Mosaic Mural Making Workshop with Pamela Irving

The aim of this workshop is for participants to learn how to make a mosaic mural in collaboration with their students. All students from any year level can work on this process.

The process allows for you to make a mural of any size on a horizontal surface which can later be installed on a vertical surface.

The process is not restricted to tiles (tesserae) of the same thickness.

It is a direct lay process so you know exactly what it will look like.

1. Draw design on paper.  In a school situation the design can be as big as you like. The design should be fairly simple for most effective results. The tile selection and arrangement will embellish the design.

2. Work on a level surface, for example a piece of mdf or cement sheeting etc.

Place the drawing on the work board and tape it down.

3. Place a sheet of clear plastic over the drawing and secure that with tape or pegs.

4.  Place a piece of fibreglass mesh over the drawing, which has been covered with plastic. You should be able to see your drawing through the mesh and plastic.

If you can’t see the drawing clearly then use a marker and draw the outlines of your drawing on to the mesh.

5 Select the tesserae that you would like to use.

It is not necessary for them to be uniform in height. You might like to use Zart glass tiles, Zart budget tiles, the Zart plastic chips etc. You can use combinations of materials, keep in mind that plastic will deteriorate outside, the tiles will last for many years.

6. Using the adhesive, butter the back of the tiles and press on to the mesh until all the tiles are adhered following the design drawn.  Wipe off any excess adhesive on the face of the tile.  There is no right or wrong gap between tiles, however it is desirable for the students to use the same gaps on the one project for consistency.

It is important not be too heavy handed with the adhesive as the idea is for the adhesive to stick to the mesh with some space between so that the second layer of tile adhesive can come up and glue in the gaps.

It is very important that you use the correct adhesive for your situation. That is, if making a mural for outside it needs to be suitable for water and sun exposure.

7. The tiles are left to dry on the mesh, it will take a couple of days because you have the plastic underneath.

8. Once dry, the tiles on the mesh are ready to be adhered directly to your wall, cement sheeting, concrete pavers etc.

This is done by putting a layer of the tile adhesive directly on to the surface you are adhering to eg the wall, cement sheet etc, then the mesh pieces are directly laid on to the wet adhesive. Some adhesive will ooze up through the gaps which is desirable. You will need a damp sponge to get this off the surface of your tesserae.

9. Once the mural has been installed it should be left to dry for at least one day, more time is desirable before the grouting can be done.

The grouting will make the whole mural complete.

Grout colour is also important.  Black and charcoal will make all bright colours appear brighter. It is usually a great choice on school projects.

If you are uncertain which colour to use, do some sample boards.

Sanded grout is best. It is grainier and much more suitable for exterior pieces.

Mix grout to a creamy consistency and apply with a rag or rubber squeegee.  Make sure that excess grout is removed quickly. Use gloves to apply grout.

Do not put grout all over your piece unless you have time to clean it. Grout dries like concrete and is very difficult to remove if allowed to dry.

Use soft cloths to remove excess grout. Old towels, windcheater material is very good for this process. Try to encourage the students to bring in old rags rather than buying new material for this.

Keep polishing the tiles until all grout is removed and the tiles look very shiny.

Your job is then complete.

It is not absolutely necessary to seal the work although you can do that. I would use a slate and quarry sealer for this purpose. Make sure all dust is off the surface before the sealant is applied.

Advantage of this process.

You can work with large groups of students and all can have their own piece of mesh or the students can work collaboratively on the one piece of mesh.

It allows for lots of small groups or individual work so more people can participate at once, rather than all trying to work on the same piece of cement sheeting.

You can make large murals and achieve seamless effects. It will fit together like a jig saw puzzle.

The students can work on different shaped pieces of mesh which can slot together.

It is easier for your back as there is not so much weight to pick up. Cement sheeting covered in mosaic can be very heavy.

You can swap around pieces in the mural.

You are not restricted to using tesserae of the same height.

If you use a cement adhesive you can pre colour the adhesive which will reduce or even eliminate the need for grouting.

References:

www.pamelairving.com.au

http://www.mosaicmatters.co.uk/

With regard to references, most good mosaic books will be helpful to you in teaching and learning new processes in mosaics. Zart has many in stock.

I would recommend that you use other kinds of publications for inspiration.not mosaic books

For eg “Street Logos” by Tristan Manco , “Gaffitti Brasil”, etc.street art and graffiti would translate well in mosaic its very popular with students at the moment especially in the middle years.

“Decorated Skin” by Karl Goning,   Books like this are also good resources for decorative mosaic pieces.

Materials List

Zart Budget tiles,

Zart Glass tiles

Zart Plastic chips etc

Adhesive

Fiberglass mesh

Paper for drawing

Black markers

Pencils for drawing

Plastic to cover drawing

Grout

Board to work on

Masking tape

Glass tile nippers

Icy pole stick to apply adhesive.

Stanley knife