Grout Joints

A grout joint is that space between the tiles where the grout will fill. There are some mosaics that are so well done that you don't even see the grout joints. Then there are mosaics that are so well done that you do see all of the grout joints. Wait...does that make sense???



A typical mosaic art piece is created so that the grout will only smooth over the entire piece but has only a small part in the final look of the piece. For instance, a landscape done is gorgeous greens and blues sweeping across the substrate will have minimal grout joints so that your eyes only focus on the overall picture not the individual tiles.



So why not let your grout joints work for your piece? In the mosaic shown, you can see there are some deliberate grout joints and it adds an essential style to the mosaic. When looking at this rainbow piece, you see all of the circles are emphasized with the black grout.


This was originally drawn out as many circles and lines. I filled in the spaces but made sure to keep with the flow of the circles. I filled the outer small circles with a solid color of vitreous tile to add an added accent but it is still the grout joints that bring the focus of the piece.


You will have to draw out your design ahead of time. That is the only way to make this technique work. Try experimenting with different drawings. I saw a mosaic once that had words done in the grout joints. Close up you couldn't tell but when you backed away you saw the name of the mosaic piece in the grout. It was very cool!

Art Tile Collection/MatrixColor

Well you may have noticed that the names have changed for the MatrixColor tiles. We have a new shipment coming in with new colors. We thought it would be appropriate to change the name at the same time.

Our new Art Tile Collection will consist of 53 colors that includes a gorgeous crimson, olive green, and a rich dark brown. The MatrixColor Q Tiles have also changed. We are adding 4 new colors to this line as well. We will get photos posted as soon as the shipment arrives in our warehouse.

You will also see that we are adding a new line of metallic glass that we are importing ourselves called Brushstrokes. This will have 10 popular colors for you to choose. The best thing is that we can keep the price down.

The shipment is due into the US Monday so we should have the new goodies about a week later if customs is nice to us. We will send out an email notice letting you know.

As many of you have seen, we are still clearing out some items. Keep looking in our Limited Lots section for new items being added.

Installed Mosaic Logo

I just realized that I never posted about the installation of the mosaic logo that I had worked on for a few weeks back in October. After finishing the tiling onto mesh, I delivered it in pieces. It looked great uninstalled. Here is a picture of it before it was cut up and installed.

The company was having carpet put all around the mosaic so they had their carpet guy install the logo. He did a great job installing but chose to grout it in white grout. It ruined the piece! Here is the picture of it installed.

This shows how white grout can completely fracture the piece. Since the background was made using a dark cobalt blue tile the white grout really stands out. It doesn't look as bad on the center where a pale blue was used.

I would have recommended a medium gray to be used but was not consulted unfortunately. So I instead sent the owner a link to a grout stain product that I don't think he ever used.

Project Idea #5 - Mosaic Windows

If you have ever gone to a flea market then you probably have seen old windows for sale. These are the ones that are rectangle shaped with the four sections of glass, paint peeling on the wood but very sturdy. If you can get it cheap, I suggest buying one or two. Just make sure the glass is still in one piece.

You can clean up the paint by scraping it off and repainting. I have seen many clients that leave the peeling paint the way it is to add character to the piece.

After you get the wood cleaned up, you can just mosaic directly onto the glass. Use a mixture of opaques and translucents to give a wonderful overall effect when the light shines through. You can use stained glass or glass tiles or both. Weldbond is a great adhesive to use since it dries clear. Once you get all of your glass on then grout it the next day. Be sure to tape off your wood before grouting though.

Once you have it completely finished you will need to add a hanger to it. I suggest screwing in round hooks on the top corners and attaching a chain. The window can now just hang from the chain. Screw in a hook in your existing window and hang your new window so the light can illuminate your piece.

Grout Study

Even though we have this formula that we use for choosing your grout color, sometimes it isn't that easy. I have a piece that I am getting ready to grout today. I have contemplated the grout color for 3 days. It consists of metallic glass tiles of Henna and Painted Desert. Henna is a very dark brown with varying colors of black to medium brown. Painted Desert is an orangy rust color.

My first thought was black. Black grout doesn't actually dry black (more of a dark charcoal gray) so that really won't work with my brown based tiles. Then I thought a dark brown. Dark brown is a very difficult color to achieve though. My last thought is a mixture of black and mocha grout. Any one of these three might look good.

Now that I have basically three options for grout, I am going to perform a grout study. I glued sets of tiles onto a board. I used more Henna than Painted Desert so I laid them out as Henna.Painted Desert.Henna. I will mix the black, then brown, then the combo grouts and put one between each set of glued tiles. After the grout dries I should be able to see which grout color will look the best with my tile colors.

You can do this with any project that you make. Save some of those scrap tiles and glue one of each color used to a board. Do this several times so you can test several colors at once. By doing a grout study, you may save your mosaic from ruin by using the wrong color of grout.

Mosaic a Different Shape

Now that Wedi board is readily available, take a leap and mosaic something wild. If your normal substrate is a square, cut out a circle instead. If you normally use a circle then cut out a wavy rectangle. The shape of your substrate can completely change the look of your finished piece. The piece shown is done on Wedi.

Once I found Wedi I realized that I could cut out circles very easily. To get a large circle, tie a string that is the length of your radius (distance from the center of the circle to the outer edge) to a thumbtack and then tie the other end to a pen, marker, or pencil. Stick the tack in the center of your board and drag the pen around to form a circle. This is the same process as using a compass but allows you to draw a large circle.

After you get your circle drawn on the Wedi then take your utility knife and cut it out. There will be rough edges unless you are perfect at cutting. If so, just scrape them off to even out the edge.

If you want to do a wavy rectangle just draw your pattern before cutting it out. You have the freedom to make it look like whatever your fancy is at the time. As I always say...try something different whether it be a new tesserae or a new substrate or even just a new shape!

Wedi Board

As you probably know, we are carrying Wedi board again. This is my all time favorite substrate to use. It is the easiest to use. If you have never used it before then read my Wedi review below.

Wediboard is a lightweight substrate that you can literally cut with a utility knife. It has a styrofoam center covered in a layer of mesh and then a layer of cement. Even though it is so lightweight, it will hold a lot of weight. This includes the weight of glass mosaic tiles! My favorite thing to mosaic is a round shape. This is very difficult to achieve with a wood base. But with Wedi, I can cut whatever size circle I want with my utility knife. I don't have to ask my hubby to cut my surfaces anymore!

Wedi board comes in two thicknesses, 1/2" and 1/4". While the 1/4" is perfect for some projects, I think hanging 1/2" is so much easier. This is because I found this cool hanging nail thingy at Lowe's that makes it a snap. All you do is hammer the sharp end into the wall where you want your finished piece to hang. Then take your mosaic and press it onto the blunt end of the nail thingy. That is it! I have a piece in my showroom that is about 2 1/2 feet in diameter that is hanging this way with no problems. As long as you get the right size, it won't poke through to your surface and pop your tiles off. Please remember that you can't do this with 1/4". It is too thin.

The other issue people have is with how to finish the edges of Wedi. When you cut it there will be exposed edges that show the blue styrofoam. I have done several things to cover it. The best way for me is to simply rub my grout along the edge. It covers the edges and keeps consistency with the grout color of the mosaic itself. I have also used the copper foil from stained glass stores and the aluminum tape from Lowes for duct work. It all works well for me I just prefer the look of the grouted edge.

I have heard people say that Wedi cannot be used outdoors. However on the Wedi website it shows that they use this stuff to create showers and such. I imagine it would be fine as long as you prep it well by covering all of your exposed edges with thinset.

There will be more to come on the subject of Wedi...