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STEPS IN MOSAIC DESIGN
*(Step 5 is not necessary in all works)
Step 1
:
Designing the work..
Draw your design on the
heavy brown paper, this is where the mosaic
will be assembled before
fixing to the hard board..
·
Remember that your mosaic pieces, 'tesserae', are random shapes..
Keep curves gentle and avoid fine detail, (eyelashes, fingernails, veins in leaves and the like are very difficult to mosaic),
try to suggest rather than depict, your
grout lines can be used for detail..
·
When using coloured tesserae, choose colours that will 'work' together,
(
blue and orange can work but the contrast is difficult to manage).
This is also the time to start considering a choice of grout colour.
When in doubt, choose grey.
Step 2
:
Making the mosaic pieces..
Use a hammer to break the
ceramic tiles, work safely and take
steps to protect your eyes from flying fragments, (an old cloth over the
tile works well if safety glasses are not available). Alternatively tiles
can be
scored and cut (glass tiles cannot be hammered)
·
Keep in mind the size of the tesserae that you want to use in a particular part of your design..
Small tesserae suggest detail and depth while larger pieces offer continuity and background form..
·
In abstract design it is common to use regular sized tesserae..
Step 3
:
Assembling the Mosaic, using the
indirect method..
Similar to doing a jigsaw puzzle, the design is assembled on the brown
paper by gluing the pieces with half strength PVA (a thick white glue
that is water soluble)..
Using a paint brush apply the glue to a small area at a time and fix the
pieces while the glue is wet.
·
Remember to leave
grout space around each tessera, (about the thickness of a match at least),
some spaces will be bigger by necessity, try to keep them to a minimum..
·
At completion of this step the completed
opus can be appreciated and any last minute changes can be made
Step 4
: Reversing the mosaic..
Another piece of heavy brown paper is painted with
3/4 strength PVA
and then laid over the assembled mosaic.. the mosaic is then
'sandwiched' between two boards and flipped over..
·
It is important that the PVA must have full coverage on the reversing sheet
..
·
When the PVA used in this step has dried, the original paper (step 1-3) is dampened with a spray of water
and peeled from the back of the mosaic revealing the opus reversed..
Step 5
:
Back grouting..
Grout is the cement like mixture used to fill the gaps between tesserae
in the finished mosaic..
To prevent adhesive pushing through the gaps when you fix the work
to the base board, it is necessary to grout the back of the work before
fixing..
·
The grout is mixed with water to the consistency of toothpaste and spread over the work with the use of a
squeegee..
Excess grout is removed using a
clean
damp
sponge..
·
Grout contains
lime which can damage skin and gloves should be worn..
Step 6
: Fixing the Opus..
A strong
tile adhesive is spread on the base board using a
serrated a
dhesive spreader
..
The serrations on the spreader allow an even depth of
adhesive over
the board while ensuring full coverage..
·
Be sure to leave no gaps when applying adhesive, it's what holds the tesserae to the board..
·
The reversed work is then placed onto the adhesive, patted down and allowed to set..
Step 7
: Finishing off...
When the adhesive is set (24 hours at least) the work is said to have
been
fixed..
·
The final step involves Soaking off the paper (from step 4), applying a
top grout to the work,
(using the same technique as step 5)..
·
Allow the grout to dry then polish the finished mosaic with a
lint
free cloth..
ENJOY!!
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