Syria was known for centuries for its skilled artists, who created works of art with appealing details using a variety of materials such as metal, wood, glass, and ceramics. Hasan Matroud was one of those artists, acquiring initial knowledge and experience in this field from his friends while working with them in the manufacture of many designs and paintings until he fully learned this craft, after which he developed his craft skills through courses and using the Internet to learn new creative methods in this field until he was able to open his own project, which is based on the idea of manufacturing paintings with aesthetic design, most notably mosaics, using distinctive and new materials on the market at reasonable prices.
"Artifex" is a Latin term that means "artisan" or "artist" and is made up of the words "ars" (meaning art or skill) and "facere" (meaning to make or do). In ancient Rome, the term referred to the skilled workers who created masterpieces such as pottery, mosaics, and sculptures. Syria had a large number of these craftsmen at that time, and their creations were in high demand in markets around the world, so Hasan chose this name with its deep meaning to represent these craftsmen.
The Artifex project is well-known for producing custom-made mosaic panels made of various materials, such as recycled ceramics, glue, specific types of stones, and marble, as well as various types of wood to make the frame of the panels, which depends on the buyer's preference.
As for the manufacturing process, Hasan begins by designing the pattern or image that will be used in creating the mosaic. He does this either manually or through printing. Then comes the step of material selection, in which he chooses the materials that will be used to create the mosaic. The next step is to clean and dry the surface where the mosaic will be applied, which is usually made of wood. Then he applies an adhesive layer and materials that will aid in the adhesion of the tiles. After that, he begins by laying the tiles out according to the design and filling in the gaps with white cement. The last step in creating a mosaic is to clean and polish the surface, which is called the "finishing stage."
The difficulty of creating these paintings is determined by their size, the accuracy of the details to be drawn, and the materials used. Some designs necessitate long working hours, if not days of work and effort, to be produced at the highest quality. An item typically takes about five days to complete.
Mosaic: A Magnificent Art Crafted by Skilled Hands