The templates shown here are smaller than required for the projects. They may be easily enlarged to the correct size on a photocopier set at 111%.
GARDEN FLARE
PYRAMID CANDLE
APPLIQUED CANDLE (REPEAT PATTERN)
STENCILLED CANDLE
INTRODUCTION
Surprisingly the word 'mosaic' has no literal translation. Some scholars have suggested that it means 'crazy' which even if not absolutely accurate, seems to be entirely appropriate at times.
Mosaic is certainly enjoying something of a renanissance at the moment. I have been running three-day mosaic courses of many years now and their popularity has grown as the public have slowly realized that they, too, can make beautiful mosaics for themselves. It never fails to amaze me that what appears at first glance to be such an inflexible material, can produce results that are so stylistically different and individual.
The Italian master mosaicists had to train for many years before being allowed to tackle big public works. Understandly, they were (and still are) very secretive about their techniques. What they would think of a three-day mosaic course (or this discussion which for some projects works on the principle that just completing the mosiacing can take a 'long weekend'- three days) is not worth repeating. But the fact remains that wonderful things can be, and are,achieved in this short space of time. So let's let the mosaics speak for themselves.
ABOUT THE PROJECTS IN THIS DISCUSSION
The projects have been chosen to show the wide range of styles, materials and techniques available to the modern mosaicist. Choose the ones that suit your temperaatment - it is unlikely that someone who feels drawn to the Gaudiesque style of using great big chunks of broken pottery is also going to enjoy the painstaking work involved in nibbling fine detail for an intricate design.
I strongly recommend that you read the chosen project through carefully before you start. There is nothing more maddening than to have to stop work because you have forgotten a vital piece of equipment. You will also notice that there are times when you will need to wait, say, for glue to dry. It is important to realize this before you begin a project, so that you don't get disappointed when you find you have to wait, for example, a whole week for cement to set.
I have tried to choose projects that range from simple ones that can be achieved in a morning( for example, the Trivet ), although the grouting will have to be left to set for the next two to three days. Others are more advanced (for example, the Roman Paving Slab ), and it may take up to three days to complete the mosaic work and then there will be additional waiting time while the concrete sets. There are plenty of mosaics for internal and external settings. Mosaic has the added advantage of being able to be wiped clean, so you can hang it in your kitchen or bathroom. Other projects have been chosen simply because they make perfect gifts.
MATERIALS AND QUANTITIES
The tile quantities listed at the beginning of each project are meant as a guide only, and in the lists of quantities required, I have always allowed on additional 25 percent for wastage. If you don't have or have run out of,a certain colour, feel free to substitute a different one of your own choice - if you choose a colour that has the same tone (imagine it in a black and white reproduction - is your choice
tonally similar?), then the tonal range of the piece,and more importantly, the contrast between the subject and background, will remain.
You won't be able to buy the mosaic tiles in the small quantities listed in each project, so please don' t try. Instead, I suggest that you buy a 25-kg (50 lb) box of vitreous mix, which is basically scrap, but it is soon sorted into jars. This also has the benefit of containing some colours that are not available in the standard range and you can make up any particular colour you need separately once you know what you have get.
You may also find, when buying specific colours, that they can vary in shade from batch to batch. Because of this, if you want consistency in a certain colour, make sure that you buy a sufficient quantity before you start. I actually like the fact that the mixed box gives you subtle differences of the same colour and for this reason always keep a box or two handy in my mosaic studio. You will find
that in the mixed boxes you get a predominance of blues, greens, and whites. This is because 95 percent of all 'vitmos' is bought for cladding swimming pools - and whos wants a flaming red swimming pool!
Your mosaic room will soon resemble a sweet shop with jars full of beautifully coloured tiles inspiring you to get started - so off you go!
GARDEN FLARE
PYRAMID CANDLE
APPLIQUED CANDLE (REPEAT PATTERN)
STENCILLED CANDLE
INTRODUCTION
Surprisingly the word 'mosaic' has no literal translation. Some scholars have suggested that it means 'crazy' which even if not absolutely accurate, seems to be entirely appropriate at times.
Mosaic is certainly enjoying something of a renanissance at the moment. I have been running three-day mosaic courses of many years now and their popularity has grown as the public have slowly realized that they, too, can make beautiful mosaics for themselves. It never fails to amaze me that what appears at first glance to be such an inflexible material, can produce results that are so stylistically different and individual.
The Italian master mosaicists had to train for many years before being allowed to tackle big public works. Understandly, they were (and still are) very secretive about their techniques. What they would think of a three-day mosaic course (or this discussion which for some projects works on the principle that just completing the mosiacing can take a 'long weekend'- three days) is not worth repeating. But the fact remains that wonderful things can be, and are,achieved in this short space of time. So let's let the mosaics speak for themselves.
ABOUT THE PROJECTS IN THIS DISCUSSION
The projects have been chosen to show the wide range of styles, materials and techniques available to the modern mosaicist. Choose the ones that suit your temperaatment - it is unlikely that someone who feels drawn to the Gaudiesque style of using great big chunks of broken pottery is also going to enjoy the painstaking work involved in nibbling fine detail for an intricate design.
I strongly recommend that you read the chosen project through carefully before you start. There is nothing more maddening than to have to stop work because you have forgotten a vital piece of equipment. You will also notice that there are times when you will need to wait, say, for glue to dry. It is important to realize this before you begin a project, so that you don't get disappointed when you find you have to wait, for example, a whole week for cement to set.
I have tried to choose projects that range from simple ones that can be achieved in a morning( for example, the Trivet ), although the grouting will have to be left to set for the next two to three days. Others are more advanced (for example, the Roman Paving Slab ), and it may take up to three days to complete the mosaic work and then there will be additional waiting time while the concrete sets. There are plenty of mosaics for internal and external settings. Mosaic has the added advantage of being able to be wiped clean, so you can hang it in your kitchen or bathroom. Other projects have been chosen simply because they make perfect gifts.
MATERIALS AND QUANTITIES
The tile quantities listed at the beginning of each project are meant as a guide only, and in the lists of quantities required, I have always allowed on additional 25 percent for wastage. If you don't have or have run out of,a certain colour, feel free to substitute a different one of your own choice - if you choose a colour that has the same tone (imagine it in a black and white reproduction - is your choice
tonally similar?), then the tonal range of the piece,and more importantly, the contrast between the subject and background, will remain.
You won't be able to buy the mosaic tiles in the small quantities listed in each project, so please don' t try. Instead, I suggest that you buy a 25-kg (50 lb) box of vitreous mix, which is basically scrap, but it is soon sorted into jars. This also has the benefit of containing some colours that are not available in the standard range and you can make up any particular colour you need separately once you know what you have get.
You may also find, when buying specific colours, that they can vary in shade from batch to batch. Because of this, if you want consistency in a certain colour, make sure that you buy a sufficient quantity before you start. I actually like the fact that the mixed box gives you subtle differences of the same colour and for this reason always keep a box or two handy in my mosaic studio. You will find
that in the mixed boxes you get a predominance of blues, greens, and whites. This is because 95 percent of all 'vitmos' is bought for cladding swimming pools - and whos wants a flaming red swimming pool!
Your mosaic room will soon resemble a sweet shop with jars full of beautifully coloured tiles inspiring you to get started - so off you go!
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