Tag: outdoor mosaic
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Mosaic Garden Art: Fun Group Projects
Artist Donna Stern recently completed a series of abstract mosaics that are exactly what I think of when someone emails asking for fun project ideas for a group day in the studio. Series of Smalls The first thing is that it is a series. More importantly, each element in the series is the same size…
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Harmonious Hues and Abstract Mosaic Art
Artist Zane Pahl’s recently completed mosaic patio table is a solid example of using harmonious hues in an abstract design. I have not written enough about this type of mosaic, especially considering its popularity and its accessibility. Zane’s mosaic is an interesting teaching example because the color scheme is about harmonious hues instead of contrasting…
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Framing and Hanging Exterior Mosaic Plaques
Artist Brad Srebnik’s mosaic street number plaque is worth taking a look at for several reasons. It has a harmonious color scheme with good warm-cool contrast, it’s tightly executed, and the numerals have crisp outlines and subtle curves in a distinct font style. If you are thinking about a project with mosaic numerals or letters…
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Mosaic Icon: Moses on Sinai
Here is the first of a series of small mosaic icons I am making on thin concrete outdoor mosaic backers that resemble rough-edged flagstones but are significantly more crack-resistant. I am not sure if this will be the only Biblical subject in the series. The mosaic is ungrouted at this point, but I plan to…
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Tough Outdoor Mosaic Backer
The thinnest, toughest, most water-resistant backer I have been able to make is steel lath plastered with a “concrete” made from Versabond brand thinset mortar (or the equivalent Mapei product) and unsealed aquarium gravel. Regular pea gravel is too large for the lath, and so aquarium gravel is used instead. The aquarium gravel must be…
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Mosaic Mural on Tile Backer Board
Artists Patricia Cream and Leah Mitchell recently completed an outdoor mosaic mural mounted on foam-core tile backer board, and they took excellent photos of the work in progress. Each major step in the process is shown, including the french-cleat hanging brackets used to mount the mosaic to the cinder-block wall. The mosaic mural is also…
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Mosaic Mural Surface Preparation
The best way to mount an outdoor mosaic mural is to use thinset mortar and mount it directly to a brick, stone, or concrete wall. You can make mosaic murals on foam-core backer board and mount these backers onto wooden fences with screws, but that is less than ideal for several reasons, and the weight…
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Mosaic Saints, Angels, and Icons
Historically, mosaic icons were made with traditional materials like smalti, marble, and gold leaf glass. Those traditional mosaic materials might be preferred if you are trying to make a reproduction that looks historically accurate, but they are more expensive and more difficult to work with. Do You Need Smalti? If you have any latitude in…
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Mosaic Letters and Numerals
You can make mosaic street numbers and signs using a grid, but mosaics made from irregular shapes of non-gridded tesserae are more interesting, especially if you use concentric andamento for the background surrounding the figures. Sara Sommers emailed us some pictures of her mosaic street number plaque, and it is made from cut pieces of…
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Mosaic Street Number
Natalija decided to test some materials and methods by putting our street number on the loading dock of the warehouse. Her method was to lay 3/4-inch vitreous tile in a mounting grid, but she put them in upside down and laid a sheet of fiberglass mesh on them and used one drop of silicone adhesive…
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Making Foam-Core Mosaic Backers For Outdoor Projects
Artist Jill Gatwood uses the following method to make water-resistant foam-core mosaic backers for exterior mosaics, such as the Pet Memorial Name Plaques she does for clients who need something that is lighter weight and easier to ship than stone or solid concrete. The method wraps the foam in three or four successive layers of…
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Pet Memorial Name Plaques
For people wanting to make a portrait of their furry friend, I wrote an article on pet memorial mosaics using April Costigan’s work as illustrations of what is possible in terms of capturing likeness. The problem is that for many people, the task of rendering a realistic portrait of their pet is beyond their current…