Mastering Mosaic Art: Techniques, Tools, and Materials for Stunning Creations

1. Mosaic Design Your mosaic studio…….

3. Glass Tesserae • Byzantine (5th-6th) Centuries AD • non-porus • frost proof • stain resistant • Durable • Great for functional areas (bathrooms, kitchens, swimming pools) • Large color range, silver and gold • Multi-colored/veins • Easy to cut

5. Smalti • Roman Era • Still handmade in Italy today • Opaque glass, not shiny or transparent • Chunky and rectangular • Small air holes • Hard to grout

7. Basic Tools…

8. Nippers Tool designed for cutting tiles. (Thin tiles) Range in price.

9. $15 - $30

10. Basic Nipper

11. Wheeled Nipper

12. Chipper Nipper

13. Duo Plier Scorer

14. Precision Nipper

15. Professional Nipper

16. Hammer and Hardie – • Tools used for breaking large tesserae. Plates, china, thick tiles

17. Hammer and Hardie

19. Grout spreaders and scrapers

21. Containers – for storage of tiles, mastic and grout

23. Safety Equipment Goggles Rubber gloves Masks

24. Gloves

25. Safety Glasses/Masks

27. Mosaic Adhesives • 1. Cement based mortar – • Traditional mosaic adhesive • Made by mixing powdered cement and water • Sanded and non-sanded • Textures vary depending on sand • For outdoor mosaics be sure to use waterproof and frost proof

28. Acrylic Based Adhesive • 2. Acrylic based adhesive – • Often used for interior mosaics • Very strong and can be used to adhere heavy tesserae to slippery vertical surfaces. • Can be water resistant and non-water resistant

29. Epoxy Resins • 3. Epoxy Resins – • Two part adhesive • Consisting of a resin and a hardener • Must mix it together right before you use it • Use a small amount at a time • Very strong, the only adhesive that will permanently adhere tiles to metal. • Usually used for exterior mosaics • Not water soluble, very messy, expensive, toxic.

31. Grout • Pressed into the gaps between tesserae • Aesthetic – grout unifies the design • Function – Strengthens the mosaic • Consists of sand and water, like cement • Can be fine or course (sanded or non-sanded) • Can be pre-mixed or mix yourself • Various colors • You can make your own colors using acrylic paint

36. Pre-Mixed Grout

37. Non-sanded grout

38. Grout tools

39. Sealer Protects the final piece.

40. Steps in creating a mosaic……

41. Step1. Scoresurface -Will benefit adhesion on surfaces. Especially wood. (Do not score breakable surfaces such as glass, metal, terracotta etc.) • Use a sharp knife or tool to create a “tooth”

42. Step 2. Seal/Prime Surface – • Porous wood will suck mortar/mastic up. • Seal with acrylic/latex paint. • Do not have to seal non-porous surfaces such as glass.

43. Step 3. Prepare tesserae and layout the design-Creating the mosaic…… - Shapes, colors, patterns, set up and lay out design. -Some artists like to wing it.

44. Step 4. Cementing, gluing tesserae – Method 1 - Place a blob of mortar on the back of each piece of tesserae. - Use Popsicle stick or Q-tip - Place it piece by piece on design - Mortar does Not dry clear so be neat!

46. Method 2 • Cover surface with mortar • Press tesserae in mortar • Have to work very quickly • Use this method with pebbles • Do not have to use grout

47. Grout • Step 5 - Grout • Technique used to fill the gaps between tesserae. • Mix grout, decide on color and texture • Smear on surface • Allow 10 min to curate • Wipe and scrape off using cloth, q-tips, credit cards, cd’s etc. • Step 6 - Seal

48. Grouts……YouTube how to grout • Part 1 • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_xmlE6P9Ug • Part 2 • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8DcqR-kGsc

50. Step 6 - Seal