How to Create a Mosaic Billet Bowl for Your Intuition Practice or Sacred Space

Jun 3

by Marilyn Sawyer

Artist and Retired Nurse
Chicago, Illinois

Certified Intuition Practitioner
About me
I am a third year IntuitionLab student and was a nurse for over 20 years while raising my 3 children. I love children and currently volunteer at a preschool. When looking for retirement activities, I signed up for a mosaics class and reignited my childhood connection to this form of art, in particular Pique Assiette mosaics. 
a special guest artist blog

The Deep Knowing that Brought Me Back to the Art of Mosaics

Last summer, I received a brochure from the Chicago Botanic Gardens, with a variety of classes they were offering for their upcoming fall session. As I scanned the pages, I was drawn to a listing for an 8 week mosaic workshop session.

Instantly, I was on my computer searching for the details of the class.


Something told me I would love this form of art. My mother has been gone 22 years. Sometimes the memories of loved ones fade a little bit, the longer they are gone. In the coming days, I started being swept up in fun memories of something my mom and I did together when I was a child.

Whenever I was home sick, there would always be that last day when I was well enough to go back to school, but just needed an extra day at home “to be sure”. And it was on that day that my mother would go out and buy me a mosaics kit that we would do together. It was one of our special things, something that I knew would happen and looked forward to doing.

I signed up for the class and eagerly waited to start the next month.

When I walked into the class, right away I felt the energy of a perfect fit. First of all, I had some signs that let me know I was in the right place. There were five other retired nurses, like me, in the class. Also, I hit it off with the fabulous, encouraging teacher, Bonnie Arkin. She mentioned that her birthday was coming up, and it turns out we have the same birthday. We even discovered she was in my husband’s class in high school!

What is Pique-Assiette?

It is a style of mosaic that incorporates ceramic shards, broken dishes and other found objects into a design. While traditional mosaics use small cubes that are relatively uniformly shaped, pique-assiette uses, for the most part, non uniform pieces.

The term pique-assiette is French in origin and some say it means "stolen plate", “thief of plates” or"broken plate". It also refers to someone who is a "scrounger" because most pique-assiette art is created with recycled or "scrounged" materials.

Pique-assiette mosaics originated in France and according to Wikipedia, the term is most closely associated with Raymond Edouard Isidore, a French graveyard sweeper and folk artist. Starting in the late 1930s, he spent 30 years covering both the inside and outside of his house as well as his furniture and his garden walls with mosaics.

For his mosaics, Isadore gathered the materials he needed from garbage dumps. Soon he was given the nickname “Picassiette”, most likely a nod to pique-assiette (scavenger) and also an illusion to Picasso and assiette (plate).

How I Use Mosaics in My Art + You Can Too

One thing that makes pique- assiette different is the use of 3D objects. Objects that work well are endless. Some fun ones are buttons and old jewelry pieces like brooches, chains, pearls, beads and stones.

I enjoy using 3D china pieces, like little china birds, butterflies or flowers, also known as Capodimonte flowers, which are very vintage.

Crystals and gemstones are beautiful to use, but must be added at the end if grouting is being done, because they lose their luster if grout gets on them.

Using different plates of different thicknesses is another way to add a 3D effect. The handles from china cups can be used, for instance as ears on a piece that has a face.

Sparkly broken glass pieces and tiny iridescent tiles can be interspersed about the piece for interest and variety. I very much enjoy using these in spots where the tiles don’t line up perfectly, or to put as a rim on a bowl.

I have also incorporated words in a 3D manner, which are shown here in one of the billet bowl examples at the end.

Creating Your Own Special Mosaic Billet Bowl

The Role of Intuition in this Art Form

At one point I worried about bringing all these used plates into my home and questioned what kind of energy I might be allowing into my space. A friend from IntuitionLab reassured me, “You probably wouldn’t be drawn to plates with energy that wasn’t right for you.” And I found she was right.

I usually make several circles around the shelves with old china and plates at Goodwill and then I hone in on certain pieces. Sometimes I even hold them or put them in my cart for a bit before I fully decide.

I am getting better and better at feeling what connects for me.

I have found that I tend towards the florals, and love pinks, reds, greens, yellows and golds, although florals are not required for it to be Pique-assiette. I have pushed myself to do projects that are primarily other colors, for the experience and learning to expand my artistic horizons. But it’s also the feeling I get that plays a role in what I create.

I have also discovered that when I use my head too much it doesn’t go well. There have been times when I have spent 2 hours in class trying to make something that I had in my head happen, only to rip off all the shards when I got home. Once, Bonnie said to me, “You’re thinking too hard! Just throw stuff on there!” I thought she was kidding, but that was when I got out of my head and let my intuition guide me.

Those particular projects that I struggled with by being stuck in my head, and then changed my approach to a more intuitive one, turned out to be some of my best. Another teaching I learned from these experiences is to see it like a patchwork. Don’t think so hard about the whole thing, and work as you go and tune into what feels right as you move through the project.

Art Supplies + How to Get Started 

Below is a list of supplies and basic instructions for starting your billet project. However, I highly recommend taking a course, not only for the instruction, but for the inspiration of seeing the amazing work of classmates. Here is what you need, and how to start out to do a pique-assiette mosaics billet bowl.

Supplies

  • A Bowl
  • Some Plates (to be cut)
  • Goldblatt Two Piece Glass/Tile Nipper Set
  • Apron or smock
  • Goggles or safety glasses
  • Rubber Gloves
  • E6000 QuickHOLD 380722 Quick Dry Adhesive, All-purpose, 2.0
  • 100% Pure Acetone
  • SimpleFix Indoor Alabaster Grout
  • SuperiorBilt XL Hydrophilic Grout Sponge for Grouting and Cleaning
  • Mosaics Tools, including Spatulas
  • Cleaner and Soft Scrub

Step 1: Find Your Billet Bowl

The first part of doing mosaics is choosing the item for your project, in our case, a bowl or container for billets...a Billet Bowl!

I get almost all of my projects from Good Will, but there are also art stores like Michaels Crafts or Hobby Lobby if you shop there. Other options I haven’t tried yet are estate sales and antique stores. You can also go to summer craft fairs to find little objects to use on your creation.

When beginning it is best to start with something that is not too curved, more of a shallow bowl or container. If you choose to make a curved bowl you must cut the shards smaller to fit them around curves. And it is best to use wood or metal or silver, not glass. You could use glass, but I learned in class to start with something that is not breakable. I started with a small silver platter and then did a picture frame. On both of these projects, I added 3D china flowers broken off of small china boxes. But then I went straight to some bowls and they are actually my favorite to do.

As shown in the pictures, you can mosaic the inside or the outside, or do both, depending on how they look ( no scratches, etc.) or whatever you prefer.

Step 2: Select Your Plates

The plates can be any color and have any design. Plates with beautiful edges are especially nice because you can use them around the rims of a project, or to outline something in the middle.

Pay attention to the thickness of the plates. Stoneware is not recommended. Fine china if you can find it is great! It is fun to use plates of different thicknesses as it adds some 3D dimension, although many like to use plates of the same thickness.

I have found that there is often something I especially like, such as a flower that I want to use right on the “foot” of the plate-the rim that goes around the bottom. So if I am using a flower that has been cut into 2 or 3 pieces and one has the foot, I glue a small piece of shard under the other 2 pieces to raise them up.

If there is a design in the middle of the plate that you would like to keep from breaking, or cut into a medallion, just cover the middle of the plate, top and bottom, with packing tape, The tape will usually hold it together as you cut the shards around it from the rest of the plate. If it breaks, the tape holds it together and you can either glue it back together or put it on your project in pieces that will still look like the initial design on the plate.

Step 3: Cut Your Plates

The Goldblatt Two Piece Glass/Tile Nipper Set: this is a set of one glass nipper and one tile nipper. Both are for cutting the plates into shards. It is nice to have both for more precision and different plate thicknesses.

When I started doing Pique Assiette, we spent a whole class practicing cutting shards. You may or may not want to do this, depending on how easy it comes to you.
  • Put on your smock and goggles and get started.
  • Put your plate upside down and in a plastic bag.
  • Then smash the middle. You should then have some large pieces to cut into smaller shards. You hold the nippers as demonstrated and you place the section of plate only about 1⁄4 of an inch into the nippers.
  • You hold your thumb perpendicular to the nipper and snip! If you have taped the middle, skip the initial whack of the middle and just start snipping around the outside of the plate.
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a short instruction video

Step 4: Create Your Masterpiece

THE GLUEING PROCESS
E6000 QuickHOLD 380722 Quick Dry Adhesive, All-purpose, 2.0-Especially good for projects that are curved like bowls because gravity takes effect and the shards slide around and down.
    
The regular E6000 is fine for very flat projects, but it does not dry as quickly. It is possible to remove the shards after either of these glues are dry if you don’t like what you see. One thing to keep in mind is the distance between your shards when gluing them down. In the beginning I had bigger spaces. I have discovered that putting the pieces very close together also works. It is just a matter of opinion and what you are creating. If you have pieces of a single flower together, the eye compensates and it actually looks like a flower, even if there are spaces, but more so if the spaces are smaller.
100% Pure Acetone: use in areas where you might want to remove dried glue. But be very careful. Test it on another unused shard to make sure it doesn’t remove the color.

THE GROUTING PROCESS
SimpleFix Indoor Alabaster Grout-Comes in white also. The alabaster was recommended as a good place to start, as it is less severe and helps things blend together. No mixing is needed. Of course there are other grout colors you can buy that require mixing, as you can see on one of the bowls I made that has tan grout. Bonnie says “I am the only teacher who will tell you that you do not have to grout.” So I don’t always grout, but it depends on what the surface I am using looks like and whether I want it to show through.

I mosaiced a bowl that was black enamel on the inside and left it to show through and it turned out exactly as I had hoped. If I am going to grout, especially at home, I position the pieces closely. That is not as messy and easier to accomplish when not at an art studio or class.

HELPFUL TOOLS
There are all sizes of spatulas for grouting, some very big. For the purposes of a “billet bowl” or any small bowl, I feel the spatulas are optional. I prefer to put on some gloves and push tiny pieces of grout into the spaces between the shards. It is more precise, less messy and it gives me more control over pieces I might not want to get grout on. If you prefer, the spatulas can also be used to wipe away the excess and smooth things out. Grout is not good for the plumbing, so when I squeeze out my sponge I do it over a large garbage can lined with a plastic bag to prevent plumbing problems.

CLEANING + FINISHING YOUR BOWL
After you have grouted the whole piece, it will look a little messy. Don’t worry. Wet the sponge and squeeze as much water out as possible. Then go diagonally back and forth on the piece, wiping away the excess grout.You do not want to get it too wet, so make sure the sponge isn’t dripping at all.

Wait at least 72 hours. A week is preferable. Then repeat the process with the sponge, wetting it and squeezing out all the water and then add some Soft Scrub on the sponge. Again wipe the project down in diagonal motions to get any grout residue that remains. If needed use the small spatula or the metal hook to wipe or pick away small amounts of debris. Windex and an old torn up soft t-shirt or other soft cloth work well for cleaning and polishing at the end. Spray Windex on the cloth.

Plastic grocery bags are great for putting under the plates to catch shards
    
Using this method, you can create a beautiful, unique bowl that would work perfectly to hold your billets, anything else, or just be decorative.  I get so much joy out of this craft and I hope you do too, should you decide to try it. It’s lots of fun and a little meditative. So enjoy!

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