Roman Mosaics on Display

Here they all are………….

Well done Year Three!!!!

And a few close ups:

Cast in Stone

The wonderful designs created by the participants at Mencap’s Prospect House in Stockport have now been cast into durable paving flags.

the mosaics being cast at Tracey's studio

The flags will take a few weeks to fully cure. We will keep them in the formwork just until the edges and corners are stronger and then they will be delivered back to Prospect House ready for installation in the front garden.

All together, there are 16 mosaic flags at different sizes and an extra two circular features that can be incorporated into the new patio area. Thanks to all the great contributions from the four groups involved, this is going to be a garden that everybody can enjoy and feel truly proud of.

Mencap Mosaic Project Update

We’ve been delighted by the warm welcome we’ve received from all the groups at Prospect House and very impressed by the standard of work during the programme of mosaic workshops.

The Beautiful Butterfly Design

Sixteen designs have now been produced ready for casting into square and rectangular concrete flags at the studio. The finished patio is going to look resplendant with these very colourful highlights. Amongst the designs we have a number of flowers: snowdrops, poppy, thistle, sunflower; one or two creatures and minibeasts: ladybird, caterpillar, wasp, butterfly; a rainbow and various other cheery creations that will suit the garden a treat.

Piecing Together Stockport

This month sees the start of the Garden Mosaic Project for Mencap Stockport. Our first workshop took place last night. The group of twelve members thoroughly enjoyed creating four large mosaic designs: a frog (Kermit!), a rainbow, a wasp emerging from a flower and an abstract piece. They all look terrific and will be cast into paving flags to form a colourful feature within the new patio at the front of the garden.

Three more groups that use the centre will be contributing to the design during further workshops on Saturday and next week. By then we should have mosaic designs for a total of 16 paving flags.

Stockport is where its at! We’re also working with students at Stockport College to make three mosaic wall panels that will adorn the walls of a quadrangle within the labyrinth of college buildings.

The outdoor space has been beautifully re-vamped so that the students can enjoy using it for exercise and recreation and the scheme has been possible through assistance from The Groundwork Trust. Today was the first session of working towards the design for the mosaic. The students used wax crayons and watercolours; flower petals and sticky-back paper to produce flower designs that will be incorporated into the overall design for the mosaic panels.

Watch this space for updates and images as the projects develop……

More Images from the Roman Mosaic Project

"Fiddly Work, Mosaic!" (Photo by Sarah McAdam)

"So many colours to choose from!" (Photo by Sarah McAdam)

"It's all a bit sticky!" (photo by Sarah McAdam)

If your school would like to run a project like this, have a look at some of the mosaic kit packages available, especially designed and produced for schools:

http://www.traceycartledge.co.uk/products?tags=schools

Roman Mosaics with Year 3

The Year 3 children of Chorlton Church of England Primary School can tell you all about the Romans. The topic has been one that they’ve thoroughy enjoyed and now they’re all expert mosaic makers too!

photo by Sarah McAdam

In just two workshop sessions, the whole class had completed their work and it was ready to grout. With help from Tracey and a couple of parent volunteers, each child then had the opportunity to grout their masterpiece themself. The results are spectacular….more images coming soon……..

If your school would like to run a project like this, have a look at some of the mosaic kit packages available, especially designed and produced for schools: http://www.traceycartledge.co.uk/products?tags=schools

BAMM – New Website

The British Association for Modern Mosaic has just made some changes to the website. I’m delighted to be featured in the professional members’ gallery: http://www.bamm.org.uk

Now aboard The Ark!

If you’re looking for somewhere quiet and easy to do your Christmas shopping in London, away from the city centre crowds, Stoke Newington has lots to offer and one little gem of a shop is The Ark on Stoke Newington Road.

The Ark is one of our new retailers, stocking both the wall plaque kits and the stepping stone mosaic kits. Joanna Georgiou, the proprietor, has a wonderful selection of contemporary and eco friendly gifts on offer. My children were delighted with the wind up character torches and funky insulated lunch bags that I found for them here. You could easily do all the Christmas shopping in one go at this shop and delight the family with exciting and inspired gifts that they’ll love and treasure…….

Ministry of Craft Mosaic Workshop

On Saturday 10th October a group of seven beginners joined me at the Fred Aldous basement workrooms for a mosaic workshop as part of the Ministry of Craft autumn programme.

We had a lovely day and the work that the group produced was wonderful – lots of different approaches and styles and fantastic results……

Glass mosaic on board

This is Angela’s lovely butterfly. It is made entirely with glass mosaic, with a good choice of subtle blends of colour and shapes working right through the form to really bring it to life. Well done, Angela, and thanks for the photo.

Route 73 to London Kids…………..

Casilda Ilia and I are pleased to announce that MakeMosaic mosaic kits are now available at her very exciting shop – Route 73 – on Church Street (Stoke Newington).

Route 73 Kids

Route 73 is packed full of exquisite gifts, toys and crafts for children, targetting those of 8 years and under. Whilst we know that creative spirits of all ages enjoy making mosaics, its never too young to start and great fun for younger children with plenty of adult assistance! The wall plaque mosaic kits require a careful hand and usually suit the slightly older children best whilst the stepping stone kits are great for kids as young as 3 or 4 yrs old to be involved with, providing an adult takes the lead and supervises the activity carefully, paying attention to the safety instructions provided.

When young children make mosaic stepping stones with me, they wear protective gloves.  (There’s a large and a small pair in every stepping stone mosaic kit) As soon as we’ve finished mixing the cement and getting it into the

Its as much fun as making mud pies!

mould, the child can enjoy making a pattern of their own with the ceramic pieces directly into the wet mortar. Older children will generally prefer to get the design worked out on the card beforehand and then put it into the mortar with the aid of the magic transfer paper in the kit. The choice is yours!