Ceramic Bowls - How to Mosaic Them ? ? ?'s

16 years ago

Every time I get on this forum I am amazed at all the talented people here. If I could do even half as good as anyone here, I would be happy.

I was at the thrift store the other day and saw these two ceramic bowls unglazed. I thought I would get them and bring them home, glaze them, and have them fired. Once I brought them home I realized if I didn't know what cone the clay was, I wouldn't be able to fire them, because if I fired them too high, they might explode. Here is a photo of one of the bowls:

So last night I was looking at all the wonderful mosaics here and thought, maybe I could mosaic them on the outside and the inside. What do you think?

I have two of them and they are 15 inches in diameter and about 4 inches tall. Oh, I got them for $5 for both (they were supposed to be $5 each, but the lady at the thrift store must have liked me because she gave them both to me for $5). On the bottom of each bowl is a number 284/$46 - so I think they were probably originally $46 at a ceramic mold place?

I have never done any mosaic, so I am truly a beginner. I thought I would do one aqua and one with some polished stones. I have some of those aqua flat bubble things and I have some sea glass, but it is very rough on all sides - I like the color of it though. Or I could go to a tile store or Michaels and get some other stuff. Here is what I have:

What should I adhere the tiles and babbles to the bowl with? Should I use that silicone stuff or something else? Since the bowls are ceramic and unglazed, they are porous and I was wondering if I should coat them with something before I start adhering pieces on them?

Where is the best place to get small quantities of grout? I don't want huge bags of it laying around. Can I color my own grout? Where can I get the colorant?

Here is a link to an inspiration bowl I liked while doing a search on the internet. I would like my aqua bowl to look something like this except mine doesn't have a foot only a small rim at the bottom and isn't as deep. What do you think?

vintage hip chocolate and brown

Any help or ideas will be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

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Comments (5)

mosaicwench1
16 years ago
You DO know that the bowl link you posted is a glass bowl? It's got clear glass around the midsection.

Check the tile section at the big box stores for grout and colorant. Michael's probably has it, too, but I'm oposed to paying their high prices for such small amounts.

Adhesive depends on indoor or outdoor use of the bowl. Indoors you could use Weldbond, GE Silicone II, or thinset. Same with outdoors minus the Weldbond.

I would seal the bowl with something like stone sealer or marble sealant - something for un-glazed ceramic before gluing and grouting. Again - check the tiling section of the big box stores.
phish_gw
16 years ago
Where is the best place to get small quantities of grout? I don't want huge bags of it laying around. Can I color my own grout? Where can I get the colorant?

You can get a small container of grout and colorant at Michaels. I don't recall having good luck with the colorant but you can ask to see if anyone else around here has.
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oooh, Calamity, I do remember that sweet sweet cake, just beautiful! I'm still mosaic-ing over here in my part of the universe:D LOL I still enjoy smashing dishes(chipped ones!!) and gluing them back together. I do use a lot of porcelain roses and birds I get from trinket boxes and figurines. I haven't quite mastered it, but I do have a pretty good track record,heh! And super glue really works well for ooopsies! Since I'm usually working on a lid, I'll take some pliers and gently start breaking the lid itself. This mostly works to get the whole job done. If I have a harder time with it, I'll take a small hammer and my larger flat blade screwdriver,and sort of chisel it away.If I only chip off small pieces of the rose,I don't worry, if it breaks in half, I'll glue it back with super glue. The same if it's a bow or birds(anything). Let me see if I can find something I made with roses or birds. here is a ceramic goose I bought at a yard sale, and used silicone to glue the broken dishes to it. A couple roses from trinket boxes on a blue stained glass ribbon. Black beads for eyes. I copied all the beautiful geese and ducks made here on Garden Junk. They hold up very well out in the garden. I sprayed them with cheap clear spray, and bleach them once or twice a year. here's the link to my photobucket album with a lot more mosaic work, birdhouses,trays, etc. I think 2 or 3 pages. Here is a link that might be useful: kudzu's album
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Grout needs time to "cure" like cement. Did you have it dry in the sun? Because that could cause the cracking. It is best to let it dry in a cooler, shaded area so it doesn't cure too quickly. Otherwise, your grout may have been too wet when you applied it. When you spread it, it should be about the consistency of brownie batter (that's the best way I know to describe it) - still spreadable like mud but not as thin as pancake batter (can you tell I love eating? lol). You were right to use sanded grout and a grout sealer.
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cindiloo, thank you, I think it was beginners luck - how could I go wrong, because the gems are all the same size. DH looked in the bowl and said "Some of them are crooked" - and I said "It's a mosaic they are supposed to be crooked". Next he's calling me an artist and in the same breath he said I have way too much "stuff" around here and that I need to get rid of some of it. So I am taking some of my creations to an art and craft fair to see how I do. After seeing so many beautiful china plate mosaics here on this forum, I would like to make the other bowl with some of those (more stuff I need to get), so this next bowl should be a real challenge for me and not so easy to put together.
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shrty411
16 years ago
Michaels is just so expensive for what you get. You will use more than you think, so make enough of the color you want.

Some things mentioned besides the expensive colorants Michaels has have been acrylic paint and even rit dye.Or you can grout white and paint the grout with whatever color (easier that you think, you can just wipe it off the glass). Tinted grout tends ( in my experience) to dry a bit lighter, so don't skimp on the color.
Maria
bluestarrgallery
Original Author
16 years ago
I didn't know that vase was a glass one. Oh darn - that must be why the little tiles are so luminous. I didn't make it to Michaels today - or HD or Lowe's, I had 9 places to go and by the time I wanted to go I had to come back home, perhaps next week. Have to move all the furniture out of three rooms to get carpet on Monday. Boo Hoo.

I am going to use the bowls inside as decorative pieces. I do have some silicon II, so I might use that or thinset.

Where do folks get their little tiles if they don't get them at Michaels - I want some colorful ones and HD and lowe's only have run of the mill large tiles - I want some of those glass tiles they use in showers?

I have stone sealer left over from laying slate in the living room. I donated all my left over grout and thinset to a local artists group doing a mosiac panel in our town - silly me - now I need some - but that was a good cause. But they came in such big bags. Perhaps I will go and observe some of the artist's work and learn something of value before I attempt my bowls.

thanks for your suggestions.
texaswild
16 years ago
SPRING, and PHISH: You can get smallish bags of grout at Lowes - I just bought a 10-lb bag of Pearl Gray yesterday. It was just under $10.00. I mix a little black into that to make my charcoal. SPRING: Those are nice, soft colors you have on hand. If you have any old junk jewelry, you could toss some in your mix to add variety. You could also get a couple colorful plates, break them up for shards. There's buttons, natural pebbles, and Walmart carries a few colorful glass globs and squiggles. I hate to see you spend a fortune at Michaels/HobLob on mosaic supplies. The prices are outrageous. On sealing your porous bowl, you can also seal it w/glue and water. I think the recommended porportions are about one part white glue to three or four parts water. I don't measure - use a little more glue than that. It's a good sealer for your bowl as well as terra cotta and wood for inside use. Re adhesive, you can either use silicon (a mess to clean up) or regular white glue. After your bowl is mosaiced, I can see a very decorative piece, that you could perhaps use to fill a collection of, say, shards from a pretty dish, odd pieces you find that you like (I saw some huge glass chunks in a flea mkt. yesterday) some pretty rocks, jewelry on your dresser or whatever. Anxious to see what you do w/you bowls.

Ceramic Bowls - How to Mosaic Them ? ? ?'s

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mosaicwench1

phish_gw

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Ceramic Bowls - How to Mosaic Them ? ? ?'s

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mosaicwench1

phish_gw

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shrty411

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texaswild

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