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57 of 65 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
mosaics in a weekend, March 30, 2000
By A Customer
Surprisingly, the word `mosaic' has no literal translation. Some scholars have suggested that it means `crazy', which even if not absolutely accurate, seems to be entirely appropriate at times. Mosaic is certainly enjoying something of a renaissance at the moment. I have been running three-day mosaic courses for five years now and their popularity has grown as the public have slowly realised that they, too, can make beautiful mosaics for themselves. It never fails to amaze me that what appears at first glance to be such an inflexible material, can produce results that are so stylistically different and individual. The Italian master mosaicists had to train for many years before being allowed to tackle big public works. Understandably, they were (and still are) very secretive about their techniques. What they would think of a three-day mosaic course (or this book, which for some projects works on the principle that a weekend can be a `long weekend' - three days) is not worth repeating , but the fact remains that wonderful things can be, and are achieved in this short space of time. So let's let the mosaics speak for themselves. About The Projects In this Book. The projects in this book have been chosen to show the wide range of styles, materials and techniques available to the modern mosaicist. Choose the projects that suit your temperament - it is unlikely that someone who feels drawn to the `Gaudiesque' style of using great big chunks of broken pottery is also going to enjoy the painstaking work involved in nibbling fine detail for an intricate design. I strongly recommend that you read the chosen project through carefully before you start. There's nothing more maddening than to have to stop work because you have forgotten a vital piece of equipment. You will also notice that there are times when you will need to wait, say, for glue to dry. It is important to realise this before you begin a project, so that you don't get disappointed when you find you have to wait, for example, a whole week for cement to set. I have tried to choose projects that range from the simple, that can be achieved in a morning (For example the Trivet, page 00 and the Shell Number Plate, page 00) to the more advanced, that may take 3 days to complete (For example the Geometric Roman Paving Slab page 00). There are plenty of mosaics for internal and external settings. Mosaic has the added advantage of being able to be wiped clean, so you can hang it in your kitchen or bathroom if you wish. Other mosaics have been chosen simply because they make perfect gifts.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Making Mosaics: 15 Stylish Projects from Start to Finish, November 12, 2001
By A Customer
Having seen Martin Cheek's website, which contains an impressive and whimsical sampling of his own work, I was looking forward to a "projects" book by him. I am a bit disappointed. The projects are, for the most part, completely aesthetically unappealing to me. The level of the book is "beginner" (which I am), so initially I thought the images were overly simple in order to accommodate the reader's lack of expertise. At the same time, however, he suggests projects which would be out of the realm of most beginning mosaicists -- like making and firing your own decorative tiles, for instance. And although each project comes replete with a long list of necessary supplies, in some cases he never mentions any instructions for certain items on the list. Maybe his intermediate/advanced level books are better.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Doesn't WOW, but good for beginners, June 24, 2002
The colorful fish design on the cover of this book attracted me, but most of the projects don't particularly WOW me. The first few pages cover all the same basic introductory instructions that all other mosaic books do, though not extensively. The good quality of this book is that it begins with a very simple project which uses a pre-made decorative wall tile as the centerpiece. You simply frame it with small mosaic pieces. This is a great project for trying one's hand at mosaic to get a feel for the craft. The projects become progressively more difficult, yet remain fairly simple, so it's a great way to learn, even though the projects may not be all that appealing. The cover's fish design for a plaque is actually one of the more difficult pieces because of its more complex tile layout. A mid-difficulty project includes a couple of mosaic-covered boxes that I find attractive and would make with color modifications. There is a tabletop at the end of the book which I think would be prettier with a change of color choices, but I would never try it using the author's technique, which is to create the mosaic top, then put cement on the table and turn the table upside down and try to place it over the mosaic. The instructions say "try not to panic", but I'm afraid I would, worried that, unable to see the mosaic top, I might not get it centered, and end up with a huge mess. There has to be a better way to do that one. Often the instructions refer you to look at the list of suppliers for materials, but the problem is the list doesn't tell you which suppliers carry which materials. You'd have to call every single one (21 of them) to find out which of the suggested materials they carry. All in all, I would recommend this book for beginners. For others, keeping the book in your mosaic library can inspire some ideas, and I think the more ideas on hand, the better.
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