Customer Reviews

Polymer Clay Mosaics

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3 star:		(1)
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These are beautiful mosaics - from classical style to modern - square tesserae to teeny little micro-mosaics, this book has a very nice mix of different techniques. There are even instructions for making simple milliefiori canes.

Starts with basic polymer stuff, then basic info on assembling and finishing a mosaic, then on to specific patterns. I love the section on pietre dure the best - they remind me of the very beautiful examples I saw in Italy.

One pattern (grapes & leaves) mimics the style and colors of the mosaics found in the ancient palaces in Rome - and the gold-leafed tesserae on the sconce project is right out of a Byzantine basilica. More modern-looking projects include a Celtic dragon barrette on a beautiful background and a "fossil" tile frame.

You can easily take any of these projects and substitute your own patterns and colors and even changing the size of the tesserae, making the design more or less complicated to suit your level of patience and available time. Some of the work is going to be painstaking and time-consuming, but for myself, I find that kind of work is very soothing sometimes.

The book is well-illustrated with lots of pictures to show the steps and the instructions are well written and easy to follow. Another excellent reference from a very prolific polymer clay author.

zig

Don't miss this book! It has 15 terrific mosaic, micromosaic, tile and "pietre dure" mosaic projects, including jewelry, home accessories and gifts. Pietre dure mosaics are done with thin layers--really amazing things. There are lots of clear, step-by-step close-up photographs with the instructions for each project, and there are very good tools and techniques sections at the beginning. The unique projects and excellent quality of this book make it a must-have for every polymer clay enthusiast. Patterns are included. The projects look so professional but simple too!

My first reaction when I eagerly opened this book was `what small print - can I be bothered to read it'. The introductory section in particular has a really small font size which, even with reading glasses, makes it a chore rather than a pleasure to read. Judging by the spacious layout on the pages, I am sure there was no need for the font size to be so small.

Aside from this criticism, the book gives clear instructions, with lots of step by step photos, for creating four different styles of mosaics with polymer clay. It has a good introductory section on working with polymer clay and gives several projects for each style of mosaic. The Pietre Dure mosaics are definitely my favourite.