Creating a Mosaic Stepping Stone: A Step By Step Guide by Sarah Pilgrim

In this blog post, Sarah Pilgrim shares how she created her stunning Mosaic Stepping Stone. Sarah takes us through each step of the process, from selecting the right materials to applying the finishing touches. Drawing from her expertise as a Primary School Art Teacher, she makes it easy for anyone to try creating their own. Thank you, Sarah, for sharing your expertise and inspiring us with your beautiful work!

I played with clay as a child when my mother had a kiln and kick wheel in our shed. However, I started working with mosaics much later in life and have only begun to combine clay and mosaicking in the last 10 years, calling it Claysoics. I have taught many lessons on clay and mosaics as a Primary School Art Teacher.

I put a lot of thought into what I create, with careful selection of material. I generally use opus palladianum, which is a fancy name for crazy paving or laying tesserae of all different shapes and sizes in pretty much any way you like. It is deceptively difficult to do as you need to keep the spaces between the tiles regular and ensure that the tesserae maintain a relationship with each other. I begin by holding my art form, thinking about it and playing around with different coloured and textured tiles, sometimes for hours, even days. Pieces are added and subtracted, sometimes in a trial and error method until something begins to click. I am drawn to the colours, textures, and patterns in tiles.

I create my own ceramic tiles and forms using sprig moulds that I make from Indian wood blocks, old buttons, and clay forms. I also create textured tiles using textured rollers. I love to incorporate clay in my work and texture in other forms such as cup handles or ceramic chopstick holders. As a mosaic artist, I can’t mix colours the way a painter does, and this finite colour palette limitation often forces me to be more creative with my colour choices.

When the thought process and preparation are complete and the mosaic pieces are in hand, I begin to work intuitively, responding to the materials and how they come together. In these moments, the world falls away, and I am immersed in the joy of creating.

Instagram @claysoics

Materials and Supplies:

Tiles - any tiles suitable for outdoors. I used an op shop plate, leaves and background tiles from The Mosaic Store and daisy tiles I made from clay (you can use flower tiles instead)
Adhesive - Davco grey one pot tile adhesive
Grout – Davco Sanitized Colorgrout, gunmetal grey
Concrete paver from a garden supply store
Grout sealer – Betta tile and grout sealer

Other Supplies:

Rotary wheel nipper
Ceramic tile cutter offset
Container and old knife for mixing grout, gloves, sponges, material scraps

Project Instructions:

Trace the top of the paver onto paper and cut out the circle
Fold the circle into quarters and use this to find the centre point of the paver
Use a compass to draw rings to be used as a guide when placing tiles
Glue a trimmed plate or a circular tile in the centre of the paver
Use any tiles you like really to create colourful rings on the paver
Grout the following day and apply the grout sealer