Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Eggshell Mosiac

This was one of the coolest projects I have done with my students. I found it on dickblick... AND it is even incredibly more beautiful than the pictures. I enjoyed teaching about the color wheel and the history of mosaics -- I loved this website.  It is also interesting to learn about the use of ostrich egg mosaics in Namibia.  Here is a little photo instructional:

Eggshells are "crushed" onto a canvas using white glue.

Once the glue dries, you add liquid watercolor -- undiluted! Use analogous colors for the best results.

Be generous... and quick. The inside of the shells absorb more color than the outsides.



This is where it gets tricky.... You have to remove the watercolor from the eggshell tops to expose them. Using the diluted gloss varnish, a paint brush and my best friend - a q-tip - move the color to the 'valleys'!


Finally, I found that Triple Thick was the best way to go to finish them off. They are beautiful! I will post photos of the students' finished projects -- I bet they will be really neat... 

No comments:

Post a Comment