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Hello everyone,
A few years back I did some mosaics, mainly wall pieces, flat.
I avoided working on clay pots for the simple reason of WATER and ELEMENTS.
Please tell me, in plain English, and without giving names of brands (I am in Romania and stuff available in the US, can't be found here, or it has different names/brands).
What do I need to do before I can mosaic a clay pot.
It will be ordinary clay pots, with a hole in the bottom for drainage, and a saucer (won't be mosaicing it though) and probably I will grow succulents like Agave and Aloe (you know, they don't require a lot of water) and finally even sell some.
Thank you!
Wow, Calin, these are great works of art! Loved them all but really enjoyed the "eye"!
I'm sorry I can't help much in the pot category, as I have only done one of those, with minimal success...lol. I wish you luck in your quest, tho!
Carol
I didn't check the link out, but will tell you what I do with my pots before I mosaic.
Seal the inside and out, if you drill holes for drainage, seal those also so water doesn't get into the clay. It will freeze and crack when it thaws if you get that cold where you are. Seal several times if you get really cold and the pot will stay outdoors. Then mosiac, grout and seal again. I'm not in a really cold area but have had some damage to some terracotta planters that have not been sealed, water makes them crack even with a little frost.
The ones that are sealed and mosaiced are doing fine and have been outdoors for a couple of years.
Thank you both,
SO a lot of sealing. I need to find something to sea with :)
What about GLUE?
I am going to try pots that don't go outside in the winter. Rather for indoors. But still needs some preparations, cause the plants inside DO need watering once in a while.
White glue will work, dilute it with water, put several coats... there is a black tar looking thing that is sold in a can that is made for sealing the airconditioner metal air ducts, I don't know what the proper term is, but, that stuff is just brushed on in the inside. But it is black and will stay black. only recommend it for the inside of the pots in case you don't mosaic the outside. Pots that won't go outdoors you can just seal the inside.
I've even been using some of the Thompsons sealer, mosaic sealer, and some of the woodsealers that I have on hand. If you have some paint handy, I imagine a couple of coats would even help.
I seal the whole thing several times in and out, then I put a potted plant inside the pot. It keeps it clean and also the water just drains out the bottom and you really can't tell there is another pot in it.
Thank you Antoinette. I will have to go one of these days to the shops and see what "equivalents" I can find.
Susan, that was actually my first and also biggest work. :)
