Mosaics

Mosaics are the art of creating images by assembling small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It is used to be a decorative art, or of cultural and spiritual importance, as in cathedrals. Small pieces of stone or glass of different colors, known as tesserae, are used to create a pattern or picture.
There are two different ways to make a mosaic. The direct method, or the indirect method, but the first decision is the design you want to make.

1. Direct method - This is the most used technique for making a mosaic. In this method you can either butter each piece of tesserae with your chosen adhesive, or you can put a small amount on the surface where you can put tiles on top of the glue. Be warned though, the adhesive can set quickly. This method is easier than the indirect method, because you get to see what you are putting down and can move the tiles around. This method should be used if the pieces of tesserae have varying thickness and it is desired that the overall mosaic will have a 3D effect.
2. Indirect method - This method  involves creating the mosaic upside down onto a sheet of brown sticky paper. The tesserae are stuck face down onto gummed paper, which is then set in a bed of grout, flipped over, when later the paper can be washed away when the grout sets. This method is simple to use when using glass, pebbles, marble or any tesserae that looks the same from both the front and back. This method is handy because you can work on a mosaic away from the final site. It will be able to create a flat surface while using tesserae of varying thickness. This method is very ideal for flooring.

Once you have finished creating your mosaic using either method, you will need to create the smooth finish by applying grout to the mosaic.

In my opinion I have found that the mosaic is one of the most fascinating types of art there is. It amazes me the work that artists put into them, such as the picture below. Making a mosaic is fun, but very time consuming. I have made one mosaic and now working on a mosaic table. The first mosaic though we made our own tiles out of cardboard and painted them. In that project we glued them to the board and put grout between the tiles. 

Famous Mosaic