Underwater Mosaics

During our Blue Planet summer camp, artists explored environments around the world. We learned about plants and animals that inhabit different ecosystems, diverse landforms, and many of the magnificent colors and textures found throughout our spinning blue spaceship called Earth.

One of my favorite parts about summer camp is how it offers a longer runway for complex projects such as this one, an underwater mosaic. Mosaics require planning, prepping, gluing, and grouting. A multi-phase artwork challenges young artists to utilize patience and perseverance to see their artwork through to completion. Even though I’ve seen it so many times, I’m still blown away by how beautiful these mosaics turn out. Aren’t they amazing?!

For this project, artists first drew an underwater scene on a rigid wood board, focusing on the element of shape and the principle of movement. Artists were encouraged to think not only about the outline of a plant, but the shape of each component. By asking artists how they would use tessera (the technical term for ceramic/glass tile pieces glued together in a mosaic) to form their leaves, stems, and waves, and how would they use movement to show the viewer that the plants were underwater, artists were empowered to effectively express these two artistic concepts in their work.

Once a design was complete, artists began gluing a wide range of tessera to their boards. After they had dried, we used grout techniques to finalize their artwork. They turned out so well!