Q: How would I go about making mosaics like the Ancient Romans did?

A: "Mosaic"is a term that includes various techniques for covering walls, objects, and sculpture
with diverse materials, ranging from ceramic, to stone, and glass. The ancient Sumerians evolved
a technique called "cone mosaic"which involved setting thousands of fired ceramic cones
(point in) to embellish walls and columns in their temples and palaces. The Romans took the
mosaic technique to a degree of perfection unsurpassed to this day, using it mainly for floors.

The Roman pictorial technique survived in the Eastern (Byzantine) Empire, and was later
reintroduced to Italy, where it is still practised to some extent. Anything from broken crockery,
to pebbles sorted for color, to cut ceramic tiles can be used to cover surfaces, but if a pictorial
effect is desired the easiest way to proceed is by using "smalti", small (20mm) glass tiles that
are easily cut with a nipper (a pliers-type implement with cutting jaws perpendicular to the handle) .
Be sure to wear eye protection while cutting any tile.

In the S.F. Bay Area, a source for smalti is Tilecraft Ltd. in San Rafael (415-456-0282).
They come by the sheet, adhered to a fabric base which soaks off in warm water, about 1.3 square
feet to the sheet. Although hundreds of colors were available in living memory, now they can
only order 50 colors, and stock about 20. If particular colors or shapes are needed, a potter or
glassblower could probably make small tiles to order. Other sources include Bisazza, at
(305) 597-4099 and Sven Warner at Mountaintop Mosaics P.O. Box 653 Castleton, VT 05735 800 564-4980 fax 802 468-2183 .

Small glazed ceramic tiles or "tesserae" can be obtained from major tile suppliers such as Dal-Tile Corporation 7834 Hawn Freeway Dallas, TX 75217 800-933-8453 ; American Olean Tile Company 1000 Cannon Avenue Lansdale, PA 19446-0271 215-855-1111; and Lonestar Ceramics Co. P.O. Box 340215 Dallas, TX 75234 (214) 247-3111.


The tile can be adhered to a plywood base with mastics applied with a fine notched trowel, but it is preferable to work on solid concrete. Either a mortar can be applied about 1î thick over expanded metal lath (galvanized) which is nailed to the surface, or an existing concrete wall can be primed with admix (a glue that can also be added to mortar). Then "thinset" concrete (a proprietary
adhesive concrete) is applied with a notched trowel to a small area and the mosaic tile is pushed onto the area covered, making sure the thinset does not come up to the level of the fronts of the tiles ( you don't want it showing through the grout).

To make things go quicker, it is possible to adhere the tiles ahead of time to clear contact paper laid
on top of your pattern. Make sure to lay out the pattern in reverse, as the fronts of the tiles will be
facing down. This way, you can premake your mosaic in squares about one foot on a side (don't get
much bigger or they will become unwieldy) and press the entire square onto the wall. Remove the
contact paper after the thinset has gone off and the tiles are firmly attached to the wall. The mosaic is then grouted: a mixture of fine sand, cement, colorant, and water is forced into the spaces between the tiles (always leave at least 1/16 inch between tiles and try to keep the spacing consistent)
-you can of course use proprietary grouts which are available in a wide range of colors. Make sure
to keep sponging the surface until every trace of grout is off the fronts of your tiles - this is much
easier to do before the grout sets.

Andrew Werby - United Artworks


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