Let us get this straight: many children LOVE making mosaics. They love the colours and they love to create something of their own for their room or for presents. Most of the materials supplied by VIVA mosaics Ltd can also be used by children. If your child already handles scissors, forks and knifes made of metal they should also be able to make mosaics.
Health and safety
Please note that whilst VIVA mosaics ltd is happy to give advise on product use we cannot accept any liability on the use of them as that is outside our control. It is entirely the responsibility of the grown up to judge whether a child at what age and to what extend can do mosaics. In any case there are a few things that the grown up supervisor need to bear in mind along with use of common sense.
- It is glass. Most mosaic materials are made of glass and even though the glass tiles really are rather friendly, it is still glass. There WILL be glass dust on the bottom of the bag and there WILL be broken or chipped tiles that can be sharp. The youngest girl I know who has made a mosaic mirror with no cutting involved is 3, but that was with supervision.
- PVA glue. A glue for indoor purposes that will stick to glass and wood is PVA. It is odorless and very safe to use, but obviously, like the tiles: don’t attempt to eat it!
- Keep the workspace tidy. Use a dust pan and brush to keep the table free from glass dust. Never wipe the table with your bare hands as you may catch a chip and cut yourself. Paper plates are very good to help keep the space tidy as they stack and it is easy to pour tiles back and forth between bags and work area. Food or drinks do not belong in the work area.
- Cutting the glass. To make something more intricate, tile cutting is required and this is where some extra judgment comes in and we recommend that children need a certain age to do this. 12 years is a guideline. If in doubt, help and supervise your child and make sure what they are doing is safe. Make sure the child wears goggles at all times when cutting. The risk here is that the tiles may splinter when they break and you can get a chip in your finger or worse: in the eye, which is to be avoided at all costs. The youngest child I know who does this is 7 and he makes them with his Dad. He has made a great moon racket and a wonderful orange pumpkin for Halloween.
- Grouting - grown ups only. Grouting is messy but worse is that the grout powder contains cement and is nasty to the skin, not to mention what it can do to the eyes! Wear rubber gloves, mask and goggles when doing this and don’t let any children under 14 anywhere near. As a rule of thumb: don’t grout mosaics for indoor decorative purposes as it does dull them. Venetian smalti was never meant to be grouted. Leave grout for floors, work tops and outdoor mosaics.
Tiles particularly suitable for children / tiles that does not require cutting and are good value for money
- Mosaix 1x1 cm vitreous glass. 21 colours that with about 150 tiles to the 100 g these will go along way.
- Mosaix Soft glass pebbles. 12 colours of fused and domed irregular shaped glass pebbles with no sharp corners.
- Roti. All colours in all shapes and sizes. Very interesting mix of off cuts from hand-made Venetian smalti that will give vibrant individual results with a surface structure.
- Millefiori and gold leaf smalti (off cuts). Everybody is drawn to these. The price is high but a very little bit of it will make a big difference.
- JJ Crystal 2x2 cm vitreous glass is very good value for money but will either require large scale work or cutting to produce an interesting result.
- The Sicis lines are child friendly too and children seem to really like the Sicis Iridium with the shimmering, gorgeous oil on water effect. However, this is where the price starts to go up.
Many of these tiles benefit from being used together with a mixed media result.
Have fun and enjoy making lots of wonderful mosaics!
Children and mosaics
All rights reserved © VIVA mosaics Ltd 2007
