Making mosaics.

Afternoon everyone!

I often get asked about how I make my mosaics - and, as with a lot of things in life, there is no magic formula - it is hard work, practice and lots of good ideas!

I can tell you want I use - simple tile snippers, PVA glue (for indoor mosaics), ordinary wall tiles, exterior plywood for the base, tweezers for putting the little pieces in place - I have a pencil, ruler and rubber handy (and a notebook for ideas as they come to me), and basically blogger friends, that is it!

Ask any mosaic artist, and they will tell you, mosaics take a long time to make.  I have never priced my work with how long they take to make - it would make the minimum wage look loads!  But, of course, that isn't the point - I just love to make mosaics, and still feel privileged that customers want spend their hard earned money on them!

My tiles are always a source of interest - where do I get all those gorgeous colours and textures?  Well, I do a biannual big order from Wall and Floors, so that the delivery is reasonable.  I visit the British Ceramic Tiles factory shop twice a year too ( see blog post - http://justmosaics.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/a-visit-to-british-ceramic-tiles.html) and I keep my eyes open for anything interesting, wherever I am.

A mosaic of Chesil Beach, Dorset, England - one of the mosaics I sold this week.

The ideas for mosaics..?  Well, they just flow - while I am working, or walking the dog, or on holiday, or at exhibitions, or in the middle of the night!  I have a great list of mosaics I want to make ..'when I have got time!'  I am learning to make the time between orders and commissions now - because you have to feed that inspiration regularly to keep it ... humming!  My heart races as I start a new mosaic I have been thinking about for a while - no one else will have done one quite like it before - it's really exciting!

On my worktable this week.....!

So, I am always happy to answer questions about mosaics, as best I can - I have a Q and A session pinned to the tope of my Facebook page this weekend www.facebook.com/justmosaics.co.uk - if you have a question.  But mostly I would say, just get stuck in and see what happens.  As an old art teacher of mine used to say, 'Art is never wrong!'

Happy weekend!
Felicity x