Applying grout to the mosaic. Photo / Supplied
Mosaic by numbers; Anna Subritzky works wonders with broken china
As proof of my eagerness to try mosaic, I have diligently collected every piece of broken crockery for 10 years. Never having bought a matching set of dinner plates I've instead pieced together a crockery set with an assortment of other peoples cast-offs.
Somewhere along the line I morphed into
a 'collector' and developed a penchant for Crown Lynn. Armed with my precious collection of Kiwiana, I reasoned that seeing it had survived this far, surely it would endure the antics of modern family life.
Sadly, this was the case. Despite the 'bash test' story of Crown Lynn salesmen demonstrating their wares' durability by smashing them against the opposition's offerings, many of my iconic plates became cannon fodder for spatially challenged minors.
Sentimental fool that I am, I secreted the fragments away for the day when I would mosaic a garden seat or even a garden path (just keeping it achievable).
Read the word 'fool' again because it seems that mosaics are not for the faint-hearted; they are hard work, but satisfying. Concluding that the garden seat might be too ambitious, I settled on a number for my letterbox instead. Here's how I did it.
Step 1 - Start small and simple. You will need a base to glue the pieces onto. Choose something non-flexible and non-porous. I used marine ply. Any untreated wooden base should be sealed with an undercoat and kept inside. Cut the base to size using a jigsaw. There are various mosaic methods. I chose the 'direct' method which means that you simply stick everything onto the base. Smash up your tesserae (this is the name given to the stuff you stick onto the base: crockery, tiles, glass, pebbles etc.). There are more professional ways to approach this but I made do with a hammer and an old towel. Place the china face down on a section of old towel and cover. Using the broad side of the hammer smash away, checking regularly on the size of the pieces. A range of sizes will allow you to find a piece for every gap (eventually!).
