How to Create a Mosaic Using the Direct Method
Materials:- Tesserae: ceramic tile, crockery, glass tile, shells and/or found objects
- Tile adhesive or mastic
- Tools: tile nippers, hammer, tile saw (for large projects), goggles, paper towels, dry soft cloth, several old towels to protect your floor or work table, sponge, tile trowel
- Tile grout or a cement-based sanded grout
Design Considerations:
- The size and shapes of the pieces
- Backing surface
- The size of the interstices (the gaps or "grouting joints" between pieces)
- Grout and tile color
- Amount of glue, tile and grout
Getting Started:
- Start by sketching out your mosaic design.
- Choose the tesserae for your mosaic design.
- Lay your tiles out on the backing surface:
-Cut tesserae with nippers, hammer or tile saw to fit your design. Be sure to wear protective goggles.
-Lay the tiles first before you fix them with glue.
-Lay tiles for the main subject first and then do the border.
-Leave a little gap between each tile or tesserae.
-Glue tile to backing surface. Apply glue to the back of each individual piece and lay each one down one-by-one.
-Allow glue to completely dry before grouting. - Grout your mosaic:
-Mix grout in a bucket with water to produce a mud-like consistency (follow manufacture’s directions).
-Apply grout to mosaic with a tile trowel. Be sure to push grout into all the gaps.
-Scrap off the excess grout with a grout scraper and throw it away. Get a dry towel and wipe off as much grout as you can without disrupting the grout.
-Leave the mosaic for half an hour or until the grout is firm and dry.
-Carefully use a wet towel and wipe the mosaic over until pretty much all the grout has been removed from the top of the tiles.
-Use a dry soft cloth to buff the surface of the mosaic pieces. - If you decide to seal your mosaic, wait at least 24 hrs before applying a sealer (follow manufactures directions).
- Tadaa! Your mosaic is complete.