1. Mirror Mosaic

2. The Purpose The goals of this assignment are to: Practice and improve your straight line cutting Learn to use the grinder to shape pieces Learn the basics of the mosaic technique Get you familiar with the day-to-day operations of our class, such as checking out cutters, buying glass, keeping up with the daily task calendar, and cleaning up

3. Mosaic Design Requirements 12x12” board Include one 6x6” mirror tile 25 to 40 cut glass pieces Maximum of 4 colors All shapes must be straight-sided. No shape may have any dimension less than 1”. No shape may have a length more than 3 times its width (1x3” is OK, 1x4” is not).

4. Preparing to Design On your graph paper, one square represents 1”. Using a ruler, draw a 12x12 square to represent your mosaic. Inside the square, draw a 6x6 square to represent the mirror. It does not need to centered, but put it at least 1 square from the edge.

5. Drawing the Design Draw straight lines in the rest of the area to represent pieces you will cut. Keep in mind the minimum and maximum number of pieces, as well as the size restrictions. Remember that all pieces need to be cuttable—no L shapes or inside points.

6. Add Color to Your Design Color in your design with markers or colored pencils. Keep in mind the maximum of 4 of colors. Mirror will go in this space

7. Give Yourself Some Choices Repeat the process until you have 4 different designs that fit the assignment criteria. You will probably need to get another piece of graph paper to draw them all. Choose and mark your favorite design. Staple your design sheets to your instruction and evaluation sheet—it will be worth points when you turn in your project.

8. Layout Pattern— Option 1, Glass Eye If you have already done the Glass Eye tutorial and feel comfortable with it: Open the “Mosaic Template” in my outbox. It is the correct size and includes the 1” grid. Hold down the control key and highlight all the sides of the mirror, then drag it to match your plan. Draw straight lines to match your design. Leave the default line thickness of ¼”. This will represent your grout line. Add colors to your design. Save your design in your student locker. See the paper above the printer for printing instructions. You will need to trim and tape your pieces, since the paper is smaller than the finished project.

9. Layout Pattern— Option 2, Draw by Hand If you prefer to draw your design by hand: Choose either plain white paper (shown) or manila 1” grid graph paper (you may need to tape two pieces together). Draw your 12” rectangle. Draw in a 6” rectangle to represent the mirror. Don’t color it in. Use a ruler to draw straight lines to match your design. Go over design lines in Sharpie. Thicken the lines to about ¼ inch wide. Number your pieces (not including the mirror). Color in your design.

10. Make a Cutting Pattern Trace the design onto tag board neatly and with ruler- straight lines. Use a Sharpie and copy the line thickness. Trace the numbers and label the colors.

11. Cut out your cutting pattern Cut out the pieces of tag board. Cut off the entire Sharpie mark to leave a grout gap between the pieces. Store the pattern pieces in your manila envelope. If you used Glass Eye, you could either print your design twice (once on tag board) or you could trace your printed design manually. Cut off the Sharpie mark to leave a gap for the grout.

12. When you have finished cutting, separate the pieces by color and clip together. Store the pattern pieces in your manila envelope.

13. Selecting Glass You can either help yourself to free glass (on the table by the sink) or sign up to buy glass (on the sheet above the pencil sharpener). Wait patiently until you are called. Then, bring both your cutting and layout pattern. Lay your pieces out on the appropriate colored sheets and I’ll cut the right amount for you. Return the extra glass to the appropriate color slot.

14. Buying Glass I will weigh the glass to find the cost and mark it off on your fee cards. For planning purposes, a pound is about a square foot. Most glass is $5-6 per pound. Also pick up your 6x6” mirror at this time.

15. Safely Pulling Glass No open-toed shoes in the glass cutting area! Wear your safety glasses to buy glass Sweep off your side of the table before pulling your glass pieces. Do not flop pieces of glass back and forth. They crack. When you pull out a large sheet of glass, support it from underneath in case it is cracked. This will prevent it from landing on your feet. Do not stack glass on the cutting table. It will crack. When you return glass, be sure it is slid all the way back in—not sticking out where it could cut someone’s ankle. Don’t “bookmark” the glass by sliding it out a couple inches. If you are worried about pulling glass yourself, ask me for help. PLEASE don’t come over to look at the glass colors unless it’s your turn or nobody is cutting—it gets very crowded and dangerous.

16. Trace Your Pattern Pieces Lay your cutting pattern pieces on your glass and trace around them with Sharpie. Number the pieces as you go. Cut along the inside of your Sharpie line. Take advantage of straight edges on your glass and against other pattern pieces.

17. Use a Silver Sharpie on Dark Glass

18. Straight lines can be cut against a cutting square. Cutting squares are stored in the corner by the glass scale.

19. Plan How to Cut You don’t want to take a chunk out of one of your uncut pieces. Remember that glass wants to break in a straight line. Use long, open curves if needed—no severe curves. If a cut is curving, be sure to tap it out. Breaking the glass on the dashed line is the safest way to separate the pieces.

20. Check your fit as you cut As you cut, put your pieces onto your layout pattern. Grind only as needed to make your glass fit your layout pattern. There should be a space 1/8 to 1/4 inch space between the pieces.

21. Transfer Your Pattern to the Board Tape pattern on the smooth side of your board. Slide carbon paper in between, printed side up. Go over the pattern with a sharp pencil or ball point pen.

22. Prepare to Glue Lay butcher paper over your entire work area. Get a damp paper towel for cleaning your fingers. Check out a scraper using your check-out card. Pick up one container of glue per table.

23. Glue Your Pieces Down Spread a thin layer of adhesive over your board. Only do a small area at a time. Be sure your adhesive is not too thick. Add just enough to stick your pieces on.

24. Glue down your pieces With clean hands, press your glass piece down to the board. There should not be adhesive oozing up between the pieces. Scrape off excess adhesive.

25. Continue adding pieces Be sure you are leaving gapes between the pieces Slide pieces to adjust as necessary.

26. Let dry 24 hours

27. Grout Your Project Lay butcher paper over your entire work area. Cover your mirror with contact paper. Try to disturb it as little as possible. Mix grout as instructed. Smear grout over the top and sides of your board. Force it down between the cracks. Scrape off excess grout with your hands. Let dry 10-15 minutes.

28. Clean Your Project Wipe off excess grout with a barely damp sponge. Let dry 10-15 minutes, then repeat until the glass is clean. The Sharpie will come off during this process. Let grout dry 24 hours. Remove contact paper from mirror. Write your shelf number on your mirror with a dry erase marker. When you turn in your mosaic, you’ll need to turn in your original 5-design sheet plus your final layout sheet.

29. Turning In Your Mosaic Store your mosaic on your shelf until I ask you to turn it in. Write your shelf number on your mirror with a dry erase marker. This way, I’ll know where to return it after I have graded it. It will clean off easily. When you turn in your mosaic, you’ll need to staple your original 4-design sheet plus your final layout sheet with your evaluation sheet for full credit When it is graded, your mosaic will be returned to your shelf and the grade sheet will be in the “Graded” box.