A collation of further research into the process and making and application of Tadelakt. From research this is the most useful information I’ve come across for a complete beginner, I feel I just need the basics and can experiment with the quantities and ratios after my first attempts.
The products I’ve found online that seem most promising for making Tadelakt in England
As the hydrated lime I did get a little confused by what lime products and such are needed for the process and was close to buying two different products of the same thing but then realised that one is a kind of sticky ‘putty’ and the other a flour like dusty material the Hydrated Lime powder that is available from B&Q and mixed together they make the right stuff for the job!Apparently any type of natural soap can be used for the burnishing process – preferably ‘black olive oil’ soap so I am going to take a risk and give the Dr Organic olive oil soap a go.
And as for the precious stone, I will go into a local Precious Gem Stone shop in Falmouth and see if they have a smooth palm sized piece either Topaz or Quartz as these are the cheapest of the stone types hard enough to be used in the process.
So the originally Moroccan natural building material and process of Tadelakt is something I have recently come across while volunteering to build a house in the Beira Baixa province of Portugal. I have never heard it mentioned in England before so it feels very exciting to discover a potential new sculptural material that I don’t think many artist in the UK have explored.
“The word Tadelakt comes from the verb “dalaka”, which in Arabic means to rub, to caress, to massage or to flatten. In addition, Tadelakt is the Berber pronunciation of the name Dalk”
So Tadelakt is water proof, natural and can be moulded and shaped around anything and in any shape which just instantly makes me think of how much of an amazing potential this material could have for sculptures, rather than using say metal or concrete or something that won’t decompose plus it can be an outdoor sculpture because it won’t get destroyed in the rain or wind or snow. Also if it does get damaged it could be interesting to sea the change in the colour and weathering it faces especially in a wet place like England opposed to Morocco where it originated!
Photo taken by Carlos Barrero – looks quite Gaudi esk!
Often used in bathrooms because it is water proof. Made from natural hydraulic lime, quartz and marble. Tadelakt is naturally white in color and can be pigmented to varying intensities using natural colour earth pigments creating spectacular intense patinas . Like the building below you can see how glass bottles have been incorporated in the walls made from cob plus other materials like wood have been merged into the walls and building – I could easily do this with sculptures that incorporate other organic matte or waste materials in them, could even hold candles or be used and designed as fire pits or wash bowls.
From what I could find on a quick google search for artists using Tadelakt the below forms were the old art like sculptures that I found! All otherwise were examples of how the material has been used practically with bathrooms and in interior design which suggests that it would be quite an individual material to use for sculpture and art works, plus I believe it is probably easy to paint on.
Things I could make from Tadelakt:
Bowls, plates, cups, mugs, spoons (done around cheap wooden spoons) washing up bowls, extravagant arty bowls and vessels sinks, baths, general interior general organic blobby arty sculptures that incorporate glass and wood etc. anything I find candle holders, extravagant large candle holders
furniture like tables and chairs just by building around existing cheap second hand/found furniture stuff with interesting organic additional shapes or whatever – just be experimental with it!
Organic and interesting shaped plinths for art galleriesand artists like those in the image above
Notes: The natural colour of tadelakt is white and looks quite rustic You will need natural colour pigments to die the tadelakt mixture which could be found in local clay quarries and I could make my own natural pigments from beetroot or paprika, clay, seaweed etc. It is a long process so cost a lot of time and effort which means can be sold at high price I could collect and use clay and mud for the first under layers of cob from local quarries – could be serious part of context and process linking it to Cornwall. It is a technique that I could become a master of and run workshops in – it is something different that I haven’t heard of sculptural workshops being done in it before!
So in light of this material discovery: yesterday I was to be flying back to England next week, and today I think I might stop in Marrakech for a few days for some photographing, spice hauling and tadelakt researching!
hammer or bend metal directly around stone or wood whether its practical or not
honouring both masculine and feminine principles in objects, architecture and philosophy. It is really nice the variety of craft whether physical or metaphorical – crafting gatherings or places of gathering as well as crafting objects , being out on the land, feeling object and listening . feeling the origin of which things originate
listening to materials and honouring their intelligence like the trees and ancient metals the delicate and frail beside box and solidity, structure and certainty beside the uncertain and sacred
a few paragraphs about the building or space he has made and then list of materials – how a maker and architect does it with enchanting descriptions that believe in themselves
“teaching joinery skills through the making of the space” “reclaimed wood”
– sharing knowledge and doing so onsite not in the class room or office or through technology, unearthing handheld knowledge from within about wood and creations – reusing and finding and allowing for the shape and nature of the materials and found wood to determine the texture and sense of the finished growing space not being too precious with perfect conditioned wood or shapes – simplicity, boxiness and plywood doesn’t hinder the finished space
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