Mad For Mosaic

My friend Rose and I have decided to try our hands at mosaic this year. This has required many many trips to various op (thrift) shops for cheap china while we've built up our "stash". I even recycled an unused freezer to keep my stock in with each shelf designated for a different colour of ceramic.

When my friend Gay heard of my new interest she arrived with a wooden bowl and two pillowcases filled with broken china and glass that she has saved up over the years. Most of the items held sentimental memories for her and she wondered if I could combine them into a mosaic bowl. I thought it wouldn't prove too difficult but as it was my first project it was definitely a learning experience as I had to combine different materials of differing thicknesses.

Inside I concentrated on attaching the glass pieces, particularly the blue and pink wine glasses that her now deceased brother in law and brought back as gifts from his native Czech Republic. Each of these were decorated with delicate gold swirls. Smaller pieces I saved for decorating the rim of the bowl.

As the bottom needed stability I used china from a single item
- a beautiful antique tureen that had been smashed beyond repair.

On the outside I combined both glass, broken mirror and different china in a random design. Grouting was the trickiest part as there were so many cracks to push it down into before the hurried rush to wipe it from the tesserae. Plus there was the horrifying moment when I left it on my bedroom window sill while I went round the house to come inside and a cat jumped up knocking it down onto a brick path. Amazingly it survived the fall which was just as well considering it took me well over 40 hours to complete.