Piecing Clues Together
It’s no secret that we really love working on special projects and our latest one is certainly no exception. You may recall our post back in April about MiCareerQuest. Our booth at this event was surely a game-themed sight to behold, complete with a 3 foot by 5 foot tile mosaic! After many months of work on this project, we are pleased to reveal the completed piece! Be sure to read through for a video of the finished piece.
As the theme of our booth was ‘board games’, this mosaic showcases two of the most well know characters from Clue, Miss Scarlet and Professor Plum. The tiles used were generously donated from three of our tile distributors: DalTile, Genesee Tile, and Virginia Tile. A variety of 4 inch by 4 inch, white body ceramic tiles were selected to work in a “paint by numbers” way, where minimal blending was required. Once the tiles came in, they were all broken apart with a hammer until we had sixteen large buckets full of tile chips. Then, the foam board had our image transferred onto it with a number corresponding to a tile color in each shape. The initial art for the piece was created by Caela, our designer. Early on, this piece was ear-marked to be donated to Michigan Works, who puts together MiCareerQuest every year.
Level of completion after MiCaareerQuest
The first install session of this piece happened at MiCareerQuest. After 5 hours, the mosaic was only one-third of the way finished. We were then able to take the board to Kent City High School! The art teacher, Sara Goodrich, allowed Caela to visit her Sculpture and Ceramics and Foundations of Art classes on two different days, where she gave a short talk on careers in art and the students helped to finish the piece!
Students of Kent City High School working on the mosaic
We then brought the piece back to our shop to grout it. The grout, mastic, and foam board were all generously donated by Laticrete. After assembling a frame, the mosaic was complete and ready to be delivered to Michigan Works! Our delivery team was informed that the piece would be residing in their Ottawa branch. We are all so pleased that this mosaic will have a permanent home for others in our community to enjoy! Thank you to everyone who assisted in the creation of this marvelous piece!
Finished piece at Michigan Works!
