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Grouting Case Study (Plus Mosaic Art Worth Seeing)
Artist Sherri Grasmuck created a mosaic facade of Guatemalan women on her house in Philadelphia that is the perfect case study for choosing a grout color.
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Why Did My Tiles Come Loose From Thinset?
Recently, artist Jackye Mills emailed me about a problem she was having with her first mosaic project, and it really caused me a lot of angst because the artwork was a strong design that was otherwise well executed. I hated the thought that a first-time mosaicist could do such a good job on something so ambitious only to…
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Making Mixed-Media Mosaics By A Process of Elimination
Artist Susan Watson created a stained glass and stone mosaic for her studio exterior wall and chose the background color and material using a process of trial and elimination. Mixed-media mosaic artists often choose backgrounds by laying tile on the pattern or backer after the figures have been tiled, as I explained in my recent article…
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How To Choose Mosaic Background Colors and Patterns
Background colors for mosaics should be chosen based on how well they contrast with the colors used in figures. For this reason, most mosaic artists will tile their figures first and then choose their background colors by a trial-and-error process of placing tiles on the mosaic backer and just seeing how they look. The same approach…
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How to Cut Diagonal Triangles from Vitreous Glass Tile
Many people report having trouble cutting vitreous glass mosaic tile reliably because of the embossed patterns on the back sides, which can interfere with the blades of the mosaic glass cutter, but if you take simple steps to minimize interference and rotation, it can be done. What I mean by interference is when the blade slips…
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Mario Gamer Mosaic Art
Artist Jason Oakley made this great pixellated mosaic of Mario and some of the other characters in the Mario games. I like how the gridded pattern of tiles looks exactly like low-resolution pixels such as used in vintage video games. Mario Gamer Mosaic Art second view by Jason Oakley.
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Opus Pixellatum Mosaic Class Photos and Videos
Frederic Lecut’s “Opus Pixellatum” Mosaic Class was a lot of fun, and I think the mosaics were very successful, especially with the improvised tweaking and colorization that students did in phase two of the process. In the photo above, instructor Frederic Lecut kneels in front of the class. When people are in position at the…
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Making Pictures With Colored Mirror Tile
Natalija improvised this picture of a lighthouse using the Colored Mirror Tiles to show that they can be used to render an image. We added these tiles last year, but I haven’t had time to use them in anything. In Praise of Colored Mirror Tiles I can say that the Colored Mirror Tile ranks the…
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Mosaic Artist Michael Kruzich’s Must-See Work
Mosaic Artist Michael Kruzich has a body of work worth taking a look at, especially if you have any doubts about how well dramatic lighting can be rendered in mosaic portraiture and other figurative mosaic artwork. But that’s not all that you need to see of his work. Michael has also made some mosaic-clad figurative sculpture that is as…
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Figurative Mosaic Artwork As An Element of Interior Design
Figurative mosaic art (mosaic pictures) can be used as an element of interior design in the same way that paintings are used. The only difference is that a stronger, more secure way of mounting the artwork to the wall is needed. Natalija wrote an article about using a French cleat mounting system to securely hang…
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Inspiring Mosaic Portraits Using A Grid Pattern
David Armstrong has created some inspiring mosaic portraits, and he did it using whole tiles arranged in a grid instead of irregular pieces cut and fit as needed. Normally, I dislike mosaic designs based on grids because they lack the extra visual element provided by tile arrangement (andamento), but David’s work has tons of visual interest that more…
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Online Source of New and Used Mannequins
People ask me about mosaic mannequins from time to time, and usually it is which adhesive to use for attaching tile to an old used mannequin they bought at a thift store. I also get questions about where to find a mannequin to use as a mosaic base, and I could only suggest eBay, garage…