Every time New Ravenna releases new mosaics, we become even greater fans. This month, it’s Femme & Function, a collection of handcrafted mosaics created in celebration of the innovation and artistry of women throughout history. The artistry involved in creating designs as fluid as these is astounding and our hats are off to the craftspeople, artisans, and designers who bring the company’s mosaics to life, these newest patterns included.
New Ravenna Introduces New Mosaics
The 20 designs in stone and glazed basalto were inspired by the legacy of women pioneers in functional art, focusing on five disciplines: quilting, pottery, embroidery, weaving, and textiles. New mosaics in the Femme & Function collection can be customized in size and color to suit the designer’s preferences. They can be installed on walls and floors, and indoors and out. New Ravenna mosaics are available at New Ravenna showrooms throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe.
Inspirations span time periods and geography, from ancient Japanese Shibori hand-dying techniques, to the use of geometry and subtle palettes by indigenous potters; from the traditional quilting patterns passed down through generations of unknown homemakers, to the natural motifs and painted textile work of the British arts and crafts movement. Textured materials such as tumbled stones and metallic glazed basalto are sprinkled in with a dimensional palette to capture the essence and interplay of woven goods and embroidery. These designs honor the creative mavens who often worked in obscurity, perfecting humble crafts and transforming traditions.
Cean Irminger, New Ravenna creative director, says of the new mosaics collection, “The genius of generations of unnamed women can be seen in the innovation of styles of fabrication and of intricate decoration, adding their own artistry and personality to these useful goods. Still, because of their innate functionality, these pieces were considered craft, not art. The tides began to change in the 60s and70s when the hard work of the feminist art movement, craft historians, and archivists focused the world’s attention on these objects and their unsung masters. Finally, these women and their works were elevated to the status of art, much like painting and sculpture.”
Cean goes on to say, “Our personal story intersects with this collection on several fronts. We are creators of decorative, functional goods. We are female founded and the vast majority of our staff is female. In addition, almost all of our in-house designs were created by women over our 30-year history. As a discipline, modern mosaics often fall into the category of craft rather than fine art, even though the processes and skills needed take decades to master. Like all of the functional art objects that inspire us, our mosaics are handmade and tell a unique story of the skill set and voice of the artist who created it.”
Honoring Traditions
After being a New York City-based company for a number of years, Adroyt’s EIC Saxon Henry moved back to the southeast U.S. where she grew up several years ago. Both of her grandmothers quilted, which has long been a storied tradition in the South. She doesn’t remember anyone in her family in past generations who didn’t leave quilts and textiles to future generations. The women who made them are among the “creative mavens who often worked in obscurity, perfecting humble crafts and transforming traditions,” and we are thrilled to salute a company that is honoring them with these new mosaics.