Behind the Scenes: Springtime Mosaics
The mosaic tradition stretches back 5,000 years to Mesopotamia. Early mosaics—composed of stone, glass, shells, and clay—served decorative and practical purposes, as they do today. I’d been feeling that ancient calling recently and succumbed to it sometime in the middle of the winter, which had been unusually long for the temperate Mid Atlantic region. I kept my first project simple, opting to repurpose building materials. I ordered a box of broken Mexican talavera tiles, which cost more to ship than purchase.
I loved the idea of reclaiming materials that were otherwise useless. I pieced together shards to create a simple design with curves and color variations.
Here is the piece shortly after adding grout. I returned later to clean up the residue.
Next, I set my sights on warmer weather. Inspired by a photograph I took at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay Harbor, Maine, I set out to construct a floral mosaic.
For this project, I repurposed a wood tray and used small tiles made of recycled glass. When I was finished, I added a wire hanger to the back to turn it into a wall display. Check out the time lapse video below to see the assembly from start to finish.
This mosaic is for sale in my shop.
This eco-friendly floral mosaic is designed as a wall display. It’s constructed of tiles made from recycled glass and a repurposed wooden tray.
Product Description
16”x12” Mosaic, summertime flowers
Glass tesserae on wood substrate. Includes wire hanger.
Ships from Sage and Blue Studio in Maryland.