PARSONS AAS INTERIOR DESIGN - The New School

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ID cONTEMPORARy ThEORy
WIth the moVe aWay from the throWaWay
economy, PeoPle must reDuce,
reuse anD recycle.
were used to create the Fayam mummy
portraits. Encaustic painting was also
used widely in the Samar region of the
Phillipines from the 1600s with other
techniques to create art. With encaustics,
pigments are mixed with beeswax
and applied to a prepared wooden
surface in the traditional method, or
in more modern applications: canvas.
Metal tools are then used to manipulate
the wax on a surface as it cools, or
heated metal tools can be used once the
wax has cooled. Because wax is malleable
with heat, the mixture can be further
manipulated not just for it’s color
and the pigment in the mixture, but for
its shape or texture. Additional objects
and materials can be applied to make a
collage. For instance, Ms. Batteau has
layered encaustics with gold leaf, mica
powder and marble dust to create the
panels she installed in the Chanel Flagship
Jewelry stores throughout Europe
and Asia.
Callidus Guild also uses their finishing
techniques in new combination of
materials, like shagreen (sting ray skin),
with plaster to create unique custom
work when called upon. Recently, the
Guild has developed a series of wallcoverings
which were available for a short
time through Stark at the D+D Building.
There are now 5 patterns available
in custom colors, made on a unique
commission basis. From her website,
“Ribbon is a soft, undulating horizontal
polished plaster, Boucle’s texture
is reminiscent of Coco’s distinctive
fabric, The Plains reflects an abstracted
Giverny painting, Daub is a matte
lustrous plaster with the quality of a
sparkling watery surface and Seeded is
a smooth plaster delicately overlaid with
tiny flecks of interest”.
Callidus Guild takes the route of artisans
through the ages, by hand mixing
their paints to create the exact colors
and consistencies they need. Historically,
paints have traditionally been made
by combining a pigment for color, such
as mica, silica or talc with a binder of
linseed oil, starch or caseen (a milk protein).
Then add a filler such as ground
rocks, or clay for bulk, and a solvent like
water, turpentine or citrus oil to help
the paint mixture dry. The end result is
a stunning, luminous dreamy landscape
for wall surfaces.
Another studio specializing in site specific
design is Moss and Lam, a custom
design studio that creates sculptural
and painted feature walls using paint,
plaster, ceramics, glass and textiles as
materials. Plaster is a natural material
that is very sensitive to the touch of the
hand. It is versatile and can be cast, or
poured into a mold and dried for shape;
modeled into sculpture by hand; incised
or cut into; colored with paint or pigment
while wet; stenciled and stamped
with shapes. Decoration in plaster can
be done at the very small scale, for a
piece of jewelry, or for a large scale
area to cover a ceiling--as was done for