Catch a glimpse of the Mosaic Masterpieces Week-end
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Monthly Archives: April 2011
THERE WILL BE NO EVENING CLASS ON THURSDAY 5th MAY
No class next Thursday, but we’re back again on the 12th May as usual.
Bean and Brushed Up!
It has been a busy day for news on this blog (!) but despite that, I couldn’t possibly wait until tomorrow to share some photos of the completed mosaic pavement signage that I’ve created for Bean & Brush Family Art Cafe in Sale.
Welcome to the Bean & Brush
The Bean & Brush Cafe is a new venture by the same team that runs Laser Quest at the Trafford Centre and is set to be a great family destination for creative activity and chilling out on the week-end. It opens next Monday 2nd May.
I put the mosaic in yesterday, surrounded by all sorts of busy people completing all sorts of tasks in preparation for Monday’s launch. It felt like being on the set of one of those DIY programmes – 60 minute make-over?!!!
Valerie’s Mosaic Masterpiece
Looks Great Grouted
As there wasn’t quite enough time to grout her mosaic on the day, Valerie finished her mosaic off at home. For anybody who needs longer to complete the mosaic work, we provide a take away grout kit supported by a demo during the Sunday afternoon of the Week-end Mosaic Course.
Happy Teachers, Happy kids! Make Mosaic with our School Mosaic Project Packs
Hi Tracey We received our first school project pack and having a lovely time! We are really impressed by your materials, organisation and attention to detail. I am just about to place an order for another4 Mosaic Stepping Stone Class Project (Garden Theme) to give you advanced warning!I have been asked a question about placing the stones so can you tell me if they are slippy to walk on when placed in the ground?Thanks for your help.Nicky Danks
Specialism Project Officer
Ecclesfield School, Sheffield
Mosaic Project Pack for 30. Includes Teacher’s Test-it-First Kit
Hi Nicky, Its so lovely to receive an e-mail like yours! Thank you very much for your generous comments and I’m delighted that you’ve found the kits so useful. With regard to slippage, this shouldn’t be a problem. The materials are exactly the ones that I have used in public pedestrian areas and have so far always been approved by local authority H & S officers. The area of mortar betweenthe ceramic tile pieces in the surface provides friction and so acts as a resist to slipping. The only other potential hazard to consider is tripping, if any pieces have not been properly tamped to create a flush finished surface. Looking forward to receiving your next order – thanks again. Kind regards, Tracey
Teacher’s Pack
Mosaic is a wonderful medium for any age group to enjoy but its tactile qualities have extra special appeal for youngsters. By including a creative, physical activity as part of a school topic you can bring the subject to life and make it extra memorable for everybody. This must be why so many teachers are asking for advice to deliver mosaic projects to their classes.
“I’d like my class to have a go at mosaic, where do I start? There are so many different grouts…what sort of tiles do we need…can you use glass tiles outside?”
Not all schools can afford to bring in a mosaic artist to help. That’s why I’ve devised these fabulous project packs for schools.
Each pack contains all the essential materials and instructions with extra tips based on my experience of working in schools for 20 years. The kits simplify the process to make sure that everybody has a great time – teacher included. Its bags of fun and very rewarding.
Check out our packages and if you don’t find exactly what you need, get in touch and we’ll make a pack to your own specification.
Congratulations Sophie, hope you enjoy your MakeMosaic sunflower kit!!
Masterpieces of the April Mosaic Week-end Course
From sketch to
Finished and grouted mosaic by Leoni
from observation photo
to this completed mosaic
Prize for the first person to identify the flower in a comment to this post……..
Photos of the other pieces produced coming soon!
Saturday May 21st and Sunday May 22nd
Our next Mosaic Masterpieces Week-end Course at Norton Priory is taking place on these two days. The all inclusive price for the week-end is £150. You can still book for May on the website or by telephone or e-mail. (An information pack will be sent to you when you reserve your place on the course)
Further details here.
Mega Mosaic Masterpieces created at the April Week-end Course
With blue skies and warm sunshine, we couldn’t have been happier as we explored the delightful Georgian Walled Garden at Norton Priory, sketch boards and cameras at the ready………..
In the Walled Garden
So much colour and interest, it was difficult to settle on a subject to work with for the mosaic design…….
Working from sketch
working from both sketch
and photo for additional reference
As we worked steadily throughout Saturday afternoon, time whizzed by in a flash. Here’s some of the lovely smalti, glass mosaic and ceramic tiles we had to choose from:
In the next post, I’ll put up some images of the finished pieces. We’re also delighted to have received an invitation to display the work from April’s week-end as part of a forthcoming exhibition at Norton Priory. More details coming soon.
Also coming soon – Part 2 of How to Mosaic a Flower Pot
How to Mosaic a Garden Flower Pot – Part 1
For this project, I purchased a terracotta pot from a large chain DIY store in my area (yes, B & Q!). The first job is to seal it with diluted builder’s pva glue (mix half and half with water). Brush the pva sealant all over the surface, both inside and out.
Next, if you want to, paint the inside with acrylic paint. I used black for mine.
Use diluted pva to seal the pot and acrylic paint for the inside
Now you’re ready to start!
Decide on your design. Scratch your head a bit, have a look around for inspiration…..here’s some to help you. Simple patterns work well, either formal geometric patterns or more abstract, organic shapes. Keep it fairly simple.
If, like me, you want to create a design that requires pre-cut shapes, these have to be prepared next. Wearing safety specs, use tile nippers to shape round pieces and a tile cutter for any strips or straight lines. It is important to use frost resistant tiles or mosaic tesserae so that your pot will survive outdoors.
Pre-cut shapes for my daisy motif
Pieces of tile pre-cut to form the flower stem
You have to remember that the surface is curved. This means that any larger shapes have to be cut so that they can follow the curve. With my design, the petals were just about short enough to use whole. However I decide to divide my leaves into smaller pieces. This way, they fit around the pot following its contour and I’ve defined veins in the leaves at the same time.
Leaves
You can see from the photo that I mark the shape that I want to cut with red china marker onto the tile first. Then use the nippers to carefully cut it out.
Both flower stem and leaves follow the contour of the pot
Use a cementitious tile adhesive – I’ve used BAL Mosaic Fix for mine – to stick the pieces onto the pot. You can mix a small cupful for each small section that you work on.
Once you’ve glued down your first motif or section of pattern, clean off any excess adhesive from the surface of the mosaic pieces. If it gets left until tomorrow, it will be rock hard!
The first flower complete!
In part 2, I’ll show you how I completed and grouted my mosaic flower pot…………………..update: go to https://traceycartledge.wordpress.com/2011/07/14/daisy-daisy-make-me-a-flower-pot-do/
If you need supplies, you can find tile nippers, safety specs and china markers in the ‘accessories’ section of my main website: http://www.traceycartledge.co.uk/products?tags=accessories
Tracey Cartledge Artist 
