1107 News from Santa Barbara School of Mosaic Art

Now that you are coming in on the finishing touches of your piece the grout can make or break your art work.  Many aspects of grout are important.  First and foremost is color.  Grout comes in a rainbow of colors as well as mixing different colors to make your own.  Grout also comes “sanded” or “non-sanded”.  What this means is grout that has sand in it and grout that does not.  Grout with sand is good for grout joints of 1/8″ or bigger.  If you have grout joints smaller you can use the non-sanded.  Personally I like the look and texture of sanded grout and prefer to only use that type of grout.  It is not a hard fast rule to use non-sanded with the smaller joints it is just what is suggested on the box or bag.     

I like to call grouting the “reveal”.  It is when your piece comes together with a beautiful and clean look.   

When choosing your color of grout you want to really study your piece and decide if it needs more drama or if there is enough going on with the tesserae that a lighter grout will do.  You will also want to decide if your piece will be an exterior piece, than a dark grout would be suggested due to the amount of dirt your piece may get on it.  If you are looking for the dramatic effect you will want something dark, like a charcoal grey or dark brown.  If your tesserae is busy and dark you may want to choose a light grout, like an antique white or snow white.   There are few rules in mosaic art and experimentation is extremely important.  As these are my tips and techniques that I have learned over the years and am happy to share it is important to experiment with your own pieces and styles to see what best suits you…….   

stay tuned next month for techniques on applying your grout! 

Reminder if you want to purchase many of these tools they are for sale at the SBSMA supply store.