Lamp

Geneva Vanderzeil

Instructor

In This Lesson

For this project, you’ll be creating a mosaic lamp with a gently rounded shape, covered in small square tiles. It’s a great way to practice working on curved surfaces, refine your tile placement for a clean, polished finish, and explore a fresh approach to designing tiled lamps.

Tools & Materials

Lamp base with a rounded shape
Pre-shaped square tiles
Thick, fast-grab tile adhesive (suitable for vertical/curved surfaces)
Small spatula or glue spreader (optional, for applying adhesive)
Grout (in your chosen colour, ideally non-sanded for small tile gaps)
Grout applicator or gloves (to press grout into small areas)
Sponge and clean water (for wiping grout off tiles)
Microfibre cloth (for final polish)
Tile sealant (to protect and finish the piece)

You Need

Tools & Materials

Lamp base
Mandala tiles
Mosaic glue
Grout powder
Squeegee and sponge

Instructions

Remove the shade and then place the lamp upside down and starting at the top, put a strip of mosaic glue around the lamp. Gently place each tile on to the glue, creating a random pattern of colours. I made sure that there was at least 1mm between each tile to allow for grout.

Continue glueing on all of the tiles, moving down the lamp. I made sure that the patterned stayed random and that each line was not perfectly straight. Once you get closer to the bottom, turn the lamp over and finish it off. Allow the glue to set for an hour.

Next create the grout mixture by mixing approximately 150mL of water to 500g of grout powder. Add the amounts in slowly until it became the consistency of toothpaste. I then used the squeegee to apply the grout to the tiles, ensuring every gap was full.

Allow the grout to dry slightly and then use a damp sponge to wipe away the excess grout from the top of the tiles.

Rinse off the sponge and repeat the previous step until all excess grout is gone. Once all the grout is dry, give it one more wipe over with a soft clean cloth to help shine the glass.