Mosaic magic

For hundreds, even thousands of years, worldly artisans have captured historic images - from the emperors of Rome to the pharaohs of Egypt to the holy men of Cyprus and beyond - using mosaics. The painstaking placement of sometimes-tiny fragments of glass or clay has always been popular.

"Mosaics go back thousands of years," says Joe Porcelli, editor of Glass Craftsman Magazine. "Byzantine mosaics are famous for quality; for using the tiniest pieces they could physically handle to capture detail."

According to Porcelli, you can see each chip and sliver of glass up close. "But as you move away, the individual pieces literally disappear."

Today's art lovers seldom commission the magic of such detail. "Few clients can afford it," Porcelli says. But the Inland Northwest's own artistic community wants you to know the fun of making your own mosaics is definitely within reach.

"Anyone can make mosaics," says Hayden, Idaho, resident Holly Golightly, who works at Ryan House of Stained Glass in Spokane. All you need, says Golightly, are a few basic tools, a little inspiration, and the desire to make something beautiful.

Inspiration for Golightly came almost 20 years ago on a trek to South America. "I saw a mosaic done by Salvador Dali," she says, "a gothic scene behind the alter of a church. Instead of having them flat, he had angled the pieces so they caught the light. It was remarkable."

Golightly didn't know how to work with mosaics at the time. "I was a computer programmer," she says, "so I blew it off." Her mosaic inspiration remained dormant until she was given enrollment in a stained glass workshop as a gift years later. "I didn't want to take the class," she says, "but I did. And when I get interested in one thing, I open up and other things become interesting."

Ryan House of Stained Glass instructor Janine Ballou reintroduced Golightly to mosaics.

"She is an incredible artist with amazing ideas," Golightly says. "She's open to trying anything. And when she came to Ryan House, she decided to hunt down mosaic supplies and start a class."

Golightly did what most beginners should do. She started small. "And I still work in miniature today. Part of that is because I like miniature things anyway." But she admits her decision to think small had to do with the potential for failure.

"When you ruin a big piece, it's a failure that's hard to get over," she says. But she says it's almost impossible to ruin something so small.

"I started with those little glass bottles," she says. Using tile adhesive available at most home supply stores, ocean rocks and scrap glass from Ryan House, she covered the 5-inch bottle with about 200 individual bits and pieces. "And this little Kmart bottle became a very nice `thing.' " Signing up for a class or a workshop like those offered through the Ryan House of Stained Glass is the easiest way to tackle the challenge. "And we're planning to do a mosaic workshop this summer too," says Andrew Baucom of Art by Yourself on Monroe in Spokane.

"We'll be using small glass tiles. People interested in attending should call (509) 838-8993 and sign up for our mailing list."

Spokane Art School executive director Sue Ellen Heflin says the Center for Visual Arts on Howard Street also hopes to add mosaics to its class schedule in the months to come. "I've been thinking about trying to find someone to teach the class," she says. "There seems to be a growing interest in the medium."

If you can't wait for a class to get started, Golightly says imagination can begin at home. "You can buy scrap glass at Ryan House," she says. "You can mosaic with broken scraps of china plates. You can use ocean rocks of seashells. My daughter and I even mosaic with beans."

Remember to start simple, with small flat surfaces like a coaster, picture frames, plaques or canvases.

"Then check out all the avenues that are readily available to you," Golightly says. "Call crafts stores, read good books, ask lots of questions. I found the men at Eagle hardware store had a wealth of information to offer. Remember," she says, "the mosaic process is basically the same as laying tile."

Although many mosaic adhesives are available in craft stores, Golightly prefers something-industrial strength. "We tried several mosaic adhesives at Ryan House, but we weren't real pleased with them. You need a pretty tacky mixture so things don't move around. We really liked the tile adhesive, E-6000." Invest in a small hammer and safety goggles if you plan to break up glass or china yourself. And don't forget to mask your work area with newspaper or plastic to protect surfaces from the glues.

"Mosaic as an art form was ignored or overlooked for a long time," says editor Joe Porcelli, "but it's enjoying a great resurgence. It's not simply a `fad,' because it's part of such a long and proud tradition. But thanks to new and exciting applications like home decor and garden, because there is no limit to the mosaic possibilities, I think it's here to stay."

For more information about mosaics, check out these two Web sites:

Jana's Stained Glass Mosaic Supplies http://www.snowcrest.net/ janas/ mosaic.htm

Stained Glass Association of America http:// www.stainedglass.org/

Copyright 1999 Cowles Publishing Company
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.