Author: Joe Moorman
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Improved Smalti
The new Mud Turtle Mosaic brand of smalti was selected based on how well the material cuts, and it is competitively priced. The material appears to be more homogenized and have fewer cold seams than most art glass products because it tends to break more predictably and produces fewer useless shards. Smalti is hand-cut mosaic…
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Van Gogh Self-Portrait Mosaic
Recently Doug Harris of Elementile sent me some photos of a mosaic rendering of Vincent Van Gogh’s 1889 self-portrait, and it is definitely worth seeing. I think some of the best examples of how to use adamento in mosaic to convey a sense of motion are actually demonstrated in Van Gogh’s painting, and this self-portrait was a natural choice for mosaic…
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Failures In Craft Marketing
Here is an anecdotal case study of how craft kits get it wrong and actually detract from the art experience: This past Halloween, my ex wife hosted her annual pumpkin carving party for our five-year-old son and all his friends, and I helped as usual. The party was the same format as previous years, but…
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Cutting Pan For Mosaic Tile
Cutting glass tile with a mosaic glass cutter is a relatively quiet and gentle process because not much force is required to make the cut. However, glass is a brittle material, and cutting it with a compression tool causes pieces to snap off and bounce across the room. In addition to usable pieces of tile, tiny slivers of…
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Mixed-Media Mosaic Bar
Recently artist Wendy Schroeder emailed us some photographs of her mixed-media mosaic bar top, and it is worth taking a look at for several reasons, especially if you are doing a high-end project and would like to integrate figurative mosaic art in a seamless way with other design elements. Strong Figurative Design First, the glass tile mosaic…
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Small Glass Mosaic Instructions
These instructions explain how to set up and make a small mosaic from glass mosaic tile. I use our new hardwood mosaic coaster bases with 12mm Elementile recycled glass mosaic tile as an example, and I show how to set up your studio work space in ways that control dust and sharp splinters of glass.…
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Mosaic Transfer Instructions
Yesterday I wrote up some recommendations and instructions for Outdoor School Mosaics that focused on a project where each child made a mosaic stepping stone on a paver to be arranged in a crazy quilt design. I forgot to clarify that those instructions were written for younger students and beginners needing to play around with tile…
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Outdoor School Mosaics
Recently I received an email from an art teacher whose school mosaic project was an outdoor mosaic where each child would create a mosaic on an 8 inch x 8 inch brick paver (paving stone), and then the mosaic pavers would be arranged together in a crazy quilt design similar to what artist Victor Kobayashi…
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Mosaic Coasters
Our shipment of hardwood bases for making mosaic coaster recently arrived, and I just now added them to our website. We have bases for making square mosaic coasters and round mosaic coasters, and these are great project ideas for someone wanting to make a mosaic miniature. The coaster bases are made in the USA from…
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Mosaic Christmas Tree Ornaments
Please email us pictures of your Christmas tree ornaments made from our mosaic ornament bases. I would really like to receive a picture of one made to look like a globe of the Earth. I think a globe ornament would look spectacular, especially in mosaic, but I haven’t had the time to make one myself due to all…
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Penny Mosaic Warning
We regularly see questionable information online concerning how to mosaic and how to do other art and craft projects. Mostly this information is questionable because it was written without regard to durability or how the project could have been used as an opportunity to make real art (personal, unique) instead of making clones of something…
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Replacement Springs For Mosaic Glass Cutters
We recently received a shipment of mosaic glass cutters and the factory included some replacement springs in the crate. Mosaic glass cutters and tile nippers tend to lose their springs fairly quickly, so we now have these for sale as replacements. Fits All Brands? I’m thinking that the springs fit most all brands of mosaic glass cutters,…