Guest Blog: Maggy Howarth
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For over four decades, Maggy Howarth studios has pioneered techniques in the art form of pebble mosaic, producing stunning pieces for private gardens and public realm around the world. Their artists are meticulous in the selection of the very best materials and committed to the slow, hand-crafted process required to create unique artworks build to stand the test of time.
From striking geometric patterns to intricate naturalistic themed designs, Creative Director, George Howarth, collaborates with landscape architects and garden designers to design mosaics that work in harmony with the environment and integrate what are often deeply personal motifs for a client.
Bonnington House
One of the studio’s iconic commissions can be found in a beautiful walled garden at Bonnington House (Edinburgh, UK). The estate is over 100 acres including formal gardens, woodlands and a sculpture park featuring work by artists Nathan Coley, Charles Jencks, Anthony Gormley and Andy Goldsworthy.
The design brief reflected the client’s keen interest in symbolism and led to an exploration of the classical elements of earth, air, fire, water. In addition, the design needed to incorporate some ancestral motifs in the form of human figures, animals and family crest. Finally, the pebble and slate work needed to work in harmony with the colour pallet of the surrounding walls, the planned colonnade of pleached hornbeam and a beautiful Moroccan antique fountain at the centre of the mosaic.
Meticulous carved slate work and the need to create many individual porcelain features made this commission a true technical challenge for the studio’s collective of pebble mosaic artists.
The Craft
Unlike traditional mosaic techniques, artists work upside down and therefore somewhat blind, placing pebbles face down into sand so that their final appearance is only revealed once the mosaic section has been cast and turned out. The craft takes incredible patience and years to master.
Artists must search for the perfect shape and size of pebble to fulfil the design pattern which means that, even working with long standing pebble suppliers, the studio reject approximately 80% of the pebbles they receive.
As each pebble is placed, artists surround it with sand to a depth of 8mm using a thin brush. This is what creates the rebate within the perfectly flat surface that can be safely walked across.
There are some things you just can’t do with pebbles. The artists work with Burlington slate strips and flat slabs of stone which are then cut, cracked and carved before placing alongside the pebble work.
When ready, specialised grout is poured before a final layer of concrete creating an incredibly durable finish fit to last in the ground for centuries. Once set, the moulds are removed, the jigsaw-like sections turned over and the sand brushed away to reveal the final result.
The Maggy Howarth installation team can work alongside site contractors or complete the installation entirely themselves.
From pathways and courtyards to patios, fountains and swimming pools, the Maggy Howarth team love the challenge of designing for a wide spectrum of spaces. Creating something unique for each client that they feel a strong personal connection to keeps the team pushing the boundaries of the art form. As their founder, Maggy Howarth said “We create the mosaics that no-one else could”