Using a photo to make a mosaic questions

12 years ago

I have a photo of my daughter standing in front of a lake with yellow flowers all around her. I want to do a mosaic with stained glass on glass.

I've found several websites for quilters that describe how to break a photographed image down into a few tones, using the posterize function in photoshop and how to select fabric by tone. I bought some red film that i can lay over my colored glass in order to accurately perceive the light or dark values of the colors.

I have weldbond and e6000 glue. This will be my first attempt at a GOG mosaic.

I dont have a grinder or a ring saw, is it possible to use glass shapes that are a little rough? Maybe just smoothing them with a knife sharpener file?

Mostly right now im just trying to decide where my grout lines will be. Do you just follow the outlines of lighter and darker colors, and allow those natural divisions to become the grout lines?

What types of andamento are good for water or sky?

Im sorry my questions are so beginnerish. Ive read the last 60 pages of this site in the last week or so, but i dont see much info about how to lay out an image in preparation for mosaicing and about the ramifications of your choices in andamento and outlining with the grout spaces. Maybe that is more of something that comes along with having art training, i dont know..

I was hoping that those of you who have done portraits and landscapes in stained glass could give me some pointers before i start? Like how wide a grout line could be before it looks clunky?

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Comments (5)

ernie85017, zn 9, phx
12 years ago
So glad you asked this. I, too, have a photo that I would like to enlarge and use as a pattern.
wackyweeder
12 years ago
Here is a thread from another forum that show the process pretty well.....

Here is a link that might be useful: lion
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nicethyme
12 years ago
Kiki, most of the things you are questioning, there just aren't any set rules of "how to" they are all up to the individual artist as to what you like and your individual style. A lot of us study the works of others to help make the decisions and through trial and error we find our way.

take time and search on Flicker for all the mosaics and figure out what andamento appeals to you for sky, study the sizes of ppl's grout lines, sometimes ppl don't even grout.

here's one of the best in portraiture, spend some time looking through her photostream and see if some of these things become clear in your mind about what you want to achieve and how to best do it

Here is a link that might be useful: Carol Shelkin
kiki_thinking
Original Author
12 years ago
Thank you! I didn't realize that by looking at other mosaics, you could really learn alot about layout. Carol Shelkin's mosaics
Thank you for the lion link also!
nicethyme
12 years ago
it really is the best way to answer those questions, before I set out to do the koi pond table I looked up every pond and koi mosaic I could find, specifically to determine what opus I felt would really make me think water! and yes looking at other grout color choices and the effect it had on their pieces... its all invaluable homework.