Resources
Materials & Techniques
Materials
A wide range of materials can be used, either individually or in combination, to create mosaics. Suitable materials include marble and stone, unglazed ceramic, smalti, vitreous and art glass, natural found materials (e.g. shells, pebbles, fossils) and manmade, found materials (e.g. metal hardware, reclaimed china, sea glass, personal ephemera).
Substrates
The substrate is the surface onto which the mosaic is applied; it can be either flat or three dimensional. The choice of substrate can be either a purely artistic decision or one determined by where the mosaic will be installed and the method of installation. Suitable substrates include tile backer board, wood, fibreglass mesh, glass, stone, concrete and sculpted polystyrene. Mosaics can be applied directly to a suitably prepared floor or wall surface.
Adhesive
The choice of adhesive can also be either an aesthetic decision or one determined by where the mosaic will be installed and the method of installation. Appropriate adhesives include cement-based tile adhesive (thinset), PVA, wood glue, and silicone. Cement-based tile adhesive can be coloured using specialist pigments
Tools
A variety of tools are available for cutting and shaping mosaic materials, including the traditional hammer and hardie, wheeled tile nippers, sidebiter tile cutters and glass-cutting tools. Other useful equipment includes safety glasses, tweezers and palette knife.
Methods
Direct Method – a mosaic technique where the tesserae are applied directly to the substrate.
Indirect/Reverse Method – a mosaic technique where the tesserae are stuck to a temporary surface to create the mosaic, which is then transferred to the permanent substrate. A typical method would be to stick the tesserae face down to brown paper with a water-soluble glue. The permanent substrate would be prepared with adhesive, and the mosaic would be pressed into it. Once the adhesive was set, the paper would be sponged off to reveal the faces of the tesserae.
There are other specialist methods such as the Ravenna Method.
Glossary of Terms
Tessera – an individual piece of mosaic material. Originally it referred to the square or cubed pieces of stone in classical mosaics, but this term is now used for pieces of any kind of mosaic material. The plural is tesserae
Andamento – andamento is the visual flow and direction created in a mosaic by the placement of the tesserae.
Interstice – the space between tesserae
Opus – this term is used to describe the andamento or other features of a mosaic. Styles of placement include: opus musivum, opus sectile, opus vermiculatum, opus regulatum and opus tessellatum
Picassiette – a style of mosaic incorporating pieces of broken ceramics
Tools
A variety of tools are available for cutting and shaping mosaic materials, including the traditional hammer and hardie, wheeled tile nippers, sidebiter tile cutters and glass-cutting tools. Other useful equipment includes safety glasses, tweezers and palette knife.
Methods
Direct Method – a mosaic technique where the tesserae are applied directly to the substrate.
Indirect/Reverse Method – a mosaic technique where the tesserae are stuck to a temporary surface to create the mosaic, which is then transferred to the permanent substrate. A typical method would be to stick the tesserae face down to brown paper with a water-soluble glue. The permanent substrate would be prepared with adhesive, and the mosaic would be pressed into it. Once the adhesive was set, the paper would be sponged off to reveal the faces of the tesserae.
There are other specialist methods such as the Ravenna Method.
Glossary of Terms
Tessera – an individual piece of mosaic material. Originally it referred to the square or cubed pieces of stone in classical mosaics, but this term is now used for pieces of any kind of mosaic material. The plural is tesserae
Andamento – andamento is the visual flow and direction created in a mosaic by the placement of the tesserae.
Interstice – the space between tesserae
Opus – this term is used to describe the andamento or other features of a mosaic. Styles of placement include: opus musivum, opus sectile, opus vermiculatum, opus regulatum and opus tessellatum
Picassiette – a style of mosaic incorporating pieces of broken ceramics
