300+ Mosaic Tips, Techniques, Templates and Trade Secrets

by Fitzgerald, Bonnie

• ISBN13: 9781570765568
• ISBN10: 1570765561
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-09-26
• Publisher: Trafalgar Square Books

Summary

With information gleaned from years of working for and studying with professional mosaic artists from around the world, this comprehensive guide provides essential information for creating beautiful mosaics that survive the elements and stand the test of time. Offering hundreds of valuable design and construction tips, diagrams, and simple step-by-step directions accompanied by photographs, the book explains how to create professional, stylish, and technically skilled mosaics. It contains clear instructions for the most commonly used mosaic methods, tips for avoiding potential pitfalls, and an easy-to-navigate technical guide with advice from master mosaicists on selecting the materials, tools, and techniques best suited to any mosaic project. Beginners, hobbyists, and professional artists alike will make the leap from mediocre to majestic mosaics with this understandable, uniquely organized reference.

Author Biography

Bonnie Fitzgerald is the founder and owner of Maverick Mosaics Art School and Studio, an educational facility dedicated to nurturing expression through the art of mosaics. Her pieces have been juried into editions of the Artful Home and the Guild Sourcebooks of Architectural and Residential Art, and her work and instruction have appeared on several episodes of Home and Garden Television’s (HGTV) Curb Appeal. She lives in Vienna, Virginia.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. 6
About this book	p. 6
Essential preparation	p. 3
Plan your working environment	p. 10
Tools of the trade	p. 3
Consider your substrate	p. 18
Adhesives and how to use them	p. 22
Grout: Choosing and using	p. 28
All about tesserae	p. 32
Know your tesserae	p. 34
Choosing tesserae project: Millefiori heart	p. 40
Cutting with confidence	p. 42
Templates: Beasts, birds, and bugs	p. 48
About andamento	p. 52
Andamento project: Letters	p. 56
Tips for laying tesserae	p. 58
Laying curves project: Sailboat	p. 62
Templates: Under the sea	p. 64
Research and plan your design	p. 68
Find inspiration	p. 70
Planning and designing	p. 74
Planning project: Checked pattern	p. 80
Composition considerations	p. 82
Mural project: Jungle menagerie	p. 88
Consider color: Tesserae	p. 92
Consider color: Grout	p. 96
Color project: Red pepper	p. 100
Tessellations	p. 102
Tessellation project: Swimming fish	p. 106
Templates: Patterns	p. 108
Templates: The everyday-past and present	p. 110
Working methods	p. 112
Direct techniques	p. 114
Double direct techniques	p. 117
Direct working project: Flower	p. 122
Indirect reverse techniques	p. 124
Practical applications	p. 130
Outdoor ideas	p. 132
Outdoor project: Shell flower trough	p. 134
Templates: Flowers, foliage, and fruit	p. 138
Glass on glass project: Stained-glass window hanging	p. 142
Finishing and fixing	p. 144
Thinking outside the box	p. 148
Glossary	p. 152
Resources	p. 154
Index	p. 156
Credits	p. 159
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