Mosiac Art

This art goes back some 4,000 years or more. By the eighth century BC, there were pebble pavements, using different colored stones to create patterns. It was the Greeks, in the four centuries BC, who raised the pebble technique to an art form, with precise geometric patterns and detailed scenes of people and animals. Small pieces of glass were used to adorn walls, tables, pavements or any surface in either a geometric pattern or a random design. The beautiful glass shines in the sunlight and looks very pretty and pleasing to the eyes.

About my work of art :

I used a plain glass bowl/vase for this art. I bought some round glass pieces. You can use broken glass or flat glass pieces. I know someone who broke wine/liquor bottles to pieces and used the flat pieces. Wine/liquor bottles come in beautiful yellow, brown, green, black and red colors.

I stuck the glass pieces on the bowl and used grout to fill in the voids. You could use colored grout too. It gives a very beautiful look. I am going to use flat glass pieces next time for a mosaic table.

Stained Glass Painting

The origins of the first stained glass (windows) are lost in history. It is difficult to say exactly when and where glass painting originated. Whether it was from France, Rome, Itlay or Egypt. Early Christian churches of the 4th and 5th centuries had these beautiful paintings on their windows. It is also believed Italian renaissance gave birth to this beautiful form of painting. Glass paintings during that era were in the miniature style, and dealt with biblical themes. They adorned church altars and windows. Colored glass and original vintage glass paintings are extremely expensive and rarely available for sale now. We can only learn and try to replicate.

Glass painting in India :

Glass painting was brought into India by the Chinese merchants who settled in Gujarat around the 18th century. The Chinese merchants settled around the coastal regions of the state. Soon this style was internalized by the artists and was experimented with. Indian themes and pictures from epics were painted on glass.

The medium of glass provides the painter with something that no other medium can - the light effect. This adds a certain beauty to the painting which in itself has that glossy look.

About my Painting :

This is a painting of Lord Ganesha ( the Elephant God) who is worshipped and prayed to achieve success before going for any ordeal. He is a very popular God in India.

I used gold enamel paint combined with translucent glass paint for the effect.