glass mosaic tile art studio of william j enslen jr
| Lesson of the Month Page 3 |
Figure 6 shows my pattern, plastic wrap, and mesh secured tightly in-place on my flat work surface. A few features are worth noting.
- The pattern, plastic wrap, and mesh are secured on all sides with lots of tape to ensure it stays tight and flat. The tape is pressure-
sensitive so don’t forget to gently rub your fingers over the tape to make it stick well.
- The rectangular backsplash area outline is taped all the way around with the full width of the tape. I carefully aligned the tape over
the outline to exactly define the backsplash area.
- The 12-inch wide plastic wrap didn’t cover the entire pattern, so I had to use a second piece. I ran out of wrap and didn’t want to
interrupt my work session to go to the store for more. I dug out my wife’s old parchment paper from a kitchen cabinet and used it
for the second piece. Notice along the bottom quarter of the pattern that the pattern lines are harder to see. That’s where I used the
translucent parchment paper. Also notice the six small pieces of painters’ tape under the parchment paper. That’s where I taped the
edge of the plastic wrap to help keep it tight and flat. I was careful to use small pieces of tape and not cover any of the pattern lines.
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| Figure 6. The Pattern, Plastic Wrap, and Mesh Secured In-place |
Step 7: Measure, Cut, and Apply the Tesserae
The Direct-Indirect Method requires opaque glass. Don’t use transparent glass because the mesh shows through. Refer to the chapter,
Cutting and Adhering Tesserae, in the eBook for easy-to-follow details on how to measure, cut, and apply tesserae.
IMPORTANT: Leave a 1/8-inch space between the edge of the outline tape and the tesserae. That 1/8-inch gap serves as a grout line
between the mosaic and the ceramic tile border. Therefore, do not butt the tesserae up to the taped edge. Leave a 1/8-inch gap for grout.
It's also just as important not to leave too much space between the tesserae and the taped edge. Too much space results in a wide grout line
that looks inconsistent with the grout lines between the ceramic tiles.
Before cutting and applying glass for the flower petals, I determined the color for each petal. I decided to use light yellow, dark yellow, and
orange glass to blend with the colors in other parts of the backsplash. I used the tip of a black felt tip pen to mark each petal. Then, I
created a legend to define my marks (I don’t trust my memory, so I wrote down what each mark means). Figure 7 shows how I marked
each petal to define its tessera color.
If you wait to mark your pattern until after the plastic wrap is down (i.e., instead of marking the pattern paper before putting the plastic over
it), be aware that the ink won’t stay permanently on the plastic. The glue soaks up the ink and then remains embedded in the glue when you
install the mesh. This isn’t a problem with opaque glass, but just be aware of it so you’re not surprised when you peel off the plastic wrap
and see the markings embedded in the glue instead of on the wrap.
The Direct-Indirect Method requires opaque glass. Don’t use transparent glass because the mesh shows through. Refer to the chapter,
Cutting and Adhering Tesserae, in the eBook for easy-to-follow details on how to measure, cut, and apply tesserae.
IMPORTANT: Leave a 1/8-inch space between the edge of the outline tape and the tesserae. That 1/8-inch gap serves as a grout line
between the mosaic and the ceramic tile border. Therefore, do not butt the tesserae up to the taped edge. Leave a 1/8-inch gap for grout.
It's also just as important not to leave too much space between the tesserae and the taped edge. Too much space results in a wide grout line
that looks inconsistent with the grout lines between the ceramic tiles.
Before cutting and applying glass for the flower petals, I determined the color for each petal. I decided to use light yellow, dark yellow, and
orange glass to blend with the colors in other parts of the backsplash. I used the tip of a black felt tip pen to mark each petal. Then, I
created a legend to define my marks (I don’t trust my memory, so I wrote down what each mark means). Figure 7 shows how I marked
each petal to define its tessera color.
If you wait to mark your pattern until after the plastic wrap is down (i.e., instead of marking the pattern paper before putting the plastic over
it), be aware that the ink won’t stay permanently on the plastic. The glue soaks up the ink and then remains embedded in the glue when you
install the mesh. This isn’t a problem with opaque glass, but just be aware of it so you’re not surprised when you peel off the plastic wrap
and see the markings embedded in the glue instead of on the wrap.
| Figure 7. Color Legend for the Petals |
Before cutting the petals, I had to fix my dark yellow stained glass. I buy online whatever stained glass colors or styles aren’t available at
the local hobby store. For this project, I got everything I needed at the hobby store except dark yellow. As noted earlier, transparent glass
doesn’t work for the Direct-Indirect Method because you’d see the mesh through the glass. I went online and scrolled through the yellows
looking for something opaque. The online descriptions of the glass were vague, so I took a chance. Sure enough, the glass I ordered was
probably the most transparent available (see Figure 8).
the local hobby store. For this project, I got everything I needed at the hobby store except dark yellow. As noted earlier, transparent glass
doesn’t work for the Direct-Indirect Method because you’d see the mesh through the glass. I went online and scrolled through the yellows
looking for something opaque. The online descriptions of the glass were vague, so I took a chance. Sure enough, the glass I ordered was
probably the most transparent available (see Figure 8).
| Figure 8. Transparent Glass for the Flower Petals |
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