Mosaics have been around since before Roman times, though the possibilities of using this traditional style in your home are opening up and becoming very popular. When you stop and think of the possibilities of creating something truly unique from very little, it isn't surprising that people are enthused. After walking around the Guell Park in Barcelona and seeing Mosaic used in Gaudi's designs of seating and ornament, the concept becomes easier to understand, and to adapt to your home.
Most people associate mosaic with the use of broken tiles, though what Gaudi did was demonstrate how ceramics of any nature could be used to create color, design and originality. In your home surroundings, this is very simple to do and can be applied to small projects such as table tops, lamp bases, mirror surrounds, etc., or be as ambitious as the wall of a bathroom or shower stall.
In order to start making a design, the project needs to be decided on, since this allows you to take all the necessary measurements and to gather the materials needed. Knowing where traditional tiling stops and the mosaic begins is an ideal situation in the bathroom environment. Similarly with small projects, knowing your measurements allows you to make your design to fit that space afforded. In this article, we demonstrate the principle. This can be applied to any project that you please, though starting small helps you get accustomed to the process and to improve, ready for those gigantic projects. Tools needed are:
*Old dishes in various colors to match in with the scheme you choose.
*Towel.
*Plastic sheeting to protect your work surface.
*Gloves.
*Safety glasses.
*Small mallet.
*Pincers for work with ceramics.
*Tile adhesive,
*Grout.
*Paper, measuring tools, pencil.
It always helps to work to a design. If you can take the size of mosaic you wish to create and put the design onto paper, this makes the process easier. For example, for a plant pot, take the paper around the outside of the pot, and cut this so it is the same size as that pot. This allows you to break up the different areas to be worked, so that you design has perspective. Similarly, on a small picture or mirror frame, always have a paper patter, and transfer this onto the working surface of the object with carbon paper.
When the design is drawn out, remember that to a certain degree you will lose some of the lines while working as these become obscured by adhesive, though these are the lines which will help you to shape and cut your pieces of ceramic to the shapes you require. Remember that with mosaic, there is no need for perfect regularity. Place your ceramic dishes one by one into a towel and wrap it to protect yourself from debris. Hit this gently with the mallet and take a look to see if the pieces are of approximately the right kind of size. Place this color into a small tub or saucer and work on the next dish, until you have all the required colors to make up the mosaic. Wearing of safety glasses and use of gloves is a choice, though if you working with broken ceramics may be wise to protect the eyes and the hands from cuts.
Placing the pieces of the puzzle together.
Take pieces and put them into the different areas of your design. You may have to try several to get the right shapes which finish at the lines drawn on your design. If working on any surface which is not flat, use the paper drawing for your pieces, and place the pieces onto the drawing to ensure the best placement. It is time consuming but worthwhile working on rather than rushing. At this stage there is no gluing since this would obscure the very lines you are depending upon.
When you have worked a whole section of the design, you can start to paste this onto your project if you wish to work perhaps one piece of the mosaic at a time. Remember when gluing that you should let as little glue residue stay on the surface of the work, as this will make extra work at the end of the project. When pieces are glued, but before the glue is dry, run your hand over the surface to check for even laying of the pieces. When you are happy that the pieces are laid sufficiently flat, leave these to dry.
If you need to snip any of the pieces to fit correctly you can use the pincers, as these are wonderful at snipping tiny unwanted pieces from your broken ceramic material. Here, do wear eye protection, since pieces tend to fly during this process.
The grouting should never be performed until the while work is finished and dried. Grout should be mixed to a creamy consistency and then wiped over the surface using a sponge, rather than having anything abrasive working over the ceramic surface which may damage it. Here, ensure that the grout fills all the spaces between the ceramic, and that all broken edges are well covered to obscure any irregularity.
When the grout is semi hard, start to wipe across the surface with a damp cloth. You will have to do this several times, though the final clean while wet, pay attention to the joins and ensure that the grout is smoothly laid. When this dries, take a really nice soft buffing cloth to take off the residue of the grouting and give you a great finish. Use grout sealer on the whole project once this has been through all of the preceding stages.
The kind of projects which are suited to this kind of work around your home are plant holders, saucers for plants, little ornaments, mirrors, picture frames and the accents which add wonderful color to your home. Lately new ranges of mosaic ready made are available in shops for the base of a shower unit, or simply for use on splash-backs, and these take all the work out of the equation except the placement and grouting. They are rather good and give a great professional finish, since all the edges have been professionally cut.
Mosaic areas can be created on a plain tiled will by using pencil tiling as an outline to a set picture size, working the mosaic within this set frame. It really can look stunning. Keeping old traditions alive means that in the future, people will remember and adapt, just as you have, the ideas and styles of yesteryear, incorporating the colors and textures, grouts and finishes to today.