The tradition of using natural stone in construction has been preserved in our time. Granite, limestone, tuff and other rocks are successfully used not only in the construction of structures for various purposes, but also in finishing. One of the ways to decorate a constructed building and increase the strength of its structure is a stone mosaic.
These are not only standard facing marble or granite slabs, but also colorful author's works, recruited from small fragments of different colors and textures. Each author's mosaic made of natural stone is, first of all, a work of art, and it will decorate the building for a long time and tell about the time in which its creator worked.
Mosaic material
Everyone can try themselves in this art. Having even a small country house or plot, you can create not only beautiful mosaic panels or fancifully lay out stone paths from multi-colored pebbles, but also use ready-mademodules from stone squares. Any stone mosaic can greatly enhance a swimming pool, kitchen flooring or exterior walls. Each work requires certain knowledge and skill, therefore, having decided to decorate your own house or plot with stone mosaics, you should get acquainted with the basics of craftsmanship and try your hand at making a small mosaic picture.
An ordinary walk along the river bank can bring a fairly large supply of various small stones for future mosaics. Having sorted them by size and color, then thoroughly washed and cleaned of dirt, you can begin to create a preliminary sketch. Already having the selected material and roughly imagining what a mosaic of stones will look like, you can create a real miracle with your own hands.
Working technology
There are two technologies for making mosaic tiles. The most accessible and less time-consuming is the direct method of pressing individual elements into a viscous base. The reverse method is laying out a mosaic pattern on a smooth surface and pouring a ready-made picture with a special binding compound. After the solution has set, the product is turned over and cleaned from the front side.
Water-rolled pebbles are an excellent material for making such stone paintings. Selected by color, shape and size, pebbles are placed in accordance with the sketch in a wooden or metal frame. A small notch around the perimeter of the entire frame will help the binder hold the mosaic.within certain limits.
The height of the side of the frame should be slightly larger than the thickness of the collected stones. Before laying out the mosaic pattern, plywood or cardboard wrapped in paper is placed on the bottom of the frame. A sketch of the future creation can be drawn on it.
Artistic approach
Handmade natural stone mosaic may look different, according to the imagination of the artist, but most often large elements are located in the center of the product in the foreground. Small details look best in the background or in the resulting spans between large stones. Tweezers may be needed to place the smallest stones.
There is no need to achieve a complete resemblance to the preliminary sketch. The most important thing is to observe color proportions and pick up stones with an original texture. Such a piece as a stone mosaic will look beautiful and elegant in any case.
Connecting elements
All elements of the stone picture are first placed in a frame without a binder. After completing the drawing of the mosaic, you should fix each pebble in its place with any glue. After that, all free places on the mosaic and the space between the frame and the stones are poured with epoxy resin. The epoxy layer should be no thicker than 2-3 mm.
After hardening, the mosaic is removed from the frame, turned over and placed on a soft surface. From the wrong side, the remnants of the paper backing are peeled off, and full filling is performedepoxy resin. Then, a piece of fiberglass of a suitable size is laid out on the resin that has not yet had time to harden. A layer of epoxy resin is also applied over the fabric material. After hardening, the stone mosaic is turned face up and covered with a thin layer of colorless varnish.
Other materials and methods
Glass and stone mosaic can be made in the same way. Adding bottled or other broken glass to the mosaic pattern will make it brighter and more ornate.
More complex art is considered to be a set of mosaic canvases made of thin polished stone plates. Such work requires cutting plates of stone, placing them in a size-correcting frame. The technology for making a picture from polished plates is similar to that described above. The only difference is that a mosaic of such stone elements requires additional grinding and polishing after manufacturing.
In the same way, mosaic elements are laid on a cement base. Mosaics fixed with cement mortar can be exposed to moisture for a long time.
