A rare and priceless artistic gem has been saved from the wrecking ball in the small village of Clifton Springs in Ontario County It was originally recognised some 40 years ago as a piece of work by the reknowned artist Louis Comfort Tiffany. The ongoing repairs to this rare 6-by-16-foot glass mosaic of the Last Supper, are expected to be completed by Easter Sunday.
The intricacy and subtle use of colors in this work are truly impressive and show the real painterly skills which Louise Tiffany brought to the craft of stained glass. Sometimes modern glass mosaics in comparison can appear slightly garish, but this work is a real example of how the controlled use of stained glass mosaic can give powerfully and inspirational artistic results.
The use of Glass Tiles, where traditional opaque mosaic tiles would have gone can create a new reflective dynamism to your living environment.
For example in a dark bathroom glass tiles can actually increase the level of light, simply by their reflective qualities. Standard Stone tiles simply absorb light in comparison!
Big Hammer!!
Protective Goggles
Some stained glass
Piece of material such as an old curtain
A hammer can be used to create randopm shaped stained glass mosaic pieces easily!
Method
1. Take the glass outside, wrap the material aroud it underneath and over.
2. Put on goggles
3. Pretend to be a fighter pilot for a few minutes…. ; )
4. Use the hammer side ways on and gently but firmly tap the glass all over, increasing the strength till you can feel the glass breaking under the material. Cover the whole area of galss before carefull removing the shards. Be careful, you will probably need to either use glass ‘nibblers’ to take off the really sharp bits, you can then use a handheld glass grinder to smooth the sharp edges of all the pieces.
5. Rinse off any glass dust on the pieces and hey presto your own home made randomly shaped stained glass mosaic!!
This method is much cheaper than buying precut glass mosaic, especially if you can get cheap offcuts from your local stained glass supplier!
Here is a picture of a recently created piece of pottery (2011) A Wally Bird inspired by the famous works of the English eccentric potters: the Martin Brothers grotesques. Currently being auctioned on Ebay. Not sure if it an owl or duck or what but he certainly has character.
Mosaics werealways traditionally made by using bits of glass,stone or tiles, but a paper mosaic is a very simple and great project for children and for art classes. Its great for parents to do along with their kids. The rule is to have fun.
In Israeli, some archaeologists have today said thatr they have unearthed an old church of an estimated age of 1,500-years.
The site also shows clear ebidence of very well church, including an preserved mosaic floors including images of fish, lions, foxes and birds.
The ancient church is situated in the hills to the SW of Jerusalem and was active between the 5th and 7th centuries.
One of th archaeologists who uncovered the mosaic floor said it was “unique in its degree of craftsmanship and the good level of preservation”.
1500 years old church in israel
Journalists have only been given a very brief glimpse of the mosaic today . I was then covered up again until funding becomes available for proper preservation.
Irridescent Glass Tiles are a great way to add another dimension of interest to either your kitchen or bathroom. Basically they have a special reflective quality which is made during production, that gives a rainbow like gleam to their surface as the light reflects on them.
They can be a little more expensive than standard opaque glass tiles, however the effect can be well worth the extra cost, if used in the correct place. Often just a few tiles can look better than a whole wall of these.
A Cosmati style floor mosaic takes its name from the family of the Cosmati, which existed in Rome during the C12th and C13th and practiced the art of mosaic making, advancing the art to a highly skilled craft. The Cosmati work has one peculiarity, that it is frequently a glass mosaic used in combination with marble and other semi precious and highly attractive stones. It was known for its highlt geometric and intricate patterns and the style soon became popular throughout Europe.
It was used in the highly prestigious churches and cathedrals, such as the main altar of Westminster Abbey, which is decorated with a cosmati influenced marble and stone floor.
