Thought since I’ve sorted through my photos for my tile pictures, I figured I’d show you the rest of the flower mosaic wall project. I didn’t get the color into the zig zag until the summer of 2003. It took a long time to find a selection of red and purple tiles – ones that didn’t cost the earth. I wasn’t thrilled with the purple selection but it worked out. When I had enough, I added the color to my zig zag.

start of zig zag color

area left to tile

back of tile

ungrouted tileI had done more research about technique, and was able to lay out sections of tile on a table, on top of a pattern I traced off of the wall. Then I took a mixture of white glue and water and painted brown paper, which I laid on top of the tile. When the glue dried, I could pick up sections of the mosaic and install them on the wall on a layer of thin-set. This was a huge improvement over putting pieces up one at a time, but not perfect. When the thin-set was dry, I wet the brown paper enough to peel it away and expose the tile. Sometimes tile pieces would shift, which required prying them out of the thin-set and moving them over slightly.

grout application

finished zig zag

When it was all done, Norm helped me grout the wall and we cleaned up so I could enjoy my colorful installation. Here are a few close up details.

detail 1

detail 2

detail 3

detail 4

whole wall viewOur table is right outside these doors, so this is a view that we enjoy on a regular basis. (for a few months at least)

15 thoughts

  1. Pingback: tile work 3 | Time To Be Inspired

  10. The tile work is beautiful.I love the inclusion of purple in your combination.It certainly adds to the beauty of your work. I loved your photographs.Thank you for your most impressive posts.Do you ever take a break from this hard work?
    Ranu

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