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Learn by Looking

The best art is ultimately derived from looking at nature, but nothing seems to inspire an artist more than looking at great artwork by other artists. The reasons are simple: There is the competitive urge to create something even better, but there is also the discovery of new ways of seeing or rendering, a humble realization that the artist has done something in a way that hasn’t occurred to the viewer before.

The amazing thing about art is that this phenomenon occurs all the time, including when experienced professional artists look at naive art or art made by little children.

When artists browse other artists, there is a cross-fertilization of ideas where the synthesis is greater than the sum of the parts. There is the thought, “I can’t wait to do that myself and do it in my own way.”

Mosaic art is particularly suited for casual study by other artists because unlike painting, there are no hidden layers or semi-translucent layers and everything is visible as it was laid down. While a novice might benefit from classes or books for learning the best way to cut tile or transfer patterns or apply grout, he or she can learn more or less everything there is to know about the design merely by looking at it, including that critical element of style that is andamento, which is best expressed as the arrangement of tile in parallel or concentric work lines to suggest motion.

Triangular Tesserae

Normally I dislike mosaics made with triangular tesserae because they seem to be used by artists who aren’t as concerned with using andamento (arrangement of tiles) in rows or concentric rings to create a sense of flow or motion, which is a great source of visual interest in mosaic artwork, but David Cruise’s work really caught my eye.

David creates visual interest in localized areas of his mosaics by using contrasting colors and by contrasting light and dark areas. Notice how light-and-dark contrast naturally catches the eye and makes different elements more distinct. I also like how the andamento of the triangular tesserae creates a woven basket texture in the fruit bowl, however unintentional that might have been.

It is also worth mentioning that you can have the tile close together with minimal grout or no grout (if your mosaic is indoors and not subject to moisture). If there is no groutline, the artist needs to be more conscious of varing his or her colors in order to call attention to individual tiles and break up visual monotony. This can be done by mixing two or three similar colors or shades of a color instead of using all the same color, which is what Yetti has done in the background areas of her magical mosaic. David uses this approach to show depth and shading in his apples and oranges and other fruit and the torso of the female figure.

Mixed-Media Mosaic

There isn’t any need to limit yourself to just one type of material in making a mosaic. Different types of glass, ceramic and stone can be used together in the same piece in what is known as mixed-media mosaic.

More Great Mosaic Art

One of the largest collections of contemporary mosaic art online can be viewed at our Mosaic Artists Gallery. For a discussion of how to create photo-realistic mosaics and mosaic portraits, plus some great examples, see our page of Mosaic Portraits. For examples of mosaics that are whimsical and fresh without being tired or cliche, see our page of Fun Mosaic Art. For examples of using different types of materials in the same mosaic, check out our page of Mixed-Media Mosaic Art.

Below is a selection of customer artwork made from glass mosaic tile. The mosaics we have chosen for this page all demonstrate basic design principles: tightly-cropped compositions, use of contrasting colors, arrangement of tile in work lines that suggest motion (andamento). These fundamentals are the real key to creating beautiful artwork, no matter what the media. Note that many of the mosaics below were made using ordinary vitreous glass tile, which is one of our most economical materials.

Phil Lamie

“The Four Seasons Mosaics” were created in December 2012 under the direction of art teacher Phil Lamie. Over 730 students in grades K thru 5 worked on the project, which will first be displayed at the Children’s Art Gallery in Carmel before coming home to Towne Meadow Elementary.

   

Metamorphosis

“Metamorphosis” is another series of mosaics made under the direction of Phil Lamie. Every child in the Towne Meadow School (over 730 children ages 6 to 10) participated in the execution of the project. The finished mosaic consists of approximately 10,500 pieces of hand cut glass mosaic tile.

Evolve

The “Evolve” mosaic was made by Phil and his daughter Jodi, age 14. All materials used were from Mosaic Art Supply.

Linda Lenz

This Pink Ribbon mosaic sculpture was made by artist Linda Lenz as part of a fundraiser for breast cancer research sponsored by Kohl’s Department Stores. Linda’s ribbon was selected out of all entries to be displayed at Kohl’s corporate office during breast cancer awareness month. The other 15 ribbons (mostly painted designs) were displayed at various Kohl’s stores. Linda’s ribbon won the highest bid at the fundraiser’s auction and now resides in a mansion in Mequon, Wisconsin. The ribbon is made of glass tile, stained glass, mirror, fossils, and other found objects mounted on a fiberglass base.

Jill Freshman-Cohen

The following work by Jill Freshman-Cohen is a mosaic interpretation of James Earle Frasier’s well-known sculpture “End of the Trail.” This mosaic makes excellent use of andamento to give different visual elements a sense of motion. Observe the sky surrounding the sun and the sloping hill on which the horse is standing, and how interesting these elements look when compared to mosaics where tile is arranged randomly (or in arbitrary patterns such as rows of triangles.) Similarly, the size of tesserae is optimal for the size of the details being depicted. Note the horse’s head, mane and legs and how details of these elements are rendered with a single tile.

Jill resides in the Bronx, where she is a certified arborist for NYC parks, as well as the Queens forestry division. Jill plans to retire to Puerto Rico so that she can create mosaics full time.

Joe Moorman, owner

Before starting Mosaic Art Supply, Joe worked on a wide variety of projects in business software, manufacturing and research & development. After the dot-com collapse, Joe consolidated North American operations and hosting for the French software firm iMediation, and then went on to help develop the database interface for what eventually became IBM’s recommended software for inventory management. Before software, Joe worked as a manufacturing engineer for Herman Miller, Inc. During doctoral studies at The University of Georgia, Joe worked on numerous food product and process development projects, including extruded functional ingredients, radiant-wall oven applications and Microbial inactivation by high-pressure throttling (US Patent 6,120,732). Joe holds several language and OS certifications, including Java, Solaris, and Cisco routers.

Management Philosophy

The management structure of Mosaic Art Supply, LLC, is rather flat with a lot of cross training and shared responsibilities. All employees of Mosaic Art Supply are artists actively promoting their artwork via shows and other media. From Joe, the employees learn fundamentals of website maintenance, inventory management, technical writing and other skills Joe learned working as an engineer in the corporate world. From the employees, Joe learns more about local art promotion and studio fundamentals.