Colourful travails on the tiles

A few weeks ago, having discovered that our shower had been leaking for about a decade, we were forced to consider ripping the whole thing out and replacing it with a not cheap but rather nasty version fashioned in what is fondly dubbed "acrylic" by the manufacturers but looks like horrible plastic to me.

The first part of this renovation involved trashing the cabbage tree mosaic I had lovingly crafted on the back wall of the shower some 12 years ago. I had expected to erupt into sentimental sobs as the sledgehammer struck the first blow, but in reality I found myself rather relieved to be liberated from the daily evidence of my amateurish efforts at the mosaic art.

That was my second attempt at mosaicing. My first was on a set of steps leading to my house on Waiheke a zillion years ago. I was inspired by economy - smashing up plates and embedding them in cement was cheaper than paving or railway sleepers. The result was far from stylish, but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I recall that I was inspired to create the cabbage tree on the shower wall after seeing the work of various mosaic artists, including Con Kiernan, Judi Brennan, Dhaj Sumner and others.

This second attempt was somewhat more sophisticated than the steps, and, at the risk of sounding immodest, drew gasps of admiration from those friends intimate enough to experience the interior of our shower.

I have to confess I haven't been moved to create any mosaics since, but now that winter's approaching and my creative opportunities are likely to be limited by the copious rain that Northland delivers between now and October, I'm giving it serious thought.

And I can certainly recommend it to anyone with an artistic bent who wants to make something that requires minimal skill and minor technical knowledge.
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The deal is, make something - a pot, a post or a statue - and if it doesn't turn out as well as you wanted, sit it in the garden and hide the dodgy bits behind a palm frond. It'll look great and your friends will be thoroughly impressed by your creativity.

There's heaps of information on the net about how to make mosaics, and if you want to go a step further, you're bound to find a local mosaic class unless you live in Chatto Creek and, even then, there's probably someone there who knows how to do it.

To get you started, here are some tips I was given by the Clay Art Studio a few years ago. Since the mosaic art has been with us for a few hundred years, I'm confident it still applies!

1 Make sure your base is weatherproof and stable. Concrete is the ultimate base for outdoor mosaic projects, but for outdoor pictures, fibre cement board is great. Paint the back when you have finished. Wood is pretty much useless - even marine ply. It expands and contracts so much with heat and humidity changes that the grout can crack and water can get in.

2 Use waterproof glue. On concrete, cement-based adhesives work really well, but whatever glue you use, check the label says that it is good for exterior use. Also, use plenty of it. Make sure that there is a layer of glue between the mosaic piece and the base - don't press down so hard that all the glue squeezes out the sides.

3 Use weatherproof tiles. Many cheaper tiles will absorb water and, though this is okay on a vertical surface, if used flat on a paver or path, this water can freeze in the winter and damage the glaze. Outdoor tiles, glass, vitreous glass and high-temperature ceramics are a more sensible choice.

4 Grout well. Ensure that the grout is packed into the gaps between the pieces and worked in well so there are no air gaps. Use a rubber squeegee or spatula to completely fill the whole space, right down to the baseboard.

5 Seal the grout with a commercial grout-sealer. This seals up any tiny gaps that you can hardly see and prevents water working its way into them. It also gives the grout a smoother surface that is harder for mould and lichen to get a grip on.