Mosaic Madness

My second workshop at the Artistic Affaire was with Michelle Legler - a master of mosaic. We were asked to collect a few old dishes to bring to the class or any bits we might want to include. I brought some old jewelery - but some people brought shells, and door knobs and all kinds of cool things - like figurine remnants. They suggested we buy a pair tile nippers and safety glasses and gloves. But they did have some to share. I purchased the rose from Michelle - it really made my project. We were told the trick to breaking the tile - is to just use the tip of the nippers - cutting into about 1/8th of an inch. Here you can see my layout before the grout was added.

I went to the local thrift chain, Out of the Closet - not knowing for sure if they sold old dishes small assortment of vintage saucers. I was able to get a solid aqua plate, two floral patterned plates, and a cream and white with grape cluster texture. We were provided with a shallow cardboard box to work in and the lid to a box that Michelle and her husband make BY HAND! Once our tops were finished they handed out the boxes. They were covered in textured wallpaper. If we wanted, we could antique the box - i brought some metallic craft paint - so with a quick wipe with a paper towel, the texture really popped. When i was at the Home Depot - i also picked up some glass tiles to use in my project - but in the end i left them out - since they were much thicker than the plates. There is a way to use tile adhesive to balance out uneven materials - but since we were just using fast drying glue in our projects - it made it easier if they were the same thickness.

Here is a sample from the class - so pretty with beads and charms.
Please check out michelle's blog HERE and HERE for dozens of students work - the creativity and colour combinations was awe inspiring.
Thanks Michelle!