Sassy Girl Mosaic Wall Hanging

When Tiffany Miller was a law student, she decided she needed an outlet for her artistic side. She took a pottery class and soon began teaching pottery to others. One of her students asked her about mosaics, which she didn't know much about at the time. She was intrigued enough to teach herself. The rest is history! Today, Miller makes a mosaic caricature of a real "sassy girl."

Materials:

wood
ceramic tile adhesive
ceramic tiles in various colors and patterns
6" x 6" bisque tile
tile cutters
hammer
low-fire clay glazes: pink, rose, green, black, white
acrylic paints for painting the back
paintbrushes
sponges
dark colored grout
grout sealant
2 nails
hanger wire
rubber gloves
dust mask

1. Sponge paint the pink background color for the face on a 6" x 6" bisque tile. Let dry. Paint a sassy girl face and name on the 6" x 6" bisque tile with low fire clay glazes. Paint the outline of the face in black; the eyes green and the lips and cheeks rose (figure A).

2. Fire the painted bisque tile in a kiln. (Follow manufacturer's instructions for firing temperature and duration on the glaze bottles.) Note: If you do not have a kiln, contact local colleges and/or local craft stores to see if they will fire the tiles for you.

3. Sketch the caricature onto a 6' x 2' piece of wood (figure B).

4. Use a hammer and tile cutters to break the face tile (figure C) and the name tile into desired shape and size (figure D). Break various colored and patterned ceramic tiles into pieces to be used in the mosaic by placing them on a towel and hitting them with a hammer (figure E).

5. Glue tiles into place on the board, following the sketch, using a ceramic tile adhesive. Fill in the background with mosaic tiles (figure F and G).

6. Once glue has dried, grout the mosaic. Wearing rubber gloves and a protective dust mask, mix water slowly to grout to produce a peanut butter-like consistency. Tip: Guest chose a sanded grout. Premixed grout is also available.

7. Use a sponge to fill the grout into all the open spaces (figure H) and wipe the tops of the tiles clean with a wet sponge (figure I). Let grout completely dry.

8. Apply a grout sealant with a sponge to protect the grout. Wipe clean.

9. Turn the mosaic "Sassy Girl" over. Clean and paint the back.

10. Hammer nails approximately three inches from the top on either side and attach a hanger wire.

E-mail: tiffy@tiffanymillermosaics.com

Website: tiffanymillermosaics.com