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Mosaics and Artistic Collaboration
Artist Cindy Christensen emailed us some pictures of several mosaic projects that she collaborated on with her woodworking husband, and I wanted to share them because they are all well executed and colorful. They are also great examples of how you can improve your mosaic art by partnering with someone who has more power tools…
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Passion Projects
I have written in the past about “passion projects,” which is a term I use to describe first-time projects in a new medium that were executed by people with little or no training, and often executed in an explosive or emotional way after wanting to do something similar for years. Dr. Rolando Jose ‘s Doraemon…
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Color Constraints and Background Colors
Many artists like to choose background colors after the central figures have been tiled. It is best to tile from the middle and work toward the edges to avoid awkward spacing between at key focal points, but you should not leave the color choices for the background as a complete afterthought. Nor should you have…
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Changing Grout Color With Paint
The following method is only recommended for dry indoor mosaics. Artist Megan Adams recently used it to save a mosaic that had been compromised by white grout, which makes tile colors look less intense and the mosaic as a whole “bleached out” in appearance. We put white grout in bathrooms because it is used as…
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How To Use Iridescent Tile For Lights and Reflections
If we gave an award for best use of iridescent tile to create a sense of lighting in a scene, artist Terry Broderick’s mosaic “Pittsburgh Cityscape,” would have won it hands down. It is a must-see mosaic. Even if you aren’t planning on using iridescent tile for lights in a night scene, Terry’s mosaic is…
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Chakra Tree of Life Mosaic, A Study in Design
Artist Betty Ackerman recently used our fire-polished millefiori (the Mud-Turtle Mosaic brand) and stained glass to make a circular mosaic in the form of a rainbow-colored tree of life with a column of chakras spiraling inward on the trunk. Betty calls her mosaic “Chakra Tree of Life.” The first mosaics I ever made were found-object…
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Glass-on-Glass Mosaic Table
Artist Melanie Squires recently completed a stained-glass mosaic table, and I wanted to show it off for several reasons, and not just because it looks so good. There are some materials and methods to discuss, and there is the use of impressionism for the koi, which I thought was particularly effective. The Table Melanie made…
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Cleaning Grout from Pits in Vitreous Glass Tile
Vitreous glass tile has a lot fewer surface pits than it did a few decades ago, but it still has some, at least in most brands. Grout can sometimes lodge in these superficial pits if you don’t adequately sponge and haze the mosaic after grouting, and many novices find this problem particularly distressing. The good…
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Mosaic Christmas Ornaments by Morgan Halford
Artist Morgan Halford recently emailed us some pictures of some mosaic Christmas-tree ornaments she made with the spherical bases we sell, and I wanted to show them off for two reasons. First, the tiling is tightly executed in terms of grout gap and pattern, and the designs she used are interesting and eye catching.
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Mosaic Lawn Sculptures by Bernie Taylor
Recently artist Bernie Taylor emailed me some pictures of his mosaic lawn sculptures including some concrete bird baths and benches, and he has an impressive body of work. Bernie’s work is also a great example of how you can buy factory-made concrete sculptures and make them unique works of art by covering them with mosaic.…
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Mosaic Tables and Interior Design
Artist RJ Spurr recently completed two mosaic tables for his home, and I wanted to share them because the level of craft work is excellent, and the designs are integrated with the color schemes of rooms where they were installed. The great thing about dry indoor mosaics is that you can use wood as a…
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Mosaic Memorial Cross for Maddie
Georgia Art Teacher Connie Wells has been working with her students on a memorial cross project: Highland Christian Academy in Valdosta, GA wanted to remember one of our 8th grade students, Maddie Pitts that recently passed away from cancer in a personal, honorable way. As we constructed a small garden area with a pink bench…