Faqs

9 Day Mosaic / Icon Painting Workshop
on the fabulous island of Sicily, Italy
Frequently Asked Questions

“How do I get to Sicily?”

Budget airline flights are available from easyjet.com and ryanair.com

We will pick everyone one up from Palermo airport at 17.00 on Tuesday 30th September. If you can’t make that pick up then you are free to get a taxi and make your way to Céfalu at your own convenience. Last year a few participants arrived a few days early to relax and settle in.

“Does the fee include meals as well as the lodging and mosaic / icon painting workshops?

Yes it does – everything is included. We will dine out at a different restaurant each night.

“What is the food like?”

The restaurants in Céfalu are well noted for their excellent local cuisine, particularly the seafood. Dinner consists of three courses each night, including wine.

“What can I do in the afternoons?”

On three days the afternoons will be taken up with the all day visits to the mosaic sites. Other afternoons you may like to take advantage of Céfalu’s lovely beaches. The sea is usually swimmable well into November. From the sea there are fantastic views of the town and the cathedral.

Or if you prefer you can continue to work on your mosaics or icons (untutored).

About The Mosaic Course Itself:

This course aims to… provide an opportunity for those who have previously made some mosaics and therefore have some experience in mosaic making or enthusiastic beginners to mosaic. It aims to expand on those existing skills and develop your personal style and creativity. The course will instruct further in direct and indirect mosaic techniques, using glass tesserae. Grouting techniques will also be covered.

During the course… You will design and make a mosaic approx A4 in area. Martin will cover numerous techniques to help you understand further about mosaic design.

By the end of the course… a combination of lectures on Roman techniques, demonstrations and individual help will ensure that students will go home fully inspired and equipped to go and tackle larger projects such as patios, tables and murals.

After the course… Many previous participants have gone on to become professional mosaicists whilst others have taken it on as a serious hobby.

The tutor…Martin Cheek has written five best selling books on mosaics. He has been making mosaics professionally for 25 years. Martin graduated in graphic design from Exeter College of Art & Design in 1981. Having made award winning films as a student, he subsequently worked on several puppet animation projects including ‘The Wind in the Willows’ ‘Paddington Bear’ ‘Noddy in Toyland’ and ‘Portland Bill’. He then set up his own production company Cheeky Films Ltd. For many years Martin wads a part time lecturer at the Royal College of Art. He is a former art critic for the Daily Express and now works full time as a professional mosaic artist. Martin is regularly commissioned by both private and corporate clients as well as by museums. His work also appears in leading National magazines and newspapers as well as on television.

Martin has tutored workshops in the UK, France, Holland, Greece, Italy, Australia and New Zealand. His weekend courses in the UK and abroad continue to be popular with students from all over the world keen to learn the art of making mosaic. Over 1200 people have now attended Martin’s courses. In April 2008 Martin will be the keynote speaker at the international conference of SAMA – The Society of American Mosaic to be held in Miami, Florida.

You can view Martin’s work by visiting his website: www.martincheek.co.uk

About The Icon Painting Course Itself:

This course aims to… provide an opportunity to learn the basic skills employed in iconography, including gilding, paint making with egg yolks and pigments.

During the course… You will make an icon measuring 8 x 10 inches. (20cm x 25cm approx) You will learn how to apply bole to a pre-gessoed panel, this is then gilded with leaves of 24 carat gold and burnished. Then the traditional Byzantine painting method of blocking and highlighting will be used to produce your icon from a small selection of high quality images.

After the course… Many previous participants have taken up tempera painting as a serious hobby.

The tutor… Peter Murphy has been painting icons since he learnt the technique from noted master Guillem Ramos-Poqui author of ‘The Technique of Icon Painting’. Peter has produced works for many churches and individuals in the UK. In 2007 he completed a major commission of a shrine to St. Ethelbert in Hereford cathedral. Peter has tutored workshops in the UK, Greece and Italy.

You can view Peter’s work by visiting his website: www.petermurphyicons.co.uk

“Are materials included?”

Mosaic: Martin will provide you with 1.5 kg of Orsoni Venetian smalti (mixed colours) & 1.5 kg of Orsoni Roti (mixed colours). For many people has proved to be sufficient. However there will be a stock of both these materials in a wide range of colours plus various gold leaf smalti and millefiori. Please note that Martin does NOT provide vitreous glass – as this would be too much for him to ship – if you intend to use vitreous glass please bring your own with you – or contact Martin who will help you arrange this.

Icon: Peter will provide you with a ready gessoed wooden panel, bole, gold leaf, pigments and the necessary brushes and tools you will require to make your icon.

“What should I bring with me?”

Work clothes – you may accidentally get glue or pigments on your clothes. An apron is a god idea.
A camera is always a useful thing to bring and if you already have them, then a pair of binoculars or opera glasses will help you to view the mosaics in the churches. A notebook and a sketchpad. A pair of your own glasses or sunglasses will mean that you won’t have to suffer my uncomfortable safety goggles.

Mosaic: It would be really useful if you could bring with you two or ideally three design ideas for your potential mosaic. Try to make your ideas different from each other, so that we will be able to discuss the various mosaic possibilities, which your designs will suggest to Martin. Your designs should be between A4 in area (12 x 8 inches or 30 x 20 cm approx) - if you want to finish your mosaic during the course. If you wish to work on a larger scale then that is fine, but be prepared to have to finish your piece at home. – Martin can sell you the necessary extra material required for you to do this.

Keep you designs simple and bold – remember that the tesserae average 2cm x 1 cm in size so don’t make your design too fiddly! A quick glance at any of Martin’s mosaics which you can find in his books or on his websites will show you what this means, but please don’t copy Martin’s mosaics – you could do that at home!

If you don’t have time to prepare any designs before the course, then try and bring some sort of pictorial reference with you. This could be anything from a book to a greetings card that you like or even a piece of wrapping paper or packaging that may have caught your eye.

Mosaic tools – please bring your wheel nippers or side biters with you if you have them, if not please order a pair in advance from Martin. Tweezers are very useful as are dental tools for poking and prodding. Martin will provide some but if you don’t want to share please bring your own.

Icon: You may bring a good quality reproduction of a particular favorite icon if you wish, but make sure that it is a single figure and conforms to the 8 x 10 inch format as described above. Peter will provide reproductions of classic Byzantine icons and will be attempting to paint an iconic interpretation of the lovely Christ apse mosaic in the cathedral at Céfalu.

Suggested reading:

Guide Books:
‘The Rough Guide to Sicily’
Serious:
‘The Normans in Sicily’ by John Julius Norwich.
Entertaining:
‘The Ruby in Her Navel’ by Barry Unsworth – a chilling whodunit set in 12^th Century Palermo
"The Snack Thief" by Andrea Camilleri this thriller features Inspector Montalbano as do other books in the series:
"The Shape of Water", "The Terracotta Dog" & "The Voice of the Violin"
"A Florentine Death" by Michele Giuttari another detective story about a hard-pressed Italian detective, Inspector Ferrara who has a German wife. This one is actually written by a retired Italian policeman who worked in Florence.

Films
‘Cinema Paradiso’

Please don’t hesitate to call us -our contact details are:

Martin: Tel: +44 (0)1843 861958 Mobile: +44 (0)794 988 4620
or Email: martin@martincheekmosaics.com

Peter: Tel: +44 (0)1843 862143 Mobile: +44 (0)796 384 7936
or Email: murphype@aol.com

If you have any other queries.

We look forward to seeing you in Sicily!
Warmest wishes Martin and Peter.