On my first day at the Master class at Orsoni the sirens rang out at 7am to warn Venice that a high tide was expected shortly. In Venice they have what they call an aqua alta where the tide rises certain levels and the siren announces this by the number of rings, luckily for me it was not that high and I could get to my first day of class without gumboots.
Orsoni glass is the only company in Venice manafacturing smalti and have been doing so since 1888. The school is attached to the glass factory. The first morning we toured the factory and watched how the glass was made, we were not allowed to take photos in the furnace as it is somewhat an old secret recipe. Then it was off to begin work.
There are 6 students in all, 4 french women, one italian man and moi. And of course they all understand each other, many are bilingual. So everything is translated for me in English. It is somewhat strange being in a class where you don't get to chat or discuss your work with anyone, but at times the quiet is good, the teacher speaks a little English and Mirta the other instructor has good English. Just when I thought I had some comptetence in the art of mosaic this has all gone out the window.
We are learning and working in e traditional techniques so no nice cutting tools for me. We use the hammer and hardie which has been used and only used here in Venice for cutting glass so my usually neat tiles are a total mess and I am definitely the novice here. After day two my technique is picking up and it is good to watch the Italian man make a reverse method face on paper. He is from Rome and gave me some good tips and addresses around the Vatican to see some of the micro mosaic work in the making. My last class is today and wish I could stay longer I am sure I will have mastered it shortly, it has made me appreciate a lot more of the Italian mosaics both old and new. Looking forward to seeing the Vatican in a few days.
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