In order to build my mosaic to its highest potential, I need to plan the process behind its creation.

The first, and arguably most important part of the mosaic, which I will maintain most of the focus on through the creation, is the material it’s constructed with. For this particular mosaic, more speccifically the parrot, I plan on using a collection of sheeted aluminium, screws, and nuts. As more contemporary mosaics are being created, metal is becoming a significantly more popular choice in creation. It can be polished, weathered, and changed more dramatically in comparison to the traditional choices like stone and glass. As for the screws and nuts, I plan on using those to connect the metal to the base. However, I have another use for them in order to give the parrot a bit more depth. I plan on using multiple lengths of screws in order to give the mosaic an unconventional 3-dimensional look. The varience in height from the base wouldn’t be too significant (only a few milimeters at most) but it would be visible enough to create an effect of depth no matter where you look at it from.

More important parts of the mosaic would be the depicted flooring, standing box, shadow, and background. For the flooring, I would most likely use an evenly separated zinc sheet so that I could not only match the blueish-gray color of the mosaic’s flooring, but also be similar in nature to the material of the bird to give artistic uniformity material-wise. For the box, I would once again use sheeted metal (copper) bolted to the base in order to once again match the color shown in the original mosaic, as well as to match the sort of material used with other portions. The shadow and base however, would be different. For the shadow, I would use a black tinted piece of plastic. This would give a transparent appearence, alowing me to use other materials without having to worry about depiction of realistic lighting due to the plastic’s overlaying nature. Last but certainly not least, the base would made of a thin 24″x18″ piece of dark oak. This would allow easy connection of the metal to a secure platform through screws and nuts, and would also be sturdy enough to hold the weight of the metal parts used in other portions.

An example of this metallic usage is seen in Matt Small’s work:

He uses random scrap metal organized in various shapes in order to depict the person seen. I plan on doing something similar with this in referrence for shaping, just with a bit more depth and rather “fresh” metal.

Despite all this, some problems may come up. For example, the wood may be too fragile in order to withstand the barrage of screws inserted into it. The metal may also corrode, and change it’s appearence from what it once looked like. However, in working with metal in other areas such as robotics, I’m sure I’ll be able to combat these. My robotics work is my main influence in using the resources I am. The constant mechanical and structural applications of metal can have people view that resource as only having one use. However, I hope that my audience can take away that not every has to conform to a single niche.

Works Cited
– https://mymodernmet.com/matt-small-mosaic-portraits/