Magdalene Theocharis

MIXED MEDIA WITH MY OWN CAVE ART INSPIRED EGRAVINGS INTO THE TILES.

HERE IS THE DIRECT TECHNIQUE OF PRESSING THE PEBBLES INTO THE GROUT.
LEAD STRAPS WERE APPLIED FOR OUTLINES LIKE IN PELLA PEBBLE MOSAICS.

HERE IS THE INDIRECT TECHNIQUE OF FAITHFUL COPYING
WITH TRADITIONAL GROUT APPLIED.SOLD.

A HELLENISTIC WALL PAINTING PROTOTYPE TURNED INTO A MOSAIC.

ANOTHER COPY OF A CLASSICAL THEME USING THE INDIRECT TECHNIQUE.

THE TRADIRIONAL DIRECT TECHNIQUE USED HERE TO CREATE
A HELLENISTIC THEME ACCORDING TO A CLASSICAL PROTOTYPE.

I LET MY TESSERAE DEPICT THE MYTH USING
A VARIETY OF TONES FOR HER HERALD.

ANOTHER THEME MOSAICKED TRADITIONALLY
ACCORDING TO THE DIRECT TECHNIQUE.

A VERY RICH THEME WHICH TOOK
A LOT OF DEDICATION TO ACHIEVE.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Lady Magdalene Theocharis was born in 1954 in Lamia, Greece. She currently lives
and works in Athens where she has a private workshop.

ART STUDIES

For many years, Magdalene Theochari studied mosaic art combining her theoretical grounding with the mastery of traditional and contemporary mosaic materials and techniques having mosaic artists, painters, sculptors, and mosaic conservators of high distinction as teachers.

PARTICIPATION IN EXHIBITIONS

Magdalene Theocharis has been actively participating in national and international visual arts exhibitions. In October 2000 she participated in the International Exhibition held by AIMC (Associazione Internationale dei Mosaicisti Contemporanei) at the Franciscan Monastery in Ravenna. In October 2002 she held her first personal exhibition entitled “MOSAIC ART THROUGHOUT THE PASSAGE OF TIME” at the Town Gallery of Mykonos Island. The exhibition had a great success.

AWARDS

Magdalene Theocharis was twice awarded for her mosaic work by Parnassos Philological Society in Athens.

CURRENT MEMBERSHIP


Member of the Society of American Mosaic Artists (SAMA), S. Carolina, USA.
Member of the British Association for Modern Mosaic (BAMM), Exeter, UK.
Member of AIMC (Associazione Internationale dei Mosaicisti Contemporanei), based in Ravenna.
Member of the Society of Greek Mosaicists, Athens, Greece.

CURRENT ACTIVITIES

Magdalene Theochari is actively occupied with indoor and outdoor mosaic creations, decorations, applications and restoration, combining the traditional with the contemporary aspects of this art. For the time being, she is getting prepared for her second personal exhibition to take place in Athens.

PHILOSOPHY OF THE ARTIST

It was mainly in the Mediterranean that “painting on stone” according to Pliny, and “painting of eternity” according to Ghirlandajo was born and developed.
So do I believe.
My first introduction to mosaic art was as a child of 12 years, being taught about mosaic technique during Byzantine times by high school teacher of Fine Arts, Mrs. Zachari. Since then, my love for this monumental form of art is leading me with patience, persistence and dedication to be creative.
As regards the themes which I derive from antiquity, I follow the technique of faithful copying based on ancient prototypes. For mosaicking directly on lime mortar, I would prepare a drawing of the proposed theme, trace it on the grout
into which I would dip marble, granite, enamel and stone tesserae. Then I would embed the work into
a permanent wooden panel.
Mosaicking indirectly (reverse technique) after Byzantine style of iconography,
I would glue the tesserae on a transparent surface with the flipped prototype underneath as a guide. Then the process of spreading the mortar and peeling off of the transparent surface…etc would start. When using the “fresco” technique for the same style, I would trace the pattern right to a permanent sandy lime surface into which I would outline it and start to mosaic.
As for modern mosaic creations, I would use the “intarsia” technique for decorating wood or stone surfaces, or I would just glue the tesserae to a permanent wooden panel or to a stone, marble or cement surface.
For my mosaics I would use a wide selection of materials comprising granite, marble, pebble, stone, and ceramic tesserae which I take from nature, precious and semi-precious stones, vitreous tiles which I myself bake, and enamel which
I import from Italy.
Finally, I would like to say that some of my works have already become part of private collections whether here in Greece or abroad.