This is a table I made as a wedding present for Jenn and Roy. It was made using the 'indirect method,' which is what you use when you want a completely flat surface. Rather than glue the tiles face-up onto the tabletop, you glue the tiles upside-down onto a piece of heavy brown paper. Then you grout the bottom of the tiles while they're still upside down on the paper. Then, while the grout is still wet, you flip the mosaic right side up and lay it in a bed of adhesive on the board that will be the tabletop surface. Next, you wet the brown paper and peel it off. Then you re-grout from the front. Voila--a perfect, flat surface.
This technique has been in use since mosaic's invention hundreds of years ago. The stupendous mosaic floors you can see in churches and villas around the world were made using the indirect method. It's amazing, because the artist was basically working backwards and upside down, placing each tile wrong-side-up onto a temporary surface. This technique has the huge advantage of letting the artist work off-site, and then bring the panels to be installed as they're finished. But as a disadvantage, the poor bugger can't even see his mosaic until it's installed right-side-up!
Check out the 'Mosaics so beautiful they make me teary' link on the right hand side for some incredible indirect mosaics. Sigh.
1 comment:
What a lucky, lucky girl I am. Not only do I marry a super fantastic guy, but I get a bridesmaid who gives me a gorgeous, custom-made mosaic table that matches our bedroom! And let me tell you, not only was that mosaic pattern perfectly designed and executed; the table is strong, sturdy, level (no need to put sugar packets under one of the legs), and extremely useful.
Loves it.
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