetian glass which is highly valued for the brilliance and consistency of hue and can be compared to the melody of one finely tuned and perfect instrument, Mexican smalti is like a symphony. Front and back of a tortilla can be of a different but related color and even on the same side, one color gives way to another in a multitude of variations within a hue. This not only delights the eye, but it also opens new and challenging opportunities for the mosaic artist.

Mexican smalti is produced by the factory Mosáicos Venecianos de México which on our trip to Mexico we visited in Curenavaca, about two hour car ride from Mexico City. The town itself is small and charming and the people, like most people we met on our trip, friendly and forthcoming. The factory was established in 1949 by the Perdomo family during the time when the Muralista artistic movement was coming into full bloom in Mexico, and precisely as an answer to the ever increasing demand by mosaic artists for mosaic glass. They learned the method from Venitan masters and over time developed their own brand.

On our visit, we had the privilege to meet two amazing women, third generation Perdomos, who now run the works together with two of their siblings. They have two locations, one for fabrication of mosaics and the other the factory proper. We loved talking to the two sisters, discussing their process and the history of their family business, and seeing the works. At the end of the visit we ordered our material for the project and walked away with a stack of sample boards for all the colors they produce.