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How To Mosaic Bar Countertops
This article is about how to incorporate mosaic art into the design of your tiled bar top and is less about the basics of how you mount the plywood, cut a hole for the sink, etc. If you need that type of basic construction information, there is an article on HGTV’s website about how to…
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How To Photograph Mosaic Art and Paintings
Not too long ago, I included a request in our email newsletter for customers to send us pictures of their mosaic art. I was pleasantly surprised by how incredibly good some of the mosaics were, but I was more than a little bit disappointed to see how poor some of the photographs were. To be…
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How To Copy A Mosaic
An Easy First Project? Many aspiring mosaics artists decide to copy an existing mosaic for their first project instead of making an original design on their own. Usually the person goes this route because they have no confidence in their ability to draw or their artistic abilities in general, or they believe that this decision…
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How To Mount A Mosaic Tile Nipper For Easier Cutting
It is easy to mount a mosaic nipper to a scrap piece of plywood and extend the handle with a short piece of conduit or pipe. Extending the handle in this way provides mechanical advantage to the nipper so that much less downward force on the extended handle is required to cut a hard piece…
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Sanded vs Non-sanded Grout
Sanded grout is recommended for grout gaps larger than 1/8 inch, but we recommend it for all grout gaps larger than a hairline simply because so many customers report problems when using non-sanded grout. Problems With Non-sanded Grout Some of the problems typically encountered with non-sanded grout include shrinking, cracking and crumbling. Customers often report…
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Clear Coatings For Mosaics?
Texture and three-dimensional elements make two-dimensional art much more interesting. Having thicker pieces and pieces that stick out make people want to reach out an touch your mosaic. Why would you want to cover that up with a material that scratches easily, can’t be repaired and turns yellow with age and sunlight? Even if you…
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How To Remove Grout
The grout removal tool we sell is typically used to remove grout from between glazed ceramic bathroom tile, but it can also be used on mosaic art made from small pieces of glass. Dental picks and small screwdrivers may be more useful when the tesserae and grout gaps are smaller, such as typically seen in…
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The Importance Of Small Uniform Grout Gaps In Mosaic Art
A common mistake made in first mosaics is a variation in the width in gaps between the tiles which results in the details of some areas being “lost” in concrete once the mosaic is grouted. The problem is a little sneaky because it isn’t visible until the mosaic is actually grouted, and so an artist…
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How To Fix Grout Mistakes
In my previous post, I wrote about how to remove and replace glass mosaic tile to make changes to a mosaic before you grouted it. I also explained why it was good to display the mosaic for a few weeks before grouting so that you had a chance to see the mosaic as a whole…
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Procrastination Before Grouting Is A Virtue
The Pace of Art Taking time to reflect on what you are doing can be the difference between producing a mediocre work of art and a great work of art. All too often, we miss opportunities to make something really wonderful because we are too concerned with just getting the job done. When we work…
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How To Change A Mosaic Before Grouting (Or Afterward)
Already Grouted? If you have already grouted your mosaic, you can still use these instructions, but you will first need to remove the grout using a grout removal tool, which is normally used to scrape grout from the gaps between glazed ceramic tile. It may take a little more care with glass, but this tool…
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How To Mix Up Concrete, Mortar and Grout Without Creating Dust
Concretes, mortars and grouts have the potential to create significant amounts of dangerous dust when the water is first added. There is only 1 part water for every 4 parts concrete by weight, so much stirring is required before all the dry concrete will be wet. In fact, you can create a lot of dust…