It’s a sign!
Yes. Yes, it is. Literally and figuratively.
There is something very appealing about mosaics. It’s not just the finished product, which of course is very pleasing to the eye, it’s potentially a metaphor for life. Think about it. Mosaics … is the bringing together of broken pieces to create something whole and beautiful.
How fabulous that a creative activity not only feeds your soul but also produces a beautiful piece to enhance your home or environment.
Mosaics has been around since the third millennia BCE with the earliest assemblage found in a temple in the ancient region of Mesopotamia. A recent archaeology discovery made 9-years ago in Antakya, Turkey, thought to be the largest intact mosaic, is set to open this year to the public.
It is a 9,000 square-foot (~ 836m2) mosaic that possibly had once been the floor of a public building when the city was known as Antioch. You can read more here: https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2019/07/worlds-largest-mosaic/
Early mosaics were often constructed with common materials of the time, stone and pebble.
Fast forward to today and a variety of materials are now used, limited only by imagination and restricted to where the end piece will reside in order to ensure ‘last-ability’.
Last-ability of a mosaic project needs some planning around appropriate materials, so a little bit of technical know-how is required to ensure projects stand the test of time.
In essence though, a mosaic project is as simple as ‘accidentally’ dropping a tile, plate, cup or tea-pot and using the pieces, called tesserae to create something new and beautiful. Yes, seriously. It’s that simple.
First however, is deciding what you will ‘stick’ your broken pieces onto. This is called your substrate. That is the board, sheet, pot, or anything else you want to use as the base for your mosaic.
Almost anything can be mosaiced, the last-ability is in the products you use. In addition to the choice of substrate, the adhesive is crucial. There are tilers compounds you mix and a multitude of glues; craft and industrial. Some of the glues will be water soluble, water resistant and some water-proof, so choice is important.
Learn as you go is an ok way to start. You can only get better with each project.
There really is no such thing as a mistake, with mosaics. It’s not like anything really serious is going to happen if you drop a tile and break it.
Once you break or cut your tiles, the next part is really therapeutic. It’s like a jigsaw, only better.
As you place your mosaic pieces into your pre-drawn shapes or design, suddenly the competitor in you is finding just the right piece to fit in just the right place. And guaranteed, once you start it’s a little bit hard to stop. Often you will place, step back and ponder, then decide nah, that’s not it and pick up the pieces and start again. Yeh, you will.
Mosaics will fire up your inner creative.
It is a wonderful creative pursuit that will hook you in, of that there is no doubt.
Most of us have those moments when we yearn for something creative, yet we mostly dismiss those moments as life just seems to get in the way.
Mosaics is a pursuit that provides many benefits on so many levels.
Smash a tile and release some pent-up frustration; create a design and pick some colours to unleash your inner artist; be still, place your tiles and glue to experience mindfulness; mix your grout, slosh it on your final product and watch the magic of colours pop before your very eyes; and finally polish it up, seal the finished product and bask in the glory of your success.
Yep. It’s a sign.
Contact Di to chat some more about Mosaics or attending a workshop.