Picking Your Pattern

Deciding upon the right design or pattern for your mosaic can be a difficult task. Too much detail and the effect can be lost in a mosaic. Too simple and you may end up with a big blob on your surface.

It can be very overwhelming if you don't know what you want at all. Below you will find some places to look for design ideas.

1. Coloring book pages are wonderful. The designs are large and open so there isn't too much detail to worry about. These are especially good for holidays designs.
2. Look around you. Dishtowels, decorative bowls, paper towel designs, etc. Most household items have simple details that would be great for a mosaic.
3. Other crafts give loads of ideas. Cross stitch patterns, quilt designs, and embroidery pieces are great because they are simple.
4. Look to nature. Find a good National Geographic magazine and look for a close up of a butterfly, frog, or whatever else they are lucky to get a shot. The closeups usually are pretty simple without too much detail.
5. If you are into symmetry, then do an image search for tessellations. This is a mathematical design that repeats itself symmetrically using slides (translations), turns (rotations), and flips (reflections). These are usually pretty simple designs but they look intricate.

THE DON'TS OF FINDING DESIGNS!!!!!

This is a very important section. Please read it fully...

1. DON'T copy the artwork of another artist. This is copyright infringement and can get you into lots of trouble. If you see a painting that you really want to copy, then ask the artist for permission first. If they say no, then forget about it.

I hope these tips will help you in choosing the pattern that you are about to use on your mosaic. It really can mean the difference between a good end and a bad end result.

Limited Lots

Many of my clients love, love, love the Limited Lots section. I love it too! I am always looking for a bargain on mosaic tiles and such. This usually means there is only one or two of whatever I find. These get lumped into the Limited Lots section.

I recently bought most of a mosaic artist's goodies. She decided she wanted to move on to another artform and approached me about her stuff. When I went to her house I was amazed. She had some much I didn't know where to start.

So I bought a huge lot of it and will probably go back for more once this first buy is resold. So what did I get???

• Tons of stained glass 1/2" squares
• Box full of an off brand of vitreous tile
• Trays of fused cabachons some of which are dichroic and others are millefiori
• Larger squares of stained glass (about 4")
• Loads of unglazed porcelain tiles
• Grout galore
• Glues and surfaces
• Bags and bags of river rock and pebbles
• Glazed ceramic squares and other shapes
• Iridescent glass (pretty sure it is Sicis)
• Some beautiful metallic glass
• A few sheets of Van Gogh glass (I put this on Ebay because I didn't know how to price it)

There is probably more that I cannot think of right now. So if you are in the area, come by the store and I will be happy to let you dig through my cool new stuff. In the meantime, I will be putting as much of this stuff in the Limited Lots section as I can each day. If there is something you want to see now, let me know. I will just add it first!

Grouting Vitreous Glass

One of the most common complaints about using vitreous/venetian glass is the grouting. Vitreous tile has some pits, striations, and speckles. This is what makes it vitreous and usually gorgeous tile. However when you spread grout on top of the vitreous tile, then the grout tends to fill the pits and striations.

I, personally, love this look. I think it makes the piece look more natural and earthy. I do admit that sometimes I don't want that. Imagine if you are using white tiles but grouting in black. The white tiles will pretty much lose their white color.

So what can you do? There are a couple of options. This first method is the easiest for me. After you get the grout cleaned off of your piece take a stiff toothbrush and go over each tile to brush out the grout. You have to do this while the grout is still very fresh. Once it has a chance to dry, you will not get it out of the pits. It seems tedious but goes quickly since it is just a light brushing.

The second option is to use a Weldbond mask on the tiles before grouting. Brush full strength Weldbond onto each tile and allow to dry. Grout as normal and then pull off the Weldbond. It should just scrape right off. You can even add a little water to pesky spots since this is water soluble glue. This method has far too many steps for me but is widely used in the mosaic community.

I am sure there are other methods that I am not aware of but these are a starting point. Using vitreous glass gives you a tremendous color palette that is a must to your mosaic work. Don't let the pits and striations steer you away from this amazing tile.

Add some texture to your piece!

Adding texture to your piece can really add the punch needed to get the oohs and aahs from people. You can add this by using a couple of techniques.

A friend of mine named Cary Huff creates some of the most unique vases that I have ever seen. In the one shown, she uses all of the techniques that I mention below.

1. Use really shiny glass tiles for the foreground image then use matte tiles for the background (or vise versa). If you prefer the vitreous glass like I do, then use Sq Palette for the foreground image and then the MatrixColor Venetian for the background. Your image will basically jump out at the viewer.


2. You could go really dramatic by using a solid crystal glass such as The AfterGlow Series for your main design and do the background with our Fantastix Iridescent tiles. Each type of tile is shiny just in different manners. You will really dazzle the viewer using this technique.


3. Adding texture can also be taken literally. There are some tiles that have texture on them such as many types of stained glass. If you like using stained glass then create your piece as normal. However mix in the same colored glass but use some that has the texture molded into it. Be careful not to overdo it in this case. The texture pieces used in the wrong place can ruin a piece. For instance, if you are doing a face then you may not want to use both texture and flat pieces for the cheeks but rather use the texture pieces for under the eyes or the lips.


4. The last way that I can think of for you to add some pep to your piece is to layer the tiles. Create your piece as you normally would. Once it is dry then glue some tiles or glass gems to the top of your tiles in various locations. After the glue sets up then grout around these addons to smooth out the transition. It creates a breathtaking piece when not overdone.

Always remember to do what is appealing to your own eye and I am sure it will look great when finished!

What can't you use to mosaic???

I get this question a lot when doing classes. People want to know what they can't use to mosaic. My answer is simple for what not to use as a base. Anything that flexes is NOT good. Imagine that your flexible flower pot is an ice tray and the tiles that you meticulously set on it are the ice cubes. Now twist the ice tray/flower pot. What do you see happening??? All of the tiles/ice cubes will just pop off. That is my only rule with bases.

So what do you not want to use as tesserae? My rule is simple again. If it is going to rot, then don't use it! I have had people use some different items as tesserae besides the usual glass, porcelain, and stone. I have seen cork, plastic beads, forks, plastic fruit, napkins, metal salt and pepper shakers, legos, and on and on and on.

My favorite site to point my students to is www.jellybelly.com. Here is the direct link to their art gallery. Here they make mosaics using jelly beans. It just shows what can be done with odd material as tesserae.

So in the end, you should always be willing to try something a little different. It doesn't have to be outlandish but every once in awhile, add something off the wall to your piece!

Project Idea #3 - Thanksgiving Day Trivet

Nothing would warm your hostess more than to receive this wonderful gift on Thanksgiving. A handmade Thanksgiving Day Trivet, will look great on the table while serving dinner.

These are easy to make. All you need are:

8" ceramic tile
carbon paper
Thanksgiving themed coloring sheet
pencil or pen
MatrixColor Venetian glass tiles
Weldbond
wheeled cutters
grouting kit (grout, gloves, paper towels, newspaper, plastic spoon, plastic bowl)

The coloring sheets can be printed off of many websites. Just make sure it is a large simple design. Some examples would be of a pumpkin, Indian corn, turkey, etc. Lay the carbon paper (carbon side down) on the top of the ceramic tile, then lay your coloring sheet on top of that. Trace the pattern onto the ceramic tile with your pen or pencil. When you finish, the carbon paper should have left the design on the top of your ceramic tile.

Now you just need to take your MatrixColor Venetian tiles and glue them onto the design in whatever fashion you want. Use your wheeled cutters to nip the tiles into smaller pieces to fit the design better. Use a dab of Weldbond on the back of each tile to adhere the glass to the ceramic.

Once you finish this, allow it to dry overnight. The next day, you can grout as usual. Be sure to seal the grout with a good grout sealant to protect against any spills that happen at the dinner table!