A fellow Tadelakt lover recently wrote to me with some of her experiences during a visit to Marrakesh,where she participated in real world application of true Moroccan Tadelakt….here is an excerpt from that email.
“What I really loved about Marrakech is that Tadelakt is everywhere in the red city, indeed I would say it is the red city because of the Tadelakt and all the beautiful pigment you can mix into it. In some of the very old palaces (Bahia and others) you can still see Tadelakt on the walkways and in the pools hundreds of years after, so it clearly withstood the test of time. Maalem Majid said that they add marble powder to the mix for the swimming pools. He even worked on the villa for Yves Saint Laurent who also owned the Majorelle Garden right next to it with all the walk and waterways made from Tadelakt. He was very humble and taught us a lot, you could tell he himself works mainly by knowing and feeling the material and he had a lot of patience (a thing that I lack) but he could also be really fast when needed without stressing (which would happen to me). When working on a wall you really have to do the whole thing at once, starting from the bottom up and once you are done with the whole thing it is time for the next step, no time to kill with mint tea and Moroccan delights there. But since I was able to do it in 45 degrees heat in Marrakech I hope I can do it in the Okanagan (Indian) summer”
Nicole is planning a Tadelakt workshop in the very near future on her home in Western Canada’s BC interior , I plan to attend and help her put this together,no times or dates as of yet …interested?? just let me know here.
Here are some shots of Tadelakt from the “Red City” of Marrakech
Hi
I am an architect of Hammams and turkish baths and we have been working a lot with morroccan tadelakt lime. We had some good experience and a lot of miseries.
And here is why:
Before starting to handle the famous tadelakt, you should be asking the following questions to yourself (a morroccan master has the answers but he will not answer them):
- Why would a morroccan master teach the ancestral secrets of his bread-winning work to anyone, for a few dhirams ($) ?
- The Tadelakt has been rediscovered by designers over 15 years now. Why has it not been widely mastered and installed since then ?
- You can follow a tadelakt workshop in Morrocco during some days or weeks. There, it works great! and you will achieve some beautiful results. Why is it not working anymore when you come home ?
- Many professionals had the intentions to market their new tadelakt knowledge in their countries. Many have started, very few succeded, and a lot went bankrupt or turned over to other classical finishes. Is there some kind of secret they did not know about, or is there some malediction on this material ?
- Why is it so aleatory to achieve a good result ?
You can get most answers at this page: http://www.perfectino.be/Perfectino_Tadelakt_en.php
Thank you for the Perfectino link,and also for replying! Please I would love to see some of your personal designs incorporating Tadelakt I would love to see them posted here on this western blog to share with others interested in Tadelakt lime. Up until 2 years ago I had no knowledge of the method of Tadelakt…yet have extensive experience with hydraulic lime and understood the use of soap with plasters from my time working in the United Kingdom, I believe eventually I will be successful in bringing Tadelakt to every architect and designer in western Canada, With people like you sharing your experiences with us in the western hemisphere…I may just be successful in spreading the word! please mail to: steve@authentic-plaster-fx.net and I will insert any photos you send in your own comments here.