9.04.2013

European-Inspired Mosaics

Mom and I were commissioned to create two custom mosaic art pieces for a basement remodel.
[Click HERE to see the rest of the basement project.]


The first was for a recessed arched niche at the base of the staircase.  The homeowner had a very neutral material palette in throughout the space and wanted to add pops of color in the artwork.  We used European shapes and architectural salvage materials as inspiration.   


 It's always really hard to do a commission because you can't draw or explain quite what it will look like when it's done since it's artwork.  Most of it comes as you go; shapes and layout change as you glue tile on the board and get new inspiration for new things.  Many times, we will have a very basic idea of what we want, but the tile usually guides us to evolve as we go.  This is what we started with:


The evolution and creation of the arched mosaic:


We draw and re-draw with sharpie on the wood.  Then lay tile to get an idea of how the colors relate.





Tile finished/glued, but not yet grouted:


 The evolution of the space:






The other mosaic we did was a focal point in the center of the backsplash behind the bar.








Finished and in their final destinations!


Go HERE to see the post on the full basement project