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Home > Craft Topics > Projects > Crockery Mosaics
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Tools
and equipment
Crockery pieces
It is best to make all your mosaic pieces first by breaking the
crockery into suitably sized fragments. Check that you have enough to
cover the area, keeping each colour in a separate pile.
Break each plate or saucer by placing it face down on a flat surface, covering
it with a cloth to prevent broken crockery from flying about, and then
applying a sharp tap to the centre with a mallet or the flat end of a
hammer. This will normally give you several large pieces, each of
which must be broken down in the same way.
The size of the eventual pieces will depend on the curvature of the
crockery because each pieces must be as flat as possible. This, the flat
base of a plate can provide some fairly large pieces; the curved rim
must be broken into small fragments in order to eliminate most of the
curvature (these small pieces are useful for 'filling in'). Some plates
are surprisingly thick in places - too thick to be sued in a flat mosaic
- and these chunky pieces can be discarded
Adhesive
You need a thick adhesive to cope with the irregular bulkiness and
shape of the crockery pieces. Ceramic tile adhesive is ideal and enables
you to build up a thick layer of adhesive underneath particularly thin
pieces of crockery, so keeping the surface of the mosaic fairly level.
Grout
You can use either builder's cement or ceramic tile grout to fill in
the spaces between the mosaic pieces. Tile grout provides a smooth
finish which contrasts well with the jagged appearance of the broken
crockery. It is available in a range of colours and white, or you can
make your own colours by adding artist's acrylic paint or universal
stainers to the grout. For outdoors, cement or a sand and cement mixture
gives a rugged, weathered look to the mosaic.
Tools
You will need a mallet or hammer for breaking the crockery,
pincers for shaping the mosaic pieces, a small trowel for mixing cement
and an adhesive spreader for spreading the adhesive and the grout
Planning designs
Crockery mosaic is best suited to fairly free, abstract designs. You
will discover as you work that you cannot know in advance exactly what
area it is possible to cover with the available quantity of a particular
pattern or colour. This makes it difficult to plan a design beforehand.
It is far better - and more fun - to choose a free, flexible and continuous
design which you can make up as you go.
Setting the mosaic
1. Apply a small area of adhesive at a time - approximately as much
as you think you will need for one area of colour or pattern. Tile
adhesive dries fairly quickly, so scrape off all surplus adhesive before
leaving the work for any length of time.
2. If necessary, use pincers to create a particular shape or to break
off awkward protrusions. Press the crockery pieces into place, keeping
the spacing between the pieces as regular as possible. Wipe off excess
glue with a cloth before it dries.
3. When the adhesive is completely dry, apply the grout with an adhesive
spreader across a small area at a time. Make sure the grout is pushed
well down into the spaces between each mosaic piece using a cloth or
sponge. Remove excess grout with a damp cloth.
4. Clean and buff to finish.
'Project submitted by Kimberley Merchant from Kimberley's Crafts'
Why not send us images of your finished projects to be included on this page - or if you prefer to improve on this page please send us your step by step images - simply email us your image (s), along with your name, age and hometown - enjoy!
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