“CELESTIAL PORTAL: DISCOVERING GOBEKLI TEPE”
By KIM EMERSON
SAN DIEGO, CA, USA
www.kimemersonmosaics.com
#kimemerson
#symposiumturkey
INTERNATIONAL MOSAIC SYMPOSIUM TURKEY
THEME: “FROM STARS TO STONES: TRIBUTE TO KARAHAN TEPE & GOBEKLI TEPE – THE ZERO POINT OF HISTORY”
MARCH 13 – 27, 2021
TESSERAE MATERIALS: Marble, limestone, quartz crystals, smalti (glass), glow-in-the-dark tesserae, mille fiori stars & handblown glass cabochons – on a wood panel
Wall panel: 20” x 30” (50 x 76 cm)
Photo credit: DENNIS REITER
SCOPE – The creation of this mosaic art project took me on a very personal and virtual journey to a faraway place I have always wanted to go – but never knew that it had existed. Ancient archeological sites located in Southern Turkey is where the theme of this symposium takes us as a virtually gathered group of talented and very determined women mosaic artists. The theme From Stars to Stones is the perfect topic for mosaic artists who love to smash stone and glass into tiny fragments and arrange them in a way that tells a story – who are we, where do we come from, what happened, why, and where are we going? I learned in my research that the relatively recent discovery of Gobekli tepe has caused the rewriting of the historical timeline for humanity because its assemblage is over 11, 600 years old. The location of this architectural and structural marvel, with stone carvings of exotic animals, in the Middle Eastern region known as the fertile crescent is where its placement provided the perfect environment as being one of the most important cradles of civilization where agriculture first emerged. And some believe the sites also had a celestial connection with the stars.
DESCRIPTION – I wanted my mosaic design to be a beautiful map of time, borrowing lines from the actual archeological site of Gobekli tepe, and building it in a way that appears thin, light and transparent, like it is floating in space – thus drawing the viewer through a portal into universal energy or Qi. The star that is most prominent in the composition is Sirius, and it is fashioned in-part with glow-in-the-dark tesserae. The placement of and the ray-points mark the consecutive circles that are traced footprints of the actual stone structures that make-up the site. The black and dark blue in the upper section represents the night sky. The three glow-in-the dark stars in the upper left are intended to be the part of Orion’s Belt that directs one to find the brightest star in the sky – that being Sirius. The seven stars in the upper right represent the Pleiades constellation, or the Seven Sisters. The bright blues and deep greens at the bottom portion represent the fertile crescent with its rich gifts and offerings from the Earth.
PERSONAL NOTE – I wish to express my sincere gratitude to my dear and beautiful friend Neriman Güzel for her organization, professionalism, and grace while virtually inviting us to visit her fascinating country of Turkey. I also want to thank Giulio Menossi of Italy for the invitation to participate in this virtual project, and especially for his development of all the international mosaic symposia of the recent years. I am honored and humbled to have worked in-tandem and along-side (virtually in our own private studios scattered around very different time zones) with this group of 22 amazing mosaic artists from Turkey, Greece, Israel, Holland, Russia, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Puerto Rico, France, England, and the United States. I long to meet you all!
By KIM EMERSON
SAN DIEGO, CA, USA
www.kimemersonmosaics.com
#kimemerson
#symposiumturkey
INTERNATIONAL MOSAIC SYMPOSIUM TURKEY
THEME: “FROM STARS TO STONES: TRIBUTE TO KARAHAN TEPE & GOBEKLI TEPE – THE ZERO POINT OF HISTORY”
MARCH 13 – 27, 2021
TESSERAE MATERIALS: Marble, limestone, quartz crystals, smalti (glass), glow-in-the-dark tesserae, mille fiori stars & handblown glass cabochons – on a wood panel
Wall panel: 20” x 30” (50 x 76 cm)
Photo credit: DENNIS REITER
SCOPE – The creation of this mosaic art project took me on a very personal and virtual journey to a faraway place I have always wanted to go – but never knew that it had existed. Ancient archeological sites located in Southern Turkey is where the theme of this symposium takes us as a virtually gathered group of talented and very determined women mosaic artists. The theme From Stars to Stones is the perfect topic for mosaic artists who love to smash stone and glass into tiny fragments and arrange them in a way that tells a story – who are we, where do we come from, what happened, why, and where are we going? I learned in my research that the relatively recent discovery of Gobekli tepe has caused the rewriting of the historical timeline for humanity because its assemblage is over 11, 600 years old. The location of this architectural and structural marvel, with stone carvings of exotic animals, in the Middle Eastern region known as the fertile crescent is where its placement provided the perfect environment as being one of the most important cradles of civilization where agriculture first emerged. And some believe the sites also had a celestial connection with the stars.
DESCRIPTION – I wanted my mosaic design to be a beautiful map of time, borrowing lines from the actual archeological site of Gobekli tepe, and building it in a way that appears thin, light and transparent, like it is floating in space – thus drawing the viewer through a portal into universal energy or Qi. The star that is most prominent in the composition is Sirius, and it is fashioned in-part with glow-in-the-dark tesserae. The placement of and the ray-points mark the consecutive circles that are traced footprints of the actual stone structures that make-up the site. The black and dark blue in the upper section represents the night sky. The three glow-in-the dark stars in the upper left are intended to be the part of Orion’s Belt that directs one to find the brightest star in the sky – that being Sirius. The seven stars in the upper right represent the Pleiades constellation, or the Seven Sisters. The bright blues and deep greens at the bottom portion represent the fertile crescent with its rich gifts and offerings from the Earth.
PERSONAL NOTE – I wish to express my sincere gratitude to my dear and beautiful friend Neriman Güzel for her organization, professionalism, and grace while virtually inviting us to visit her fascinating country of Turkey. I also want to thank Giulio Menossi of Italy for the invitation to participate in this virtual project, and especially for his development of all the international mosaic symposia of the recent years. I am honored and humbled to have worked in-tandem and along-side (virtually in our own private studios scattered around very different time zones) with this group of 22 amazing mosaic artists from Turkey, Greece, Israel, Holland, Russia, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Puerto Rico, France, England, and the United States. I long to meet you all!
