Classic Mosaic: Designs & Projects Inspired by 6,000 Years of Mosaic Art by Elaine M. Goodwin
- Pam Givens
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
Why I Picked It Up
Long before I began thinking about transitions and differentiation in psychological terms, I was surrounded by tesserae, slate, stone, and glass.
Mosaic has always been more than a medium for me; it has been a way of understanding time.
This book appealed to that part of me, the part that sees mosaic not simply as technique, but as lineage.
What Stayed With Me
What I appreciate most about Goodwin’s work is the sense of continuity. The reminder that mosaic is not a trend, not a hobby, not a fleeting aesthetic moment, but a form that has persisted for thousands of years.
There’s something grounding in that.
To place one small piece beside another and realize you are participating in a conversation that began long before you and will continue long after you.
The designs are beautiful. The projects are clear. But underneath the instruction is something steadier, a respect for history.
Where It Meets My Work
Much of what I write about here revolves around time, the neutral zone, the loosening, the shifts in authority that come with age.
Mosaic holds that same sensibility.
It requires patience. It tolerates fragmentation. It trusts that something coherent will emerge from pieces that don’t yet make sense.
In that way, the art form mirrors the psychological work.
We don’t rush the placement.
We don’t force the pattern.
We sit with the fragments until they begin to speak to each other.
A Quiet Takeaway
There is comfort in participating in something enduring.
For those of us navigating change, aging, or creative doubt, it helps to remember that mosaic, like the human process, has always been built piece by piece.
And that slow assembly is not weakness.
It is tradition.
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