How to Make Stained Glass Mosaic Art
A mosaic is an artistic finish comprised of tiles or broken pieces of pottery or glass attached to a home decor surface with grout. Mosaics are commonly used on anything from picture frames and mirrors to kitchen back splashes and bathroom floors. Aside from being a home decor finish, mosaics are also widely used to create stand-alone works of art, as in this project. The finished results are akin to a painting you would display on your wall.
Things You'll Need
- Piece of wood the size you'd like your artwork
- Sandpaper
- Mounting hardware
- Mosaic tile grout
- Stained glass pieces
- Towel
- Hammer
- Glass scoring or cutting tool (optional)
- Paint scraper
- Wet sponge
- Pigment (optional)
Instructions
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Prepare your wood. Attach your mounting hardware to the back of your piece of wood. You can nail in picture frame hooks or attach picture wire to the back. Consider how you will hang your mosaic before you create it to avoid damaging it later. Next, use sandpaper to rough the surface of the wood you are going to create your stained glass mosaic art on.
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Prepare your stained glass. If you are using pre-made stained glass mosaic tiles, skip this step. If you have pieces of stained glass, you will need to break them apart for use with your mosaic. The best way to do this is to wrap the glass in a towel and gently break it with a hammer. This will yield you pieces of varying shapes. If you'd like more precision, score your stained glass with a glass cutter and break it apart at the score mark.
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Plan your design. The beauty of mosaic designs is that random patterns turn out just as lovely as planned ones. If you are using a random pattern, skip this step. If you have a specific look or image you are trying to convey with your mosaic, first lay our your stained glass pieces into the design you'd like.
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Use the paint scraper to spread a quarter inch of mosaic tile grout to the sanded surface of your wood. If you'd like a colored grout effect, apply some pigment or paint to your grout and mix well before spreading. Once the grout is applied, begin pressing your stained glass pieces into it. Continue pressing glass pieces into the grout until your stained glass mosaic design is completed.
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Spread another layer of grout on top of the stained glass tiles, making sure to get grout in all the gaps and spaces between the tiles. Use a moist but not dripping wet sponge to remove the grout from the top of the stained glass. Allow the grout to set completely, then hang your stained glass mosaic art.
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Tips & Warnings
Wear gloves and safety glasses when handling stained glass.
