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Lawrence Payne: Posted on Monday, May 30, 2011 12:02 PM
How to draw out the heart pattern geometric mosaic. If you use this method correctly you will be able to set out the pattern to whatever size tesserae (tiles) you're using.
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The original
Heart pattern geometric mosaic. This is the 6th AD original from the Domus dei Tappeti di Pietra (House of Stone Carpets) Ravenna, Italy.
Note how off centre some parts are and if you look at the top right of the pattern there is a section 3 tesserae (tile) width when it should only be 2.
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The copy
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1. Set out the size of mosaic you want as a square.
2. Bisect with a line on the horizontal and vertical
3. Decide on the size tesserae you're using and measure 4 together (leaving your gaps of 1 - 2mm). This gives you the distance between A and B from the outside of the tile along each centre line.
4. Join this line (A) to the others creating the diamond shape.
5. Measure from A the width of your 4 tesserae along each line of the diamond shape or use a compass. The point on A the lead on B on the outer edge and just draw a circle.
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6. Using a clour pencil add curves from B to B on alternate sides only.
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7. Add the inner square, the distance between this and the outside square being the width of your 4 tesserae.
8. Mark in the parts of this inner square using the coloured pencil.
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9. Coloured pencil (seen here as green) and drawing freehand draw out the curved top of each heart shape with faint lines from B to B as shown.
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10. Shade in each heart section remembering that they are interlocking.
When you are practiced with this you should only need the bisecting lines and inner diamond to create your patttern.
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The finsihed piece showing the mian measurements.
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Lawrence Payne: Posted on Wednesday, March 30, 2011 12:47 PM
 Triangles - basically use them as little as possible. A triangle implies direction and it's use in a curve disrupts the line. Mostly the triangles you cut will have a 90 degree angle. As you can see from this detail of a mosaic showing a warrior's upraised arm, if the triangle (A) is turned over to match the one I've superimposed you can get rid of the other triangle marked (B).
If you set a line and you end up with 2 triangles next to each other you should always try to get rid if one. |
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Lawrence Payne: Posted on Wednesday, March 30, 2011 12:43 PM
 This is a students mosaic of the Little Bird mosaic in progress and shows the importance of always setting the individual lines from start to finish. The stone is unwaxed so it will appear lighter than its finishing colour. The 2 lines forming the inside of the birds chest have both stopped short of the last tesserae in each case (illustrated by me superimposing the yellow lines).
Then he set the last tesserae of each line but in such a way that he effectively created a 3rd line where there shouldn't be one. |
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Lawrence: Posted on Saturday, January 08, 2011 3:59 PM
Not the best of photos but this will give you an idea of how this method is used. This was a piece for piece copy of an Early Christian tombstone mosaic for the Biblical Museum in Tarragona, Spain.
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Using a full size blow up image which was clear enough to see each tesserae I drew round each piece.
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turn the tracing over and draw round each tracing of the tesserae with a water soluble pen.
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Place the tracing with the water soluble tracing (the 'negative') down onto a bed of air drying lime putty.
When you remove the tracing paper the ink remains on the lime and you have a positive drawing of the mosaic.
Cut the stone to size and just push it in the putty.
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A large part of the lower area finished. Then you use water soluble glue and glue fine medical gauze over the mosaic.
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When the glue is dry use a trowel and lift the mosaic (hopefully stuck to the gauze!) off the lime. Then clean the lime out of the gaps between the tesserae.
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2 Panels after shipping to Spain.
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Cement to the base and on the back of the mosaic panel. Then place the panel in the right spot.
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Make sure there are no gaps between the panels before the cement dries.
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The finished work.
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Close up showing the combined use of smalti and marble (as in the original mosaic)
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One side of the guilloche border pattern I did using the direct method with cement as the adhesive.
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Not a great photo but just to show you what the work area looked like. The coloured discs are smalti in its uncut state.
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