Mosaic seats for garden chairs

I have had 4 old wrought iron chairs for about 20 years and their wooden seats  had rotted away, rust was showing up under the peeling paint and they looked very sad and shabby. Time to "upcycle" some old furniture so that it will last another 20 years at least.

the chair with new seat but the same old paint job

the seat before grouting

shadows across the mosaic look interesting

My inspirational red cat, surveying the scene

I tried various methods of preparation:
 1)The first 2 chairs i did by hand-  First I scraped and sanded off the old paint. (8 hours of slog)
painted with Hammerite paint. (special paint for metal)

2) Getting cleverer now- I took the last two to a local metal shop and they sandblasted and spray painted or paint dipped the chairs. He also re-welded two weak areas. They are as Good as new but the bill was R600 (ouch)

So at last I have my own 4 chairs completed with new mosaic seats. Since then I have asked a local artist John Ross, to make a beautiful wrought iron chair for display at the October Leisure Isle craft Fair, commissioned CXsteel to make a chair too, and adopted 4 chairs at the pottery house that need mosaic seats. All of a sudden I have 10 mosaic chair examples- of which 5 are already completed.

there are three more chairs like this that will also get mosaic seats, using green leaf inserts, birds, angels etc

the olive thrush likes it

I used 9mm fibre cement board, prepared with bonding liquid before mosaicing.  I use what ever I can find in the mosaic insert boxes at the pottery house, and combine them with reject tiles from the reject pile in the corner of the garden. I like to show what is possible with what is immediately available, often selecting some forgotten or unappreciated experimental handmade tiles at the bottom of the pile.

After the mosaic and grouting is all dry and complete, the reverse side of the Nutec/Fibre Cement board should be painted with a waterproof paint.  The chair will be able to handle sun, rain and storms.

I learned that 2nd hand chairs are the best and most affordable, and if you scrounge around you could find free cast iron chairs that just need some love. If you insist on a certain design, a local, artistic metalworker can make it for you, but this will cost a lot more.
I will add photos of the other completed mosaic seats when I do a follow up post... Have fun mosaicing.

Mosaic inserts for mirror frames and picture mosaics

Mosaic inserts are ceramic shapes that can be used as focal points on mosaics and is quite an easy way for beginners to start mosaicing. .

Below is a picture of a  mosaic framed mirror I did for  a client in Hout Bay, Cape Town using the inserts. I sent them the mosaic frame on the board, and they installed it to site, including the mirror. It may be under cover but it is still outdoors- so it must be able to withstand rain splashes,  and temperature changes over the seasons. If you want to know how to mosaic like this (its very easy- just time consuming)- see posts on this topic elsewhere on this blog.

Fishy mosaic mirror for outdoor area

My happy customer reflected in the mirror

Here are some photos of just a few of our mosaic inserts we have available at the Pottery house. So if you are a mosaic artist, driving on the National Road between Knysna and Plettenberg Bay, you HAVE to stop by and visit our studio and showroom. If you are a bargain hunter- you will be in heaven. Scratch around in the seconds box for really, really inexpensive things. We are just off the N2, on the eastern side of Knysna. Turn into Bokmakierie St, and we are right there. You cant miss the mermaid waving at you. .

small butterfly mosaic insert

mosaic inserts for sale at pottery house

stripey fish mosaic inserts approx 15cm

cats and chameleon handpainted ceramic mosaic inserts

little piggies, mosaic inserts

funny angels, mosaic inserts. I have improved these since

tree of life mosaic 

Mosaic mirrors 

ceramic tiles and things we make at Knysna Pottery House

mosaic inserts, handmade with love

Entrance to Knysna Pottery House

How to make an Original and long lasting Mosaic PART ONE

There are so many styles of mosaicing, and with some research on the internet, you will soon see what does, and does not appeal to you. There is no point in laboring over a mosaic creation, only to detest it on completion and hide it away in the cellar or garden. I don’t like seeing mosaic creations that are falling to pieces and rotting either. A good mosaic should last for a long time. An outdoor mosaic needs to be made properly to withstand temperature changes and weather.

Most of my very first mosaics creations have been recycled or hidden away, so why not skip this expensive learning curve and learn the correct methods? On the various internet mosaicing social networks, I come across names of materials I have never heard of, like “thinset”. In South Africa, we don’t have the same choices but manage well with the basics and some good products made by one or two companies.

My Golden Rules for beginners:

1)      Do not mosaic using a timber substrate, especially if the piece will be exposed to fluctuating temperatures. Timber expands and contracts and eventually the mosaic will fall apart. If the mosaic is going to stay indoors at a constant temperature it should be OK.

2)      Paint a priming agent or bonding liquid on surfaces before mosaicing on to them, and make sure you are glue-ing your piece onto a really sound, clean and firm surface.

3)      Buy some glass mosaic cutters. All mosaic artists should have some of these. 

4)      Start small. Remember, “Less is more”. Contrast your background and foreground colors or else the detail is lost.

5)      BE PATIENT! Drying time is important. No rushing- you just end up having to re grout the whole thing if you rush. Aim to get your grout level with the surface of your pieces

6)      Be Safe: Glass and glazed ceramic pieces are sharp. Wear goggles and gloves. Adhesives and grout are hard on nails and skin. Take precautions. Wear shoes in the work room and be careful of your elbows too. 

Materials required:

Water, Adhesive, grout, bonding liquid, buckets, sponges, spatulas, glass mosaic cutters and tile nippers. 

Collect or buy:

Tesserae: pebbles, shells, hardwood, ostrich shells, sea shells, glass, broken ceramic things

Ceramic or glass tiles, glass nuggets, ceramic or glass buttons,  ceramic or large glass beads, (semi precious stones can also be used if flat enough)

Earthmaid Mosaic inserts from Knysna Pottery House  www.knysnapotteryhouse.co.za 

A Surface:

Mirror frames, walls, floors, big stones, umbrella stands, fireplace surrounds, planters, an old bath in the garden, an entrance hall a path, a big paving slab, a birdbath, a fibre cement board

tree of life detail- before grouting. This mosaic, a  large wall panel, got lost by couriers on it's way to Texas, USA,  but was found, slightly damaged after 3 weeks. They refunded the transport cost, which was almost twice the cost of the mosaic. It was repaired and installed at the clients swimming pool - so a happy ending...

 I sold this at a craft fair.

 mosaic inserts around a mirror

 handmade from real leaf imprints from our jungly Knysna Pottery House garden

 she sells sea shells on the sea shore - we have big ones and small ones

To be continued…. 

Part Two...

Making a mosaic table top Stage 3 and a 1/4

Here is my husband Bruce drilling some holes through the table so that light will shine through the glass drops. The fibre cement board absolutely killed his drill bits so I said I would buy him new ones when I sell this table.

Here is the small hole with the glass drop that will go over it

inside design still a work in progress. Amber glass drops glued down with clear silicone