MosaicSmith Blog

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Shading Grout for a Sunset Sky

Glass mosaic clock with shaded grout in the sunset sky area.
Tropics Time
Pendulum Clock
10" x 4.25"


This is a project I completed a few months ago on which I did a grout shading on the sky area using four grout colors.
At the bottom I started with 'Camel' which is kind of rusty orange. Moving up I transitioned to 'Summer Wheat' which is a dusty gold. Next up I used a bit of natural grey and at the top is 'Pearl Grey' which is a blue-grey color.

Before adding these four colors, I grouted the lower 'water' portion in Mallard Green as well as a skinny strip in the center of each of those sky palm fronds. Once the green had cured for a bit- a few hours is enough- I used masking tape to protect it from the sky colors. 

When laying in the sky colors, I started from the bottom and added grout in rows. Where two colors meet, I did a little bit of smooshing to further blend the colors.

When cleaning off the excess grout, it is very important to wipe in the same direction as you used to lay in the grout color, in this case from side to side.  A change of direction during this step will muddy up your color gradient.

To see more posts about grout, click 'grout' in the label cloud => or this link http://blog.mosaicsmith.com/search/label/grout

This clock has sold, but see my other available clocks in my Etsy MosaicSmith shop. https://www.etsy.com/shop/MosaicSmith?search_query=clock

All available mosaic art: https://www.etsy.com/shop/MosaicSmith?search_query=mosaic+art

 

I make sterling silver jewelry too!!  http://MosaicSmith.com


2 comments:

Johannah said...

What a great tip! I'm working on a piece that might benefit from more than one color of grout and have been wondering if I'm brave enough to try it.

imaginarte said...

I used your coloring grout technique and yes, lots of masking tape, in my recent project. It looks great! Or so I have been told. Thanks for sharing. I enjoy learning from your postings. Thanks!