The Top Ten Mistakes To Avoid in Doing DIY Mosaic Art

The Top Ten Mistakes to Avoid When Doing DIY Mosaic Wall Art

Here is a rundown of my top hard lessons learned while doing my latest chinoiserie-style large-ish mosaic wall piece. Read through and reap the  benefits of all my blunders, faux pas, wastes-of-time, and hair-pulling episodes on the journey of creating a pleasing chinoiserie-style mosaic wall piece.

1.   Not Planning The Mosaic Out From The Beginning

OK, I didn’t actually make this mistake lately—per se. I am a planner-outer of mosaics (because I so fear getting lost in the middle and never finding my way back!). But THIS, the “not planning it out” could be the most common beginner’s mistake ever. Sure, go ahead…fly by the seat of your pants…you could leave the outcome of your mosaic to your “inner muse”…you could “go with the flow” and just start cutting glass and randomly glue it down and see where it ultimately gets you. It may get you to a fabulously abstract piece (the kind you may always be explaining to curious admirers of your work) and this will be great…OR that laissez-faire “not planning” attitude may have a lesson in store for you. Not planning could break your heart into as many pieces as you might have settled there in a confusing, objectively un-beautiful mish-mash, begging not to be grouted (or ever seen again). 

2.   Being “Chintzy” and/or Ill-Prepared and Later Running out of Mosaic Art Supplies

Ah, yes…this happened to me while teaching and recording my course on How To Do Chinoiserie-Style Mosaic Wall Art. I ran out of glass and lost several weeks of work! I had grossly miscalculated my glass resources, including the significant amount of gorgeous green glass I would need to complete my piece’s background. Getting glass mail-ordered in was not that easy given where I live, and I had to travel to a city near the supplier. The glass had to be brought back to my country in my luggage and some explaining had to be done at Customs (“I’m building a cathedral…”).

With regard to being “chintzy” and seeking out “cheap” materials. I think it’s a big no-no, unless you’re using lesser materials to “practice” with or to “perfect your skills” on. Nice materials, beautiful things that you find inspiring, are an investment in your artistry. Consider bearing the expense of fine glass and materials to work with to make your piece luxe, high-quality and to have longevity. Always think about quantity and quality before setting out. Running out won’t happen again with me (til the next time).

3.   Not Securing and Sealing the Base/Foundation/Frame Before Starting

You’re eager to start…you’ve got all your glass, jewels and materials in place; your inspiring composition is finalized…But are you REALLY ready to set out here? Take another look at your frame and the base wood or background material upon which your glass will be sitting (hopefully forever). Look closely at the back of your base…Can it withstand the added weight of glass, grout, and possibly all that bling you may be “burdening” it with? Is the piece already properly hung with any wiring (but do consider more securely displaying your mosaic in a stand/easel rather than hanging it on a wall!).

Is your piece properly braced so that it wont’ “come apart at the seams?” (i.e. the seams being those areas where the base meets the frame, where grout can “ooze” through). Best to take some time out to have a carpenter, a friend, a handy-person or other qualified individual take a second look and help to make sure your frame and base combo will stand the test of time.

Also, think about the weather that someday your piece may be exposed to. If someday it’s living blissfully on a partially-exposed porch or outdoor room…you want your base to be ready for anything—heat or cold. This may involve applying sealants, extra layers of paint, and so on…before you start! You don’t really want to be hammering on the mosaic after the fact. Seek counsel if reinforcement is not your strong point. Work from a good base and the rest (the fun creative part!) will take care of itself (with your artistry, of course).

4.   Not “Tucking The Mosaic In/Securing The Piece/Studio” After Working

Unless you have a hermetically sealed atelier or impervious studio environment in play…When you are done with your working session, it’s not a bad idea at all to “tuck the mosaic in” and secure it in a corner or location well away from where the wind, weather, animals, children, or unseen forces could knock it over (wiping out days or weeks of hard work!). Also, it’s good to consider a bit of a clean-up…maintaining the safety of the environment, i.e. shards of glass, tiny pieces of sharp glass on the floor, etc. which could hurt people or animals. Treat your work with the importance and respect it deserves. The ritual of putting your piece to bed is nice, too. It’s always gratifying to finish your work for the day and leave your glue to set, your colors to meld, your vision to start coming alive…

5.   Gluing the Sides of Your Glass/Tile/Tessarae (if Not Absolutely Necessary)

Yes, this gluing things down well (a bit too well, on the sides!) is not something you’d ever really think could be a problem. UNTIL you’re in the end stages of grouting and that fabulous Weldbond (or other kinds of adhesive) that got on the sides of your glass starts bubbling up and gumming up on you. It can add a lot of frustration to your work as the adhesive starts behaving like rubber cement, balling up, showing up white, etc. It seems to be a chemical reaction which occurs when you endlessly spritz the piece with water and/or vinegar (or other polisher) as you use a rag or sponge to get grout off the surface of your glass. Do not rely on gluing sides of glass to ever hold a piece of glass down! If you’re not using adhesive mesh, but instead gluing each piece meticulously by hand (as I currently do), try to avoid getting glue on the sides of the glass from the get-go as it will cut down on a lot of tiny “clean up” work.

6.   Not Accounting For Any Transparent Areas of Your Working Glass, i.e. “Streaky Glass”

Gosh, this issue came up as well as I was recording my online art course: “How To Create Chinoiserie-Style Mosaic Wall Art.” The mosaic art supply house had shipped me a gorgeous piece of 2mm glass, but it wasn’t my usual solid “opalescent” or “iridescent” glass. It was called “Streaky Glass” and I desperately wanted to use it in my peacock feathers. BUT the streaky part of the glass is transparent, and the ugly brown particle board of my base was showing right through it and affecting the color read. HAD I ONLY painted my base background a bright white when I started out…I could have avoided a lot of the extra work of adjusting for the use of a more transparent glass.

7.   Using Cellulose Sponges or “Linty” Rags or Loopy Towels During Grouting

Ok, this is something you’ll only do once (IF you don’t heed this advice) and you’ll never do it again. Cellulose sponges can give off little crumblies (sometimes the color of the sponge) which can embed into your grout. And good old fabric rags can give off linty little balls of fibers…And some perfectly good rags that seem to have been washed well (if you’re a recycler)…well, they might still have a bit of cat fur, lint or other debris on them (it happens!)…Old towels, too, can have “loopy” fibers which may find a hook into and leave tiny strings in your grout.

Loose fibers are ALL the enemy of a finely-grouted mosaic. It’s OK to use textured rags with some “grab” for getting grout off the surface of your tiles and help to embed the grout between the crevasses of your glass pieces. BUT do give your sponges/rags a final test before you bring it to your final piece, just to make sure they don’t leave behind a trace.

8.   Not Preparing Yourself Psychologically for the Sometimes-Extreme Visual Changes That Occur After Grouting

Do you want to see a mosaic artist—even the most experienced ones out there—have a proper meltdown? I mean, a childish, whining, embarrassing fit of adult fussing or even crying? If it’s going to happen at all, if it’s going to happen after grouting is done and the “final” piece finally comes into view. 

You see, after mosaic artists “live” with a large un-grouted piece (sometimes for a very long time if it’s large or detailed), they may decide to finish it with a colored grout, or even a classic white grout…and the change to the piece can be extremely shocking. It all happens so quickly because the grouting stage is much faster (usually) than the setting-glass-in-place stage. This is a time when one must learn to “manage expectation” and anticipate some potential “disappointment.”

Various colors of grout can SO alter a piece as to make it almost unrecognizable to what you’d worked on before, and so “off-vision” of what you’d planned. Sometimes this ends up being amazing…and sometimes you just dream of finding a transparent grout or not using grout at all, or filling in the piece in various places with all different colors of grout…

In the case of deciding NOT to grout…the artsy-philosophical question then becomes: is it still considered a mosaic if it’s done without the grout? Or is it now a collage, or…what do you call it? While you ponder that, the great news is that there are several easy fixes for grout that’s not the right color or that’s left you bereft (although black can be a bit challenging).

9.   Not Waiting til AFTER Grouting to Add Any High-Projecting 3D Embellishments

Oh, I so understand…you’ve got jewels, you’ve got bling, you’ve got raised sentimental items–and you want to use them! But bear this in mind: Any jewels or embellishments that are not planned to be embedded “on the same level” of the glass in your mosaic (rather, when you want certain embellishments to be sitting on top of your glass)…These will need to be placed during the final grouting and spritzing/polishing process.  Grouting can be very jarring to your jewels and can even dislodge any embellishments sitting on top of your glass. It’s also very difficult to use/remove grout around jewels on top of the glass, and the process can greatly alter their brilliance and character. Best to practice some delayed gratification here and completely grout your mosaic and THEN add all your final “top” embellishments with a strong, clear-drying glue.

10.        Losing Patience and Vision While Doing Any Arduous Tasks (Like Dense Backgrounds and Large Areas of Grouting)…and Possibly Quitting!

A dear teacher of mine used to always say, “The only way you can fail is to quit now!” Going in, you must understand that mosaic art is a slow, zen art where the vision, the final imagery and materials can come together slowly (and some people may do it quickly or have a “production line” approach, but truly bespoke, inspired pieces will have a longer time element). Be prepared that some tasks of doing large-ish chinoiserie-style mosaics can be quite meticulous, arduous, and dare I say boring. Just know that it will eventually be over, and your piece will be DONE. Your self-discipline and work ethic will be rewarded with your own gorgeous one-of-a-kind mosaic. As you progress in skill, knowledge, and pieces to offer the world, who knows where your artistry may lead…