How To Make Mosaic Portraits

End of Year Christmas Mosaicing Gift Activity

Sep 7, 2007 Jo Murphy

A no mess portrait mosaic from cardboard pieces will become a priceless family heirloom! Patience and perseverance will produce stunning results worth framing.

This technique was discovered when enlarging a photo of Mary MacKillop to prepare a portrait for a school project. To map out various parts of the face the picture was transported from Google Image Search and enlarged in Photoshop Elements 4

The image pixilated and the beauty of this pixalation became apparent. It seemed a brilliant way to plan a mosaic and pretty soon the lesson plans were strategised.

Here is a project brief for the preparation of Christmas Gifts to make as an end of year activity. The quality of the project will be influenced by the age of the child.

Materials

Precut Glossy Cardboard Mosaic Squares ordered ahead of time from your school art supplies distributor (the smaller the pieces the better)
Firm Cardboard or Pasteboard cut to A4 or A3 size or slightly larger (depending on how you decide to frame the artwork)
PVA Glue and an ice cream lid to spread it evenly over (paddle pop sticks would make a good spreader)
Tweezers and skewers to place and position the pieces
A photo of the loved one for whom the gift will be made. This photo must be a very clear close up of the face of the person. It would be wise if the photo was taken and posed expressly for this purpose, as the project requires dedication. It would be better if the snap shot was appropriate for the project. The student may consider a self portrait would be appropriate.
Cartridge paper, rollers and skin coloured acrylic paint with white and a darker skin matching brown for creating skin tones that are unavailable.

Process

Scan the photo and enlarge it until it becomes very pixilated
If you persist until the pixels are the same size as the precut mosaic pieces this would make the project easier
When the student is happy with the size of the pixilation tell them to print this image in colour
Adhere the image to the paste board
Prick and press down any bubbles of air that may have been caught under the photocopy
Colour match the squares to the pixels
Decide whether there are enough skin tones or whether the students will need to mix and paint some of the skin tones by painting the cartridge paper with rollers. If this is necessary, students will need to continue coating the paper until it becomes thick they will then spray it with varnish so that it becomes glossy like the other cardboard pieces. Some differences in texture only add the authenticity and hand made appearance of the project.
Like a jigsaw or 'paint by numbers' use tweezers to place the pieces first onto an ice cream lid which has glue spread evenly over it and then place the pieces on to the matching pixal of the mosaic face
Press down on each one with the tweezers or skewer easing into position
Ensure that none of the pieces dry with out being pressed firmly and no squares remain curled up at the corners

Finishing the Project

This project will take quite a while and the students will become engrossed. Their engagement should mean they are quiet and focused. The time will pass quickly and productively

When the students have completed the artwork and are very sure there are no corners still curling

spray lightly with a can of spray varnish
spray again everyday for a week so that the coats have time to dry out completely between spraying
be careful not to saturate the artwork with the spray
have the students sign the artwork once the varnish has created sufficient coating (it will have become even of surface) They can use a fine tipped paint pen for the signing.

Please post examples of the work to the discussion boards so that other schools can see how the project has turned out for you.

The copyright of the article How To Make Mosaic Portraits in Arts Education is owned by Jo Murphy. Permission to republish How To Make Mosaic Portraits in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Mary MacKillop Mosaic Preparation