| Making wonderful glass mosaic tile art is | | | | |
| easy! Let me show you how. | | | | The various types of vitreous glass, stained |
| | | | glass, and smalti are probably the most |
| Tesserae are the pieces arranged and adhered | | | | common tessera materials, especially for |
| to the base material to create your mosaic | | | | mosaic wall art. However, artists have |
| design. They can be of any material and | | | | managed to create beautiful mosaic works |
| shape. Don't limit yourself to the common | | | | using just about anything. The following |
| tessera types. Use your imagination. | | | | list should give you ideas on what you can |
| Try buttons and other fun or unusual | | | | use to create your mosaic masterpieces. |
| material. For example, I once saw a family | | | | Have fun and let your imagination run wild. |
| picture collage with a mosaic frame that | | | | Here are some tessera materials to consider |
| included one baby tooth from each | | | | using for your next project: millefiori, |
| grandchild. Be creative! | | | | ceramic tile (use intact or broken pieces), |
| | | | crockery (use broken pieces), marbles and |
| "Tesserae" is the plural of tessera | | | | glass gems, buttons, shells (intact or broken |
| (Latin). In the context of mosaics, | | | | pieces), keys, beads, coins, stones and |
| tessera means, "a cube; a piece of mosaic | | | | pebbles, plastic doodads, metal shapes, |
| paving."Â "Tesserae" is pronounced | | | | costume jewelry, and hardware (screws, nails, |
| TESS-uh-ree, and "tessera" is pronounced | | | | nuts, bolts). |
| TESS-er-uh. | | | | |
| | | | Some of these materials may seem odd, but you |
| Plan your mosaic before jumping in. Don't | | | | never know what a creative artist can do with |
| go off willy-nilly getting a bunch of tessera | | | | them. For example, I suspect that someone |
| material without considering the basics. | | | | somewhere can turn a pile of rusty nails into |
| Where will you display the mosaic (e.g., | | | | a beautiful mosaic that would be a great gift |
| indoors or outdoors, which will determine if | | | | for a building contractor. Don't let |
| you need weatherproof tesserae)? Are you | | | | anything inhibit your imagination. Nothing |
| making wall art or a stepping stone (which | | | | is too crazy. Sometimes the best ideas are |
| will determine if you can use sharp or pointy | | | | the craziest. |
| tesserae)? Think about how much tessera | | | | |
| material you need to complete the job. | | | | Remember, making mosaic art is easy. You can |
| Plan your work. Know what you need before | | | | do it. Yes, you can! |
| buying, collecting, or making your material. | | | | |