Mosaic dish

One place that I really enjoyed visiting in Lima was the Parque del Amor (Park of Love) which looks out over the Pacific Ocean. This park was opened in 1993 as a monument to love. There's a large statue in the middle, El Beso by Victor Delfin, of an embracing couple, and round the edges are undulating walls decorated with mosaics in a love theme, with hearts, flowers, and names. It's these mosaics that inspired my mosaic dish.

I found a mosaic tray kit for £1 at a car boot sale earlier this year, but decided to use the tray and the mosaic pieces for separate projects (I've already used some of the mosaic pieces in my Charles Rennie Mackintosh pendant).

I'd also found this little dish for 20p in a charity shop, and hadn't decided what I wanted to do with it. When I was looking for something to do a mosaic on, it came to mind.

1. I drew a design on the dish in pencil, based on the hearts and flowers of Parque del Amor.

2. Working on a small area of the dish at a time, I spread glue on it and added mosaic pieces.

3. To break the mosaic pieces I grasped one between two pairs of pliers and snapped it. I did also try putting them in a bag and hitting them with a hammer, but they were pretty much pulverized by this!

4. When I'd covered the dish, I mixed some grout according to the instructions in the mosaic kit. I spread this over the dish, and used some card to make sure it got into all the gaps.

5. After 10 minutes I gave it a wipe with a damp cloth, spread more grout in any gaps, and left it for another 10 minutes before wiping it again.