One of the things I love the most about using Styrofoam is how lightweight it is and yet very sturdy most times. For my shrine, however, I need to make sure it will hold the pieces I've used to build it. To begin with, I taped the pieces, crudely cut in some instances (which I LOVE!) together to make pillars and the base.
You may have seen this in previous posts but I'm sharing as the "before" photo because once completed with mosaic magic, it will still have the same shape but look completely different.
I don't want to leave it all taped up and assume that will hold heavy tess and grout. What's needed is some layers of thin-set and plaster cast strips to bond things together and make it one piece instead of many pieces taped together.
I like using thin-set mortar for some things, especially if it should have strength to it. I mixed some of this up and used it in the joints.
I buttered it on the pieces and stuck them together. The color turns white when it's completely dry.
The circles and oblong indentations will also get some thin-set on them to make this as flat a surface as possible.
Here are the pillars, looking rather weird at the moment. They will get covered in thin-set and attached to the top and bottom parts soon.
After all the pieces are attached, I'll use plaster cast strips to cover the whole thing and once that's dry, I'll put more thin-set on it. Then it'll be ready for the fun stuff. The mosaic!
I'll share step-by-step how I do this as the weeks progress. This is going to be a fun side project in between making mosaics for my Etsy shop.
Support Independent Artisans, Designers and Crafters for your gift-giving needs all throughout the year. Thank you!~Cindy, EarthMotherMosaics
