Mosaic Terminology
Although the concept of mosaics is simple, the terms, tools and techniques can be quite confusing. Added to this is the fact that there are many different types of mosaic – depending on the materials and the style, blah, blah …
So let’s de-mystify some of the terms used.
- TESSERAE: a small block of stone, tile, glass, or other material used in the construction of a mosaic. Essentially, the ‘bits’ you stick down. Singular is tessera, often just referred to as “tess”.
- SUBSTRATE: your foundation or board. Can be a tile, a rock, paver, purpose made board (Wedi, Marmox, hydroban, etc), cement sheet, MDF, plywood, glass, perspex (acrylic), metal, something made from layers of cement-based adhesive & mesh, or a 3D structure: terracotta, cement, a mannequin, a sculpture made up on an armature, or bought in a shop … the list goes on. Note: timber or porous substances should be sealed as a preparatory step in your mosaics.
- INTERSTICES: a big word meaning the spaces between your tess. Can be large or small. Larger spaces however do increase the risk of grout cracking. My personal preference is to keep them as small as possible, but there are times when a larger gap can be an important factor in the design. In my WIP of a seated nude, I have a wider gap describing the shoulder blade, for example.
- ANDAMENTO: The visual flow and direction within a mosaic produced by the placement of rows of tesserae. Many different styles (opus).
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