My guess is that they'll have patterns there for students' use. Sounds like fun! What a great prize.

isn't that what Sonia King uses a lot of?
and lots of work that doesn't have to be grouted..
at least that's my memory of smalti and one of the best
reasons to use it.
funny, I've never even seen it, in real life~

you're a lucky duck to have won such a prize in a raffle...the only raffles I've entered, I"ve watched others win fabulous prizes.... :( lol

have lots of fun and even more fun on the side!

Becky, in Washington State

hello
haven't done any smalti work cause well, it's too expensive for me and can't afford them.
don't know what the big deal is about it though. probably this one... since it's expensive, the work needs to turn out perfect!
and as i guess, the hardest part is findind the perfectly fitting pieces. since no grouting is needed, pieces must fit each other with no gaps in between. and since these pieces are thicker than say glass, cutting them is the hardest part. it's done by hand (of course) and special tools are used to cut each piece to the wanted size/shape.

lol... not sure how much i write here is true, cause well, i haven't studied the technique, only what i have seen in pictures/videos.

CALIN :)

I love working with smalti. It is special for sure. No other tile has quite the same reflective qualities. I can't afford it so I seldom use it but if I had the money to spend, I would use it often. Purists probably break it with a hardy and hammer, but the few times I used it I just nipped it with Leponnitt wheeled nippers.

I emailed The Chicago Mosac School this morning and asked a few questions. They answered me right away and said that the class is completely full, and I don't need to bring anything as they provide everything to make a 6 x 6 piece. They also said I should expect to have fun!

Then I got an email back from the SAMA Mosaic Marathon committee about volunteer time for the marathon project at the conference in February. And guess what that project will be done with.....SMALTI!

I am so excited to get an opportunity to learn this and then actually use it!

I promise to take lots of pictures.

becky

Have fun Becky and sure... pics are mandatory!
CALIN