Make a stained glass mosaic portrait from a photograph.

Step 10 Hanging your art

You can use a standard tooth hanger to hang the piece, or eyehooks in the top of the frame, but avoid if at all possible using a "picture frame hanger" setup with one wire going across the back. It puts stress on the glass that could cause a fracture in the backing glass over time. See illustrations.

Ok, you're done! Congrats!

Comments

[misskitty914]

Q. i would like to do a mosaic on my bathroom door (of a mermaid of course! i have two sons so it will be a merboy and his sealPUP). can i glue directly to hollow core door? Q. can i get away with mounting door and working on mosaic a little at a time or does it def. have to be in horizontal position? might this depend on finding glue wit shortest set up time? thanks!

[misskitty914]

i am hoping to make mural full size, therefore i thought that i would use regular bull nose tile as a frame around mural. i thought that would be in keeping with project but make safe edges. what to do you think? Q. good point about the wood since it will be in a bathroom! what do you mean by sealing the wood? do you mean like boat varnish? i like suggestions about tape/contact paper as i would only do small sections at a time. thanks for answering so promptly.

[KedaDibandion]

Bull nose tile should work, just make sure that the extra width on the door won't interfere with the hinge mechanism. As far as sealant, something simple like polyurethane or like a deck sealer should work ok.

[misskitty914]

yeah, i think i'm going to do the hardware work first (hinges and doorknob). thanks for all of your input!

[KedaDibandion]

You should be able to glue directly to the door. Keep in mind that there will be edges, so if you are not going to mosaic the entire door think about creating a "panel" with wooden edging of some sort to isolate/protect the mosaic on the door. As far as doing the mosaic upright, I'd do a test first with a couple different glues and see how much they slide before drying. You could also use contact paper (preferably clear so you can see your pieces) after gluing for a while to sort of hold up the pieces while they glue. Tape could do that too. Keep in mind that the mosaic will be subject to jarring due to the constant opening and closing of the door, and humidity. It might be a good idea to seal the door if it isn't already, so that the expanding and contracting wood doesn't affect the mosaic as much.

[thewall_ster]

Your mosaics are so pretty! Making one for my sister.... I hope it comes out nearly as good!

[KedaDibandion]

Send me a picture when you're done!

[aholway]

REALLY looking forward to trying this--I'm just getting into mosaics--so THANKS! Question, tho: any particular reasons to do this within a frame rather than setting frame around it when it's done?

[KedaDibandion]

I'm not sure what you mean by 'setting frame around it when it's done," could you elaborate?

[Sooz]

I think the question is... can you just craft the mosaic on the glass backing, without the backing being seated in the frame during construction, and then slide the glass backing into the frame after the mosaic is completed? I'm assuming you can't do it that way because you might get the mosaic into areas of glass which are supposed to be fitted into the frame, and then you will cry great big soppy tears that you wasted all that time sizing the glass to the frame... This is so awesome and I'm now looking at a hobby in which I was never interested until I saw your 'ible. Thank you for sharing!

[KedaDibandion]

Ah, I see, yeah. I like to have the frame already there so that I don't do that exact thing. I want the glass to get really close to the edge, and the easiest way to achieve that is to have the frame there to butt the pieces up against.

[luigidifranco]

excellent job! Quite a impresive result and great idea to get the picture into the paper.