To make the iris, first cut a blue (or brown or green) tile into a circle. Then cut it in half and in half again, laying the quarter circles down on the table so that they still fit together. If any of the quarters shatter, start again. Next, nibble the centre out of each quarter circle. Glue the four pieces back down in their rightul place. Now cut a black tessera for the pupil. Make it small enought to fit inside the iris and glue it in place. To make the white of the eye, use the nippers the 'wrong' way round and cut a curved line (this may take several attempts!), and then cut around the curve to create crescent moon shapes. Repeat four times and glue in place around the iris. This completes the eye.
CUTTING A CIRCLE
A circle can be achieved by cutting each other twice at 30 degrees and 60 degrees to the side edge. Place the jaws of the nippers right across the tile when you make these cuts. Don't worry if your circle is not perfectly circular, what we are creating here is a man-made piece of work; if you want perfect circles, buy them! (They are called beads!)
If you cut a 1 cm (3/8 in) square tessera in half you will notice that one half will stand up and the other one won't. This is because the unstable one has come from the edge of the tile and so only has a small base. Despite this fact, you may well find that in some cases this is the only piece that will do. If that is the case, simply glue it down and prop it up with an unglued tessera until the glue dries.
MOSAIC TECHNIQUES
DIRECT MOSAIC
There are two basic methods of making a mosaic - direct and indirect. A direct mosaic is one where the tesserae are glue directly onto the surface that you are mosaicing. The tesserae are glued the right way up, the uppermost surface becoming the final surface of the finished mosaic. The advantage of working direct is that you can see what you are getting at all stages of the creative process. The resultant mosaic can be transported and exhibited and if you move house, you can take it with you. The disadvantage of direct mosaic is that the final surface is not completely flat and is therefore not suitable for floors or other circumstances where a flat surface is required, such as a table top or work surface.
A direct mosaic panel on medium density fibreboard (MDF) is only suitable for indoor use. If an external mosaic is required, then it is recommended that you work indirect.
PREPARATION.
Before starting to lay tesserae, it is a good idea to cut up a handful of tiles and build up a small pool to choose from. If you place each colour on a separate, small piece of paper,then not only will you be able to work in each colour when you need it, but clearing away will also be made easier by simply inverting the paper, pouring the tesserae back into its jar.
It is often said that making a mosaic is like doing a jigsaw puzzle. This is a remark that is guaranteed to infuriate any self-respecting mosaic artist. Is painting someone's portrait in oils like painting by numbers? The fact is, that a jigsaw is a puzzle, with a pre-determined solution. No matter how good or bad you are at solving the puzzle, the end result will always be the same. This is certainly not true in mosaic where the result would never be the same, and making a mosaic definitely involves the creative process. That said, it is true that when you select a tessera from your pool of tesserae, you have to look for the correct shape which has the right angle to the line that you are trying to make. To help yourself, make the distance between the pool of tesserae on the paper and the mosaic as short as possible. I often place the paper on the mosaic, but you may feel that you need to see the entire piece at all times.
GLUING DOWN TESSERAE.
The glue dispenser is designed to release a small quantity of glue at a time, so only cut off the very tip of the nozzle.
If you are new to mosaic, it helps if you 'butter' each tessera individually until you become more experienced. As you become more confident, you can run a 'bead' of glue along the line that you are about mosaic.
Be generous with the glue, but not to the extent that is squidges out over the top of the tesserae. The PVA is meant to hold the tesserae in position until you grout the finished mosaic, so you need to ensure that there is still sufficient room for the grout to do its job, too. If the glue dispenser empties, you can top it up by decanting from a larger pot of glue.
Spaces between the tesserae are a necessary part of the mosaic. The spaces, or interstices, that they create when grouted create the flow or andamento of the finished mosaic. The grout when set, is very strong and will hold the tesserae in place, preventing any side to side movement. The size of the gap you leave between tesserae really depends on your personal style of working. I work very 'tight' and find is difficult to leave a decent gap. Sylvia's work is much more precise with neat spaces between each tesserae.
MOSAICING A STRAIGHT LINE OF TESSERAE.
Draw a straight line with a pencil and try and mosaic a line of tesserae along it. You will soon see that it is a bit like steering a car - if you are slightly out at the beginning you don't notice, but 100 yards further down the road and you are driving on the wrong side! Try and 'steer' along the line by choosing each successive tessera so that the angle between the line and the previous tesserae is the same. If your attempt at a straight line was as success, it was due to the fact that the angles were correct. Indeed, if all the angles were 90 degrees, then you will not have experienced any difficulty; only when the angle varies, do you have to choose a tessera with the same angle in order to compensate and steer back on course.
It will soon become apparent that as well as the line you are working to, it is equally important to leave yourself a straight line for the next row of tesserae. Thus, like ploughing a field, you need to keep on track and try and think ahead. If a tessera looks good next to its neighbours but juts out below the bottom line, simply nibble it down to the same length. If you don't do this, you can correct things on the next row by placing a thinner tessera next to it, putting yourself back on course. If you don't compensate, you may well find matters getting progressively worse with each subsequent row.
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