Paphos, Cyprus - Mosaic class with Sharen Taylor

The phone alarm went off this time. Of course I had woken about every hour all night, worried that it wouldn't. Caught the 7:40 bus to Paphos and then went looking for breakfast. I found a restaurant open, not far from the mosaic studio and had a full English breakfast, plus a cappuccino (which doesn't really fit with the "full English").
It was a perfect day for a class, drizzling rain all day. I would be inside anyway.

When I asked where the toilet was I was told "upstairs". It was rickety, anyone over 5'6" would hit their head and the floor of the bathroom sloped and was "soft" at one point. Would not pass Canadian building code.

It was still an hour too early for the class so I wandered the area. This is the old city, up high above the harbour, perhaps to give time to prepare for attackers as Cyprus, like so many Mediterranean islands, was attacked and occupied by a series of nations (and pirates).

This was the old Municipal Market. Covered roof with lots of small stalls. A few appeared to have local lace work and preserves but most of it had a "Made in China" feel. I will explore it more seriously another time.

Across the street is the Kebir Mosque, the minaret reconstructed last year. It was converted from a church when the Ottomans ruled the country. Many churches in Cyprus have had minarets added from that time. Some remain, some were added to bell towers, some became bell towers.

Those crocheters have struck here too. The gates were locked. There was a sign in Greek and English, by the Dept of Antiquities, but it was not close enough to the gate for me to read it.

Wall art. A mosaic at the entrance to the market. I walked back through the pedestrian area with small shops, cafes and bars starting to open up, to the mosaic studio as my class was to start at 10am.

We had a choice, we could design our own on a 6"X6" board or work on a provided shape. I chose the square and drew an orange and 2 lemons. A reminder of what was picked a couple of days ago and is now sitting on the table back at the house.

There were 3 other students. One working on a fish.

One on a seahorse for her new bathroom

and one, an elephant with cherries, for her kitchen.

Most of what we were using were small pieces of tile, already cut, but I cut the glass tiles for the orange and lemons.

After doing the blue border it was on to the stems and the fruit. For each section we cut (if needed), placed and then glued.

At each step there was contemplation, discussion, advice and teaching.

It was fascinating seeing each one develop with the different decisions being made.

There was a massive collection of colours and pieces of tile to select from.

As we neared completion Sharen advised us to take a photo with our phones at it would help us see where we needed to make changes before we started on the grout.

All done but now I had to wait for the glue to dry.

Sharen has created some amazing pieces. The ones in the studio are for sale but she has also done many commissions in the area.

Some are just small

and some quite large. This is the size of a large patio dining table.

With my glue dry I pushed grout down into it using a sponge. I didn't bother taking a picture as it just looked like a square of mud. Now that had to dry.

She often mixes stained glass in with the tiles

and mirror tiles.

I rubbed off the grout but had to leave to catch the last bus back to Pissouri. Sharen sent me home with grout for the second layer, plastic gloves and clothes to take it off, along with instructions and her phone number in case I had problems with the last stages. I wish I could have seen all of them completed. The grout pulls it all together and the grout colour choice makes a big difference too.
Sharen was a patient and knowledgeable teacher. Talented artists are not always good teachers but Sharen is. She encouraged, advised, taught, made us coffee and tea and provided us with savory pastries. The time flew by (and I suspect the others were there for another hour).
I put on another layer of grout when I got home, rubbed it off and now it has to dry for 24 hours. I will post a picture of the finished piece tomorrow.