The Direct Ravenna Method with Arianna Gallo

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Every mosaic that has been created started with one piece… the first piece. Imagine taking a step back and learning how to create a mosaic just like they did many years ago. The methods they used were practical and made sense. You will learn these methods in our latest course “The Direct Ravenna Method with Arianna Gallo”. The most important step is learning how to apply each piece into a temporary binder or substrate. Nothing is permanent until the mosaic is complete and each tesserae is where it should be.
Learning the technique in this way allows you to work slowly and without rushing to apply each piece into a permanent curing mortar. You will learn how to create your mosaic on a non-permanent base with either basic ceramic clay or lime putty. This process can be done with any image. Arianna provides four different images to choose from as you watch her create one of them from start to finish.
In this course Arianna will be making a replica of a small section of the mosaic in the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia. She has included three other options that are easy to learn as she demonstrates each step of the process.
Arianna grew up in Ravenna, Italy and has studied this method of creating a mosaic since her high school years. We feel there could not be a more qualified person to learn this method from.
In this course Arianna will demonstrate:
How to choose an image
How trace the image by drawing the andamento lines in positive and negative (reverse)
How to build a simple temporary frame
How to apply the clay or lime putty
How to transfer the negative design to the lime or clay
How to choose your smalti and gold
How to cut the materials to the right size for the andamento
How to create a very achievable mosaic
How to make the rabbit glue and the flour glue
How to add the cotton gauze with flour glue or rabbit glue
How to clean the clay or lime off the back of the mosaic
How to adhere the mosaic to the permanent substrate
How to finish the edges of the substrate
Bonus sections on polishing and grouting a marble mosaic
This course is broken up into chapters to make it easy to navigate.
Arianna has added modifications that include using ceramic clay instead of lime putty and flour glue instead of rabbit skin glue. Arianna will be teaching this entire course with the traditional methods used in Ravenna from the last century. However, due to the limited access to some of the original materials, she also demonstrates how to achieve the same outcome by using basic ceramic clay and flour glue while practicing the original method. You will be able to easily follow along as each step has been thoroughly demonstrated to give you the best learning experience possible.
Included in this course is a PDF for download of the suggested tools, materials, and resources.
Arianna has included four images to choose from to create your mosaic.