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Mosaics
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The History of Mosaics
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The mosaic came from the Mediteranean people during the Classical period. The earliest mosaics found date back to the 5th Century BC. They were made out of water worn pebbles. These pebbles allowed the artists to make two dimesional designs. There were problems with the pebbles as far as what could be done. The colors were muted and very limited. Pebbles also were individualized and not very uniform in shape.
Centuries later it was then discovered that colored stones could be cut uniformly and used to make mosaics. The mosaics that resulted are amazing. The figures were more three dimensional and there was a greater range of color that was used.
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When first thinking about doing this project I knew right away that I wanted to do a mosaic. I looked through various books and saw beautiful mosaics but they were all way beyond my ability. I finally decided on the Dolphin Mosaic from Delos. I never thought the project would be so complicated. All I had to do was glue some tile onto a board or concrete, right? WRONG! My first thought was to put the tiles on concrete. But I had some problems. What was I going to do with this concrete board when I was done and how was I going to get it to class? I came up with the idea of making a table top. It would be something that would be useful after I finished the project. The first step was to draw the design on the wood. I then had to find tiles to put on this board. Cutting the tile turned out to be a chore. The tile I used was made to withstand most anything, so it was a challenge to cut pieces. Many times I resorted to using a hammer to break the tile into pieces. The next step was putting the tile on the wood with tile adhesive. Finding the right pieces to fit perfectly and match up with other pieces around it was sometimes almost impossible. The last step was the grout. This brought me to my finished product. Finally!
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My Project
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Other Great Mosaic Pieces
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There are many wonderful mosaics to be seen all over Greece. Click on the links below to see some of my favorites.
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Favorite Links
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