Braden Smearman

My mosaic was a reinterpretation of a famous Ostia Antica mosaic, which can be found in Ostia, Italy. I recreated this mosaic using pony beads, which are white and black. The process actually took an extensive period of time, elapsing to over two hours of work. This was purposed to recreate and honor an ancient mosaic. It shows a recreation of a floor mosaic found in the ruins of Ostia Antica. It depicts two different boats and, what seems to be, a pot with fire coming out of it. I believe this was created in the first place to show important figures in the society. The boats were most likely made due to the fact that Ostia is found very close to the coast of Italy and served as a port city. In conclusion, this project was an interesting change from the traditional schoolwork style of just spitting out information. I enjoyed actually doing a hands on project that required me to get creative.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1EYnngNHIA – Viva La Vida – Coldplay

This song relates to my mosaic because it directly relates to my mosaic. My mosaic was created and presides in the Rome area. Throughout the song, it talks about Roman Cavalry and some of the lands Rome ruled over, such as Jerusalem. Also, it talks about the martial side of the Empire, speaking of swords and shields as well. Another way it relates to Rome is that it talks about missionaries and Saint Peter, which is the religious part of the Empire. In addition, I listened to this song a little while making my mosaic to help concentrate and stay focused, helping me get through the process of recreation.

This floor mosaic from the Van Gogh Museum because they both focus on colors. I tried to focus mainly on having accurate colors compared to the original. This mosaic shows vibrant colors, as well as mine. They had to make the mosaic move because if it stood still, it would look way worse than mine. My recreation was way better looking than any of the floor mosaics in this museum.

Guiding Questions:

What was the best part about recreating your mosaic?

What is an aspect of your mosaic that you would change or do differently now that you’ve finished the project?

In what ways can music help an audience interpret or focus on a certain aspect of a mosaic?