The art of Scagliola dates back to ancient Roman times and is made from selenite, which derives from a gypsum stone, the process we know today has its roots in the 16th century northern Italy region. The art of Scagliola uses natural materials of gypsum powder, lime and raw pigments. Through careful creation of various layers and gradients of colored plaster Scagliola can achieve the look and complexities of marble, semi-precious stones, mosaics and inlaid. After Scagliola has hardened the surface is ground down and sanded to a fine smooth surface that is then polished with beeswax which makes it waterproof and adds a natural glossy sheen.Scagliola has been traditionally used architecturally, in institutions such as churches, government buildings and palaces as a marble mimic.
I focus on the hard and soft of Scagliola, how it is accordingly both real and fake and how it is traditionally decorative, yet has the potential to implement a contemporary voice. My Scagliola work has a strong connection to corporal representation of the persona found in Marble sculptures of ancient Rome but without their grandeur, status and expressions of power. and so I explore the conditions of these ancient forms, now in ruin, as an opportunity to suss out the personal, releasing it from its power clad past.
I also work with artists, designers, or architects who are interested in scagliola objects or surfaces follow this link to my scagliola fabrication studio for full information.