Mosaic Installation

I've been the consultant on a 26' mosaic mural that has been pieced together over the past two academic years at Derby Academy in Hingham,Massachusetts.  Together with Mary Ellen Olson, art teacher for the middle school, Alice McWilliams, art director of the school, and Marcus Jereb from Party by Design- the fabricator of the substrate wall,we have worked on bringing this idea to fruition. The kids worked on it during classtime ,  it took a lot longer than we expected.
Here is the beginning design.

Initially we wanted it to be free standing- but with the weather we get in winter we opted to have it installed on the wall instead.

I am doing the install in my studio. It requires cutting up the taped pieces into jigsaw like pieces-and troweling thinset (Laticrete 254) onto the substrate in those sections (WEDI board- its like a cement foam core)

The taped sections get lifted and placed exactly in position, one after the other, until they are all attached. The thinset cures overnight, then the tape is lifted. Fingers triple crossed that the pieces are securely attached- but there's inevitable touch up and fill- ins. Grouting happens at the end, and the panel gets hung. I am starting on the far right panel. Here's what it looks like in progress.

these are pattern pieces to help me know where the thinset needs to go- I can't do the whole panel at once as the mortar sets up quickly...

I used a sharpie to draw where I was going to cut.

cut pieces

stay tuned for more!