More Mosaics

I'm still thinking of Italy and Greece....  I found these photos of Hearst Castle, William Randolph Hearst's breathtaking estate in San Simeon, CA.  This place is so amazing - it sits on a hilltop right off the Pacific Coast Highway, and you can tell the inspiration was overwhelmingly ancient Greek and Roman, with a 1920's twist.  It's like a dream straight out of The Great Gatsby.  Can you imagine a cocktail party in the summer with a live 1920's orchestra on the grounds?  Swoon.  I want to live there!  

The Neptune Pool:

The Roman Pool:

These mosaics are done in 24K Gold

Amalfi

Italy - beautiful country of aesthetic treasures, where modernity is a glance away from the ancient, and both are constantly playing off of each other, in a mesmerizing pas de deux.  Southern Italy, with its glittering sun-kissed Mediterranean waters, intensely passionate and warm people, and historical riches, is where I long to be - particularly Capri and the Amalfi Coast.

I went to Capri in May 2004, after convincing my family that we HAD to go there over Venice.  I won that battle, but really we all won, because Capri is beautiful.  It greets you with its arms wide open, and embraces you in a warm sun-drenched kiss.  When you are there, colors are more brilliant, food is more flavorful, and life is filled with possibilities that start somewhere between the azure sky, deep turquoise sea and distant lazuline islands.  They all merge together in such a burst of blue that you couldn't tell where one ends and the other begins, were it not for the golden sun.

There are ancient ruins on the island that remind me of Pompeii and the amazing mosaics which are still preserved there.  I always remember this kind of intricate mosaic work when I think of the Amalfi area and its turquoise blues and greens.  This ancient craft of mosaic work, and the colors of Amalfi inspired the collection after which it is named.