MOSAICS

We are going to be designing and making a Roman Mosaic this term. You will learn how Romans made mosaics Plan and Design your own Mosaic Make a mosaic using tiles on a wooden frame

Roman Mosaics Romans lived in houses called VILLAS. The floors and walls of these Villas were decorated in elaborate MOSAICS. MOSAICS showed everything from scenes of everyday life, to fantastic images from Roman and Greek MYTHOLOGY. Many Romans believed that more colourful MOSAICS would show people how wealthy they were!

How Romans made Mosaics First, an expert Mosaic maker would draw a plan of the design and pattern. A small area of the floor at a time is covered in wet plaster. Why would they only do a small bit at a time?

The mosaic maker would then add small pieces of tile to the plaster. The tiles are laid according to the design. Why would they follow the design? When the mosaic was finished it would be polished. Why do you think they would polish the mosaic?

These are actual ROMAN MOSAICS.

How to make a mosaic - Task 1 Planning Why is it important to plan something before you make it? In your groups you will now plan a mosaic design onto the paper your teacher will give you. Remember to think about the tiles and shapes you will use later!

When you have all finished, choose one of the designs you would like to make. Your teacher will give you a larger piece of paper. You can use this paper as your main design – Work together to transfer your chosen design onto this master. Task 2

Task 3 Now that you have you final design you are ready to start your Mosaic. Your teacher will give you a wooden frame. Sketch your design onto the frame using a pencil. You are now ready to start gluing the tiles into the correct places. REMEMBER TO GLUE A SMALL BIT EACH TIME

Task 4 Now that you have all the tiles in place you will use grout to cement everything together. Finally you will sand the frame and varnish the wood – You can now polish your finished MOSAIC – WELL DONE