Studio Mosaic-Art-Kardash, there are about twenty years. Her head, as well as an author and performer of the main works is the muralist Ivan Kardash. Over the years the workshop realized many large and small projects in the field of religious art – created by a number of monumental mosaics for churches in Ukraine and abroad. The workshop carries out orders and secular subjects: mosaic and decorative painting for decorating private homes, public buildings and objects of landscape design. In recent years, we are actively developing another direction of its activity – production of miniature mosaic icons for different purposes: the temple and home iconostasis.
About the author
Ivan Kardash was born in 1975 in Ivano-Frankivsk (Ukraine). In 1996 he graduated from Oryol Art School. In 2001 – Kharkov State Academy of Design and Arts in the specialty “monumental painting”. Since 2002 is a lecturer of the department “monumental painting” the same university (at present – Senior Lecturer). He currently lives and works in the city of Kharkiv.
About technology
We are creating a mosaic icons in accordance with the traditions and canons of Byzantine iconography. In this paper we use chopped smalt (opaque colored glass), natural stone and gold smalt – gold leaf, baked between two layers of glass. Golden Smalt – a mandatory attribute of Byzantine icons, symbolizing the presence of the Divine light. Gold is used to create the iconic backdrops, halos, and assists -. Glare on the folds of the clothes depicted in the icons of saints, figures of angels, etc. This combination of materials provides a unique feature of the mosaic, which sets it apart from all the other techniques of the fine arts – the ability to specifically deflect and reflect light. Modularity and the wide color palette of glazes allow the artist to achieve high precision and expressiveness of the image.
We use only reliable materials from trusted manufacturers and for many years worked thoroughly technologies used for the creation of images and products for installation on site. That is why our mosaic has large reserves of durability and confidently show a high resistance to the influence of weather conditions, aggressive chemicals and physical action. They do not require maintenance and special storage conditions. If necessary, they can be cleaned with any detergent, and even apply obrazivy.
Production time and cost of mosaic
Creating a mosaic – is a long and laborious process that involves a number of stages consecutively: Sketch development, taking into account the iconography and architecture of the temple, rendering cardboard life-size training materials, a set of mosaics and its installation at the site. Production time and cost of the work are determined individually in each case, depending on the choice of materials, the complexity of the task and the size of the mosaic paintings. Thus, the main factors that increase the price of the mosaic are the high degree of image detail (required in the case where, for example, work is at a low altitude, and has a small viewing distance), small unit set, multi-figured compositions, the use of gold.
It is worth noting that the mosaic will never cost too cheap – at all times, she graced the houses of the nobility and religious buildings. However, all the costs are always paid off the final result. Brightness, glamor, decorative effect of the image, as well as the durability of the mosaic can hardly be achieved with other types of art.