Granted, some of us (like yours truly the editor of this blog) haven’t graduated beyond the mosaic as a craft skill. But there are clearly real artists in this community of Mosaic Practictioners. Sandy Ozz & Elaine Goodwin are famous examples of Mosaic Artists that immediately come to mind – but there are many, many less well known mosaic artists who have produced stunning installations in public spaces, and art gallaries alike, and perhaps quietly and anonomysly in their own home studios.

So, today when I checked my Facebook page and received an invitiation from Salazar Fine Art putting out a casting call, as it were, for Emerging Artists to participate in up coming Art Fair, the first thing I wanted to do was send to invite to my friends on the mosaic users group on Yahoo, just in case any of them wanted to participate, but then I hesitated?

Would mosaic artists be considered? Would a mosaic artist make the list of potential candidates for Reality TV Shows like “Work of Art?” Is our art form so restrictive we can’t call ourselves ‘artists’ – no matter how talented we become?

I think if a sculptor can be considered an artist than so can a mosaic artist provided their work actually is a piece of art and not just a piece of craft. As it has been said in art circles, “the only thing in art that matters is that it works.”

So, can a mosaic artist make something for an “emerging artists fair,” that ‘works’ and competes with all those painters, scultpors, photographers and conceptuals artists?

I say – yes. So, if you’re local – and your work is artsy enough -why not enter this fair?

Here’s the invite details: E.A.SEL -San Diego Art (af)FAIR-September 1-7, – Seeking Emerging Artists
Location:7th Avenue
Time:9:00AM Wednesday, September 1st

Mosaic Madness.org
Editor
Heidi White

To start, first think about where you want to place your mosaic. Usually, people like to do mosaics on their walls, or near a garden maybe, basically anywhere you can display artistically shaped pieces of tile, or broken mirror that you think will look nice. Second, imagine the end product for your mosaic. Say for instance you want one near your garden, made of reflective glass, or mirror, and you want it to be shaped like the sun. This is where you begin to have fun! Next, you will want to break down your material into the shapes that will fit into your end product. If you are doing a mosaic in the shape of the sun, you will want to try to form a circle for the middle portion of your mosaic, and try to have some jagged linear type pieces to place around the edges, to represent the sun’s rays. Last, but not least, adhere your pieces to the base. You can use different adhesives to secure your pieces to the base. Part of learning about mosaics is learning which adhesive to use. Your project may simply require a basic white glue, or it may require a cement based adhesive, tile mastic or a silicon based glue. When you start to study mosaic art, most how to guides and books will tell you the type of adhesive to use. Finally, many mosiac pieces are finished with grout. Grout, fills in the gaps and ties the pieces together. Grout can be any color, and the contrast or lack of contrast between the grout and the pieces can greatly change the look of your mosaic.

Making a mosaic is a labor of love. There is nothing more satisfying than that first glimpse of what all those little pieces of tile, stone, glass, or ceramic look like, when you finally take that soft cloth to wipe away the excess grout to reveal your mosaic work of art.

As the grout sets and hardens, you may notice grout shrinkage (i.e., the grout lines are like little valleys where the grout sinks and isn’t flush with the tesserae).  This used to happen to me a lot when I mixed the grout too runny.  However, since using thick, pasty grout, I’ve experienced much less grout shrinkage.  Don’t fret!  It’s an easy fix.  Simply re grout the mosaic.  It’s a lot easier the second time, especially when using thick, pasty grout.

If you’re not crazy about the idea of going through the whole grouting process again, here’s a little trick I use at the end of my normal grouting process.  After the last wiping cycle when the grout has set for about 45 minutes, go back and carefully inspect the entire mosaic for tiny pinholes, missed areas, depressed grout lines (i.e., where the grout is no longer flush with the tesserae), and other grout imperfections.

CAUTION: Cement (i.e., grout) is mildly caustic so don’t do this process with your bare hand.  Wear a glove for protection.

Use the leftover grout if it’s still workable.  If it’s not, then mix another small batch (two tablespoons of grout powder are usually enough).  Add just a bit of water at a time so you don’t end up with grout soup (i.e., the grout should be thick and pasty, not runny).  Wearing a glove, use your index finger to scoop up a dab of grout and rub it into the imperfect area.  Fill the little pinholes that invariably occur, and the little gaps that you missed, and the little depressions that seem to form as the grout sets.  Simply fill in those imperfections with your finger, wipe off the excess grout from your finger, and then use your clean finger or a dry paper towel to carefully wipe up the excess grout without disturbing the grout line.  Voila!  The imperfections are fixed.  Don’t accept those imperfections!  Go back and fill them in.

Do not use your bare hand to do this.  After a while, the skin will wear away and you’ll bleed all over your beautiful mosaic.  Yes, you will, indeed, bleed if you spread and wipe grout long enough with your bare finger.  It happened to me!  I could see the skin wearing away on the tip of my finger, but I was stubborn, thinking I’d be done soon.  A few wipes later, the last layer of skin was gone and it bled.  Now, I always wear a rubber glove to protect my skin.  I don’t use latex medical gloves because they’re relatively expensive (about $100 for a box of 50).  Instead, I use vinyl synthetic, powder-free exam gloves.  I can get a box of 100 at Walmart for about $30.  I only need one glove at a time because I only use my right hand when spreading and wiping the grout (i.e., I don’t need to glove my left hand).  That equates to about $0.30 per mosaic, which is well worth it to avoid the pain of wearing your skin down until it bleeds!

As an example, let’s compare the mosaic artist’s choices for the color blue to the painter’s choices.  One of my favorite online mosaic tile stores offers 14 various colors of blue vitreous glass tiles; whereas, a popular online artist’s paint store offers only 13 colors of blue paint.  However, the paint store also offers 91 various shades of reds, yellows, oranges, greens, purples, pinks, browns, grays, whites, and more.  The painter can choose to blend any one of the 13 blue colors with any number of the other 91 colors.  Unlike a painter, the mosaic artist can’t blend various colors to create a new one.  So, while the mosaic artist is limited to only 14 colors of blue, the painter has an almost limitless palette.

If we, as mosaic artists, can’t mix colors to create new ones, are we stuck with what the glass manufacturers give us?  Certainly not.  This is where the artist’s imagination and creativity are tested.  Unlike the painter who mixes colors to create new ones, we blend different colors and shades by placing them next to each other to give the illusion of color change.  For example, by alternating small pieces of dark blue and light blue tesserae, the result is that our eyes interpret the pattern as medium blue when viewed from a distance.  If we view the pattern from only 12 inches, then our eyes can distinguish the pattern and we see an obvious checkerboard.  However, when viewed from 12 feet, we must focus more to distinguish the checkerboard because our eyes interpret the blend as a single color (i.e., we see medium blue instead of a bunch of small pieces of dark blue and light blue).

Color is equally as important to your mosaic’s look as andamento (i.e., the visual movement of your mosaic created by placing tesserae in specific patterns).  Artists choose colors to stir emotions or simply because they like how the colors look.  The brain is sensitive to certain color schemes, so whatever motivates your color choices, you must ensure the combination don’t irritate or bore the viewer.

Be aware of how the eyes see varying color characteristics when colors are juxtaposed.  Plan your desired look before cutting and gluing any tesserae.  Do you want contrast or do you want an intentional blended look where the colors are barely discernible?  When you determine the overall look, mood, and feel that you want your mosaic to represent, you’ll know how to achieve it by combining color with andamento.

Experiment with different hues, tones, and intensities to create texture and shading.  Browse the Internet for mosaic artists of different styles to see how they use color.  Note the feelings that each piece evokes in you, then think about how the artist’s use of color contributes to creating those feelings.

Of course it depends on the size of mosaic you want to make. But what you should keep in mind when making a mosaic and finding patterns is you must keep it simple. Too much detail becomes very hard to reproduce with pieces of tiles, unless of course you are a veteran artist!

I for one am not, and need inspiration when it comes time to reproduce images in a mosaic. One method I would like to share with you is very simple. I discovered that it is very easy to find the perfect image in children’s coloring books. Most of these pictures are detailed enough to see its representation yet simple enough to easily reproduce in a mosaic
.

Now how do you transfer these images to tiles?

Just follow this method to transform your images to patterns.

1. Once you have found that perfect image, outline the image lines with a large felt pen, these lines will represent your grout lines. If you want larger grout lines use a larger marker.

2. When you finished outlining the image, number each section and photocopy the image, you will need this photocopy later.

3. Then cut out all the pieces making sure to leave out the felt line. One piece of cut out paper represents one piece of tile. So here make as many or as few as you want, it is up to you.

4. Transfer the cut out piece onto a piece of ceramic or whatever material you are using.

5. Now gently cut each piece using your tile nippers.

6. Smooth out the edges with a rough sanding paper or a table top grinder.

7. Now using a fiberglass mesh with your photocopied image underneath, glue each piece of tile onto the mesh. Use a parchment style paper here between your photocopied image and your fiberglass mesh, otherwise your pieces will stick to the paper.

8. Once all your pieces are glued onto the mesh, your mosaic is ready to install!

This method has always given me excellent results, given your image is not too big. If you want your mosaic to be larger than 12 by 12 inches you can use this method but separate it into quadrants, it is easier this way when it comes time to transfer your mosaic to it permanent location.

The method using a fiberglass mesh is called the double direct method; however you can also use the indirect method for this. These methods and more are a topic by itself and will be covered in another article.

First, depending on your mosaic medium, you will need to purchase the appropriate adhesive. If necessary, for pieces of metal or ceramic mediums, wash and dry before sculpting your mosaic. Find a surface or you can create a surface with plywood for your mosaic table. Create your design whether an image within an image or snail configuration or mix and match your pieces to cover the surface evenly. One of the best parts about art of creating a beautiful mosaic is how forgiving they are.

Next, fasten your pieces to the surface in whatever designs you choose leaving small gaps between them. Allow time to dry completely. For suitable mediums apply grout to fill in the gaps and even the tone of the surface. For other mediums such as paper, pictures and fabrics you may want to paint the surface before gluing the pieces to give it a solid and flat background from which your designs will stand out.

The unabashed beauty of mosaics is aesthetic eye-candy and the bolder the better when creating your mosaic masterpiece. The creative imagery and design of your mosaic table will be an automatic conversation piece. Mosaic tables have such classic beauty that never goes out of style.

Second, it’s also a good idea, to wear long sleeves, not just shirt wise, but pant wise as well. If you are making your own materials, for instance breaking your own glass or tile (which may not be a such good idea in the first place), wear long sleeves, so that if while you are in the process of making your materials, there is no possiblity of shrapnel, or debris cutting you in anywhere, or in any way. Also, if you decide to break your own glass or tile, it’s a good idea to wear safety glasses, at least while you are breaking stuff, so that you do not have anything get into your eyes. Last, be sure to place your mosaic or mosaic materials, in a place where no one can hurt themselves by stepping on them. Let’s just say that it’s not exactly fun to step on broken glass.

The Romans became interested in mosaic art during the 5th century. Mosaic art began to appear in the city of Ravenna and became known as the “Capital of mosaics”. The Byzantine Empire developed new ways of using mosaics. “Smalti,” which are pieces of glass began to be used. Walls, ceilings, and floors were decorated in mosacis. During the 12th and 13th centuries, artists were creating religious pieces of art in Rome.

Even during the Middle Ages, mosaic art was being used in creating beautiful scenes inside churches, the best which can be seen in Venice and Sicily. Jerusalem’s many synagogues were decorated with mosaics.

From one civilization to another, mosaic art changed from the pieces used to the purpose it performed. For example, in some places mosaics served to protect walls and floors from wind and water. Mosaics began from clay stones to colored rocks to smalti. Today mosaics are made from a variety of materials and the imaginations of the artist.

For the beginner working with mosaics you may choose a simple pattern that you find in a craft book or even on stained glass windows. The easiest piece to start with would be a simple round side table that you currently own or can pick up at a bargain outlet store or even a garage sale. You can purchase bags of mosaic stones in various colors and sizes at the local craft store which are great for beginners. Trace your idea on a piece of paper or cardboard cut to fit the size of the table so you can practice how the pieces will fit and look on the table. Apply the mastic to the tabletop and position your pieces, making sure the top of all the pieces are flat. Once the mastic is dry you can apply the grout in between the pieces. Grout can either be white or coordinate to the colors of your mosaic. Once dry you must apply a grout sealer to keep the furniture beautiful and for longer wear in outside weather.

Once you have practiced the art of mosaics you can begin to tackle bigger pieces of patio furniture such as lamps, large dining tables and even long benches and stools.