Mosaics Bring a Classical Art Form Home
Tile Art Adds Personal Style to a Backsplash, Bathroom, Fireplace or Patio
I fell for art mosaics and I fell hard when I stood under the spectacular ceilings of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for the first time. How could I not when you consider that they've been an enduring decorative art form for the better part of the last 5,000 years? With a history like that, it's safe to say I'm not alone in my appreciation.
The term mosiac gets thrown around pretty loosely. While I'm hardly the final authority, I need a definition of an art mosaic to differentiate it from a sheeted mosaic. Not that there's anything wrong with sheeted mosaics, it's just that sometimes a room needs a little extra. An art mosaic creates an original image or a pattern from small pieces of glass, stone or ceramic called tesserae. The arrangement becomes art.
Adding an art mosaic to a backsplash, a fireplace surround or a bathroom is a great way to add some permanent art to a room design. Whether they're commissioned and created from an artist, ordered from a catalog or put together in a weekend DIY project, they personalize a home in ways many other decorative flourishes can't.
Mosaics aren't so much timeless as they are ageless. And even modern ones are made the same way they've always been made. I can't think of another contemporary art form with that kind of pedigree.
The term mosiac gets thrown around pretty loosely. While I'm hardly the final authority, I need a definition of an art mosaic to differentiate it from a sheeted mosaic. Not that there's anything wrong with sheeted mosaics, it's just that sometimes a room needs a little extra. An art mosaic creates an original image or a pattern from small pieces of glass, stone or ceramic called tesserae. The arrangement becomes art.
Adding an art mosaic to a backsplash, a fireplace surround or a bathroom is a great way to add some permanent art to a room design. Whether they're commissioned and created from an artist, ordered from a catalog or put together in a weekend DIY project, they personalize a home in ways many other decorative flourishes can't.
Mosaics aren't so much timeless as they are ageless. And even modern ones are made the same way they've always been made. I can't think of another contemporary art form with that kind of pedigree.
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| This mosaic shower has the subtlety of a haiku. The walls are covered in small pieces of white marble, and the bird silhouettes are rendered in a quartzite called Blue Macauba. Natural stone can be delicate; this installation proves that point elegantly. |
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| This single branch of a flowering dogwood lends a dignity to this fireplace it wouldn't have otherwise. By making it with glass tile, the artist ensured the finished mosaic would have a liveliness at the same time. |
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| Mosaics lend themselves to geometry as well as they do panoramas. The mosiac back splash in this kitchen makes the "e" in eclectic a capital letter. |
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by Vickie Morrow
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| The chunky Cubism of this ceramic tile mosaic adds a primitive, artistic flourish to this vanity. A little imagination, a lot of planning and a box of broken tile took this mundane lavatory and turned it into an art installation. |
English roses get a pop-art treatment in this guest bath. Stuffy is about the last word anybody would use to describe the finished project. Using a bold, graphic wall treatment like this glass tile mosaic proves that modern and minimal aren't synonyms.
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by Palmer Todd
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| A scenic mosaic adds a classical touch to this bath. Mosiacs can't represent real life exactly by virtue of how they're made, so all mosaics add a bit of impressionist flair to wherever they're placed. |
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by knowles ps
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| Grapes have been a recurring motif in kitchen designs since Roman times, and when they're rendered in stone they pay homage to that pedigree. This cooking alcove has an artful feel that doesn't tie it to any particular style or time. |
The interlocking circles in this bath's mosaic wall add to the relaxing atmosphere without serving as a distraction. That wall adds texture, color and interest and doesn't disturb the peace.
This still-life backsplash is a work of art; there's no other word for it. Yet at the same time it can handle grease spatters and a good scrubbing. How many art forms can make that statement?
Mosaics work outdoors as well as indoors; on walls as well as floors. This patio design is made from pebbles, and no pile of rocks has ever looked this good.
Words like delicate and subtle don't figure into this bath design at all, and that's a very good thing. Rarely can a room be described as "brave," but this bathroom earns that word.
by Tina Kuhlmann
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This framed work of art shows that even if you're not in your forever house, a mosaic can add an artful touch that you can take with you if you plan ahead of time.
Could a mosaic find its way into your home? Do any of these ideas speak to you?
Could a mosaic find its way into your home? Do any of these ideas speak to you?
Ideabook published on Jan. 4, 2011.
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Debbie: I've seen that bathroom with my own eyes and it defies description.
There's a how-to at the end, complete with a slide show.
Thanks so much for including me and New Ravenna in your post! I especially love the Pebble mosaics--we made one of them once--but they're tough to fabricate and segment off-site, and then transport. However, I do think landscape architecture applications are an area in which mosaics are completely under-utilized, at least in the USA.
It's so nice to see this assortment of photos, especially since we also made two of the other mosaic installations (and sometimes we never get to see our work once it leaves the factory)--we are responsible for Palmer Todd's beautiful landscape panel (one of my fave mosaic scenes we've ever made) and the Interlocking Circles from Ryan Associates which are a design we designed and produce for Waterworks. Also, whoever designed Heather Moe's backsplash was obviously inspired by this: http://www.newravenna.com/search.php?word=monique&x=0&y=0.
Keep up the fabulous work Paul, you are officially a New Ravenna honorary Rock Star!
So good of you to check in. I thought that Palmer Todd mural had your fingerprints on it. Jeffrey Bale's pebble Persian carpet is breathtaking, really. Nancie Mills-Pipgras from Mosaci Art Now identified it for me yesterday and sent me this link to the rest of the photos from that garden: http://www.jeffreygardens.com/pages/gallery-patio.html
The guy does incredible work with pebbles, just incredible.
Add some more of your work to your profile here, people need to see some of the amazing things you know how to do with stone and glass.
So beautiful. Sara Baldwin makes me cry. The marble and blue macauba birds have been at the top of my lust list since I started planning my new house. I have a wall separating a partially sunken Sok tub and a walk through shower that just screams for mosaic like that. It even goes with my tattoo and bird watching hobby but that's an entirely different design issue. lol
Alas, I think I'd have to sell a vital organ at this point to afford New Ravenna anything as Motawi has already laid claim to my entry, kitchen backsplash, and fireplace. And cheap mosaic, I have found, looks exactly like what it is.
Time for a Plan B.
I am trying to visualize a smaller area of Sara's mosaic and maybe doing the rest of the wall with some acid stained concrete or something.
My other thought is to use some original Frank LLoyd Wright tiles I have from Prism Glass Co. I have 12 4 inch tiles so could do 6 on each side in a framed transom style box in the wall and light it from the inside with LEDs.
But every time I see those birds my heart does a little pitter pat.
There HAS to be a medication to cure this ailment! It's worse than shoe shopping! LOL
Ariel, are you working with a showroom? The birds in flight aren't as pricey as some patterns because they're mostly field and the birds are priced separately. And yes, IMHO "cloud" is one of our best designs--but nobody ever orders it!
And Paul, you are so right, I need to get more images on this website.
Confused yet? :o)
So.... since the birds are priced separately, does that mean I could have Birds in my Clouds??
AAAaaaarrRRRggggGGGHHhhH!
rofl No matter, it's still 120 or 130 square feet of tile (to do one side of that two-sided wall) and the budget has already taken a few dings... like the sticker price shock for flood insurance in a hurricane zone. On an island. lol
So.... I'm still playing with the idea of combining mosaic with concrete. Or starting a pebble collection and buying a tube of glue. :o)
My name is Michael Kruzich and I am a mosaic artist in San Francisco. Just saw your mention on MAN and you sound like a man after my own heart as far as classical mosaics. Just wanted to support and thank you for getting mosaics out there (or in there) as it were and keep up the good work!
My website is http://mkmosaics if you ever want to check out some of my work.
Cheers
Michael
And thanks for what YOU are doing, Paul. You've clearly been bit hard by mosaics! and continually weave in connections to those like Nancie and JoAnn L who also work so hard to show what the medium is capable of expressing.
http://aliciatappdesigns.com/mosaic.htm