Mosaic - the process

In the beginning there was plywood and pine and primer. I sketched a horizon line and then rough sketched the Twin Rocks. A simple painting in color would serve to guide campers on where to place the various colored tiles. I had to cut 6" off the plywood and cut my 1 x 4 lumber to size before gluing, nailing and screwing the whole thing together.

Once assembled, the campers began placing tiles. My supervisor found some heart tiles and we let the kids write their initials in permanent ink (which held up fine... until grouting - oops!). Then each day campers and staff dropped by to add to the design. Some tiles were put in the wrong place, but I left most of those for character. Some did need to be removed and redone.


As the week went on , I added shells here and there to give some dimension, color and texture.

This curved shell made the perfect big wave. Sadly, it was broken on the last day of camp after it had been presented to the host camp as a thank you present.


Detail of the sky corner. Notice the paper rope braid. Yes, I did do that all by hand! It took over one hour of just braiding and my fingers didn't like it one bit! But the edges of the plywood needed to be finished and that was all I had available. The braid was nailed with my staple gun.It is funny that this mosaic even happened. My original goal was to use up supplies I had "inherited" when I became Craft Director 2 years ago. I hadn't been able to come up with economical crafts and decided to do the large mosaic. I have never tiled and grouted before, but somehow I had confidence it would turn out okay in the end. All those hours of watching HGTV paid off!

For me, it was an exercise in faith and letting go. Any time "problems" came up (like not having even half enough blue tiles to cover the sea and sky - greens and grays filled in), I was able to let go of my wishes and expectations and trust that God would help the process. And, if I totally messed up and it had to go in the trash, I was okay with that. I was able to realize that my identity was not solely in that project and its failure would not mean "I" was a failure. Normally, I attach much of my worth to how well I produce. This week I was free from that worry (for the most part). I am once again amazed by His love and His concern for His children, even in little things like getting a mosaic done.