glass mosaic tile art studio of william j enslen jr
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| Mosaic Floor...You Can Mosaic Anything...Even a Floor! Page 2 |
We bought the 3-foot square mosaic inlay, the listellos, and the four 4-inch square tiles placed at the four corners from a surplus warehouse. We were quite lucky to find all the pieces that amazingly
matched each other. We dry-fitted the inlay and each listello before using thinset.
matched each other. We dry-fitted the inlay and each listello before using thinset.
We decided to fill in the remaining empty space with hand-cut mosaic made from the porcelain tile, the other tile that exactly matched the pieces of the 3-foot square inlay, and the 4-inch corner
pieces. I divided the hand-cut mosaic space into four rectangular pieces. I measured for the exact dimensions and then used the Direct-Indirect method described on my homepage under "Make
Mosaic How-To Lesson of the Month" (it's at the top of my homepage, on the left side). Notice the pieces on the bottom-right 12 inches of the rectangle are not perfectly aligned in a straight line.
That's because those pieces will align adjacent to the next hand-cut mosaic rectangle and I didn't want a noticeable straight edge where those two rectangles meet--I wanted the seam to be
irregular so you can't tell that the hand-cut mosaic was done in four separate pieces.
I placed another work table on a section of concrete floor that was not yet tiled. I used scrap porcelain pieces leftover from cutting the edge tiles against the wall. To make my mosaic tesserae, I
put a piece of tile on the concrete floor and hit it with my brick hammer. DON'T forget to wear protective goggles! I used the blade edge of the brick hammer to shape each piece. Remember,
this is porcelain tile, not ceramic. Nippers don't work unless you're Superman, so I used the brick hammer. Beating, banging, and shaping on the concrete floor didn't hurt it at all. I used plain
Elmer's Glue All to adhere each piece to the fiberglass mesh. Refer to the "Make Mosaic How-To Lesson of the Month" on my homepage to see how I used the plastic wrap and fiberglass mesh.
Also, refer to the same How-To on my homepage to understand my use of the blue tape. The blue tape serves a very important function. If you read my ebook, you know I'm a believer in plain 'ol
Elmer's instead of the much-more-expensive Weldbond. Notice how I integrated tesserae made from the porcelain tile, the green 4-inch tile, and the other tile (i.e., the pieces that look like they
have little holes on top, which they do) to give a nice, blended look. The blend gives a smooth transition from the 3-foot center inlay, to the hand-mosaic section, to the listellos, and finally to the
porcelain tile.
pieces. I divided the hand-cut mosaic space into four rectangular pieces. I measured for the exact dimensions and then used the Direct-Indirect method described on my homepage under "Make
Mosaic How-To Lesson of the Month" (it's at the top of my homepage, on the left side). Notice the pieces on the bottom-right 12 inches of the rectangle are not perfectly aligned in a straight line.
That's because those pieces will align adjacent to the next hand-cut mosaic rectangle and I didn't want a noticeable straight edge where those two rectangles meet--I wanted the seam to be
irregular so you can't tell that the hand-cut mosaic was done in four separate pieces.
I placed another work table on a section of concrete floor that was not yet tiled. I used scrap porcelain pieces leftover from cutting the edge tiles against the wall. To make my mosaic tesserae, I
put a piece of tile on the concrete floor and hit it with my brick hammer. DON'T forget to wear protective goggles! I used the blade edge of the brick hammer to shape each piece. Remember,
this is porcelain tile, not ceramic. Nippers don't work unless you're Superman, so I used the brick hammer. Beating, banging, and shaping on the concrete floor didn't hurt it at all. I used plain
Elmer's Glue All to adhere each piece to the fiberglass mesh. Refer to the "Make Mosaic How-To Lesson of the Month" on my homepage to see how I used the plastic wrap and fiberglass mesh.
Also, refer to the same How-To on my homepage to understand my use of the blue tape. The blue tape serves a very important function. If you read my ebook, you know I'm a believer in plain 'ol
Elmer's instead of the much-more-expensive Weldbond. Notice how I integrated tesserae made from the porcelain tile, the green 4-inch tile, and the other tile (i.e., the pieces that look like they
have little holes on top, which they do) to give a nice, blended look. The blend gives a smooth transition from the 3-foot center inlay, to the hand-mosaic section, to the listellos, and finally to the
porcelain tile.
Here's the first finished section. It goes on the left side of the of the center inlay. Notice on the bottom-right 12-inch edge, and the top-right 12-inch edge that the tesserae are not in a straight
line. As noted, this intentional misalignment provides an irregular seam with the other rectangular pieces. If you squint at the picture on the left, you can see the black ink lines on the blue tape at
the bottom-right. Those markings define the length that I had to allow for the irregular seam. The close-up picture shows the detail of how each type of tile was integrated.
line. As noted, this intentional misalignment provides an irregular seam with the other rectangular pieces. If you squint at the picture on the left, you can see the black ink lines on the blue tape at
the bottom-right. Those markings define the length that I had to allow for the irregular seam. The close-up picture shows the detail of how each type of tile was integrated.
The first piece is dry-fitted into place. Again, notice how the top-right and bottom-right have irregular edges (i.e., not straight like the entire left side of the rectangular section). Our dog, Fred, is
helping by ensuring the section is properly aligned. Our other dog was Fred's brother and died of cancer. He had a blond coat. His name was Barney. (Remember the Flintstones?) I miss Barney.
Another rectangular section is complete.
helping by ensuring the section is properly aligned. Our other dog was Fred's brother and died of cancer. He had a blond coat. His name was Barney. (Remember the Flintstones?) I miss Barney.
Another rectangular section is complete.
I let the glue dry overnight before turning a rectagular piece over to remove the plastic wrap. As explained in the How-To on my homepage, the glue won't dry for a very long time with the plastic
wrap in-place. However, the edges of each piece dry enough so the tesserae don't fall off when you turn the mesh over. Once turned over, I peel back the plastic wrap and the rest of the glue
dries in about an hour. In this picture, I had just peeled off the plastic wrap. Notice that most of the glue is still bright white, which means it's wet. When thoroughly dry, it's ready to pick up and
dry-fit. The four rectangular pieces are now dry-fitted in-place. As Ace Ventura would say, they fit "like a glove." Notice that you can't tell it's made of four pieces because the seams where each
piece meets another piece aren't straight edges.
wrap in-place. However, the edges of each piece dry enough so the tesserae don't fall off when you turn the mesh over. Once turned over, I peel back the plastic wrap and the rest of the glue
dries in about an hour. In this picture, I had just peeled off the plastic wrap. Notice that most of the glue is still bright white, which means it's wet. When thoroughly dry, it's ready to pick up and
dry-fit. The four rectangular pieces are now dry-fitted in-place. As Ace Ventura would say, they fit "like a glove." Notice that you can't tell it's made of four pieces because the seams where each
piece meets another piece aren't straight edges.
This next narrow hand-cut mosaic rectangle is one of two "separators" that sets off the dining area from the entryway and great room. The whole area is open so we wanted something to help set
off the dining area from the other rooms. A simple hand-cut mosaic did the trick. Isn't it amazing how something so simple can make such a big difference? I used the same technique to make
these "separators" as I did for the entryway mosaic. (There's my good 'ol Elmer's. As explained in my ebook, no matter what anyone else says or writes, nothing beats plain 'ol Elmer's for any of my
mosaic applications.)
off the dining area from the other rooms. A simple hand-cut mosaic did the trick. Isn't it amazing how something so simple can make such a big difference? I used the same technique to make
these "separators" as I did for the entryway mosaic. (There's my good 'ol Elmer's. As explained in my ebook, no matter what anyone else says or writes, nothing beats plain 'ol Elmer's for any of my
mosaic applications.)
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