Day Eight

I am trying to understand the essence of art nouveau - what makes art nouveau different and recognizable. I picked up Owen Jones' The Grammar of Ornament to see if it has art nouveau and discovered it was compiled mid-nineteenth century, too early for a.n. However, many figures and motifs in the designs - asian, moorish, medieval, celtic and all -  have a distinct influence on the a.n. designs - in the colors, the individual figures, and the use of space. What makes art nouveau art nouveau I realize is: 1. incremental sizes: a motif or figure is not always repeated precisely in the same proportions; 2. incremental spacings: the gaps between design elements increases and decreases; 3. segments "off the grid" - diagonals and curves enliven the surface; and 4. regular and irregular variations: a repeated shape in a cluster might be overlapped here, separated out and slightly bigger or differently colored there et cetera. Art Nouveau designs, because of these techniques integrated into  more strict geometrical use of space (opus quadratum) create a sense of life and motion. This week when I will be starting to plan the tile lines and placement, I will keep these principles in mind. My stems will be laid opus vermiculatum. I will also make sure that my spaces left for grouting will be planned carefully for movement, line and color.
This afternoon I will seal the grouting from the main walls of the room with grout sealer - a runny clear liquid that absorbs into the grout and protect it from deterioration.