A significant part of the ethos of modern mosaic is to make use of damaged materials such as the broken dinnerware used in pique assiette mosaic.
These mixed-media mosaics are intrinsically interesting because of their eclectic use of found objects: ceramic figurines, fossils, marbles, seashells, etc.
Artist Debbie Logan has taken this one step further and found a way to source durable backers for her outdoor mosaics by using something that would have normally gone straight to the landfill.
Debbie uses downcycled toilet tanks to make mosaic planters.
I think this idea is genius for several reasons.
First, porcelain toilet tanks are durable in outdoor conditions, unlike wood and plywood and ordinary porous ceramic.
TIP: Terracotta flower pots are very porous and are destroyed by freeze cracking.
Second, toilet tanks are just the right size for making a planter. Anything larger would be problematic to move around, but toilet tanks are still large enough to accommodate a design.
The fact that the tanks aren’t too large also means that they can be used indoors without looking odd or out of place.
Third, toilet tanks are abundant and free. In my experience, it is impossible to drive down a city street with older houses and not see an old toilet on the curve at some point.
Materials and Methods
Debbie used thinset mortar to attach the tiles and found objects to the toilet tanks, and then she used black sanded grout.
Some of Debbie’s found objects are ordinary glazed ceramic, such as the figurine of the Chinese fisherman that belonged to her grandmother.
Note that a ceramic figurine such as that would not survive a cold freezing winter, but it is OK for use in Debbie’s mosaic because she is in southern California.
For the hole at the bottom of tank, Debbie used wire mesh, which she mortared in place around the hole. Note that she didn’t plug this hole because plant roots need proper drainage to breath.
Found-Object Mosaic
Anything made of glass, stone, or ceramic can be used as tesserae without compromising the lifespan of an outdoor mosaic.
If you want to use plastic figurines and things like golf balls, you should be aware that these materials don’t age well, especially when exposed to sunlight. The polymers that make them are broken down by UV light.
Save those materials for indoor mixed-media projects.
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