• Make Quick Mosaic Patterns From Any Photo

    Make Quick Mosaic Patterns From Any Photo

    Recently a friend of mine asked for a mosaic pattern for a kingfisher and the materials to make it. He made this request at the eleventh hour when he discovered that it would be raining the entire weekend of his family’s beach trip. I literally had to get the pattern and the tile shipped the…

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  • Grout Line as Design and Figurative Element

    Grout Line as Design and Figurative Element

    Natalija Moss’s latest Honda Insight mosaic is a great example of stained-glass mosaic where the grout line is used as a figurative element and as an element visual framing. Natalija is a self-taught artist and mosaicist just like me, and she also rebuilds Honda Insights by restoring interiors and rebuilding the battery system with newer…

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  • How To Mount A Gapless Mosaic In Thinset Mortar

    How To Mount A Gapless Mosaic In Thinset Mortar

    I just made a video that shows how to mount a mosaic without a grout gap in a bed of thinset mortar. The project task used for the video was mounting the QR Code Mosaic to an outdoor sign backer that made from mortar and hardware cloth. The Video Here’s the video: video: How To…

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  • How to Mix Grout or Thinset With Minimal  Dust

    How to Mix Grout or Thinset With Minimal Dust

    I have made a video about how to mix up small amounts of powdered products like grout and thinset with minimal dust and mess. I worked briefly as an engineer in an advanced materials testing laboratory with exotic and toxic materials, and I have put some thought into the methods I show in the video.…

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  • QR-Code Mosaic Sign

    QR-Code Mosaic Sign

    I needed to make a QR-code sign for my yard to tell my neighbors about the native pollinator meadow seedlings I have for them this year. I’ve converted my lawn into a native pollinator meadow, with all sorts of amazing results in terms of butterflies and hummingbirds and native ecology, and I am trying to…

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  • Monumental Mosaic Sculpture

    Monumental Mosaic Sculpture

    Artist Valerie Theberge recently installed an outdoor mosaic sculpture in Washington, DC, and like much of her work, the sculpture is monumental in scale. I recommend taking a look at Valerie’s website or Instagram, especially if you are planning a large mosaic mural or sculpture.

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  • Mosaic Mural Made By the Blind

    Mosaic Mural Made By the Blind

    Shane Jung is the Physical Plant Manager at the South Dakota School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (SDSBVI), and he recently worked on a fascinating project: a mosaic mural made by blind people. The artist who made this mosaic are the students, teachers, and maintenance staff at SDSBVI.

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  • Bumblebee Flower Garden Mosaic

    Bumblebee Flower Garden Mosaic

    Artist Natalija Moss recently completed a mosaic of a bumblebee flying over a flower garden using a pattern drawn by artist Lucas Rocheleau on a scrap piece of wood back when he worked at the warehouse. The mosaic is made from our American-made stained glass. The most impressive part of the mosaic is the realistic…

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  • Grouting Dorothy’s Spider Web Mosaic

    Grouting Dorothy’s Spider Web Mosaic

    Artist Dorothy Stucki made a fast-motion video of the process of grouting her mosaic Goddess in the House of Night, from dumping on the wet grout to buffing and hazing. The grouting video is on Dorothy’s Instagram. Dorothy’s mosaic is a spider web complete with spider and ensnared moths and insects.

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  • Mounting and Grouting Moses Mosaic

    Mounting and Grouting Moses Mosaic

    I have mounted my mosaic Moses Dreaming on Sinai on an irregularly-shaped backer and grouted the mosaic. I have made videos of the mounting and grouting processes.

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  • Mosaic as Thoughtful Art Experience

    Mosaic as Thoughtful Art Experience

    Ros Edmonds of Art Docents teaches art interpretation and technique to children ages kindergarten through eighth grade, which is the most important age range for teaching art and science and “planting seeds” that change lives. Ros emailed me some photos of her Mosaic Coaster Project with fifth graders, and I am happy to announce that…

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  • Backer for Irregularly-Shaped Mosaic

    Backer for Irregularly-Shaped Mosaic

    I have made another mosaic of Moses dreaming on Mount Sinai, and this version also has an irregular shape. I like making sacred relics and visual artwork that “goes past the frame.” I wanted this mosaic to be on a stone tablet like the original decalogue.

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