Many mosaic artists I've come in contact with have used cement board for their mosaic art. Many hang them on outdoor walls or place them in their home framed. Kudos to them because I don't know how they do it!
About 15 years ago I was given a few pieces of scrap cement board from someone who was in construction. I asked them to cut it for me into reasonable sizes for handling and putting mosaics on and I gave one of the finished mosaics to the person who gave me the boards as a thank you for thinking of me. The rest I gifted to charities or sold them without hanging material attached to the back, suggesting framing or placing on a shelf for display if the shelf was sturdy enough. I made 4 mosaics on these boards that were cut to about 6 inches in size. There were a lot of wasted small pieces that I wasn't able to use, unfortunately. And I don't have any photos showing these mosaics. I took pictures of course but used a digital camera putting the photos on CD's using a computer. They're no longer compatible with my computer now. Oh well. I'm okay with letting them go. The quality of the photos were probably horrible anyway! 😂
In September 2024, shortly around my 70th birthday, I decided it was time to get more board and cut them myself, mosaic them and hang them above my windows and door frames in my room. We tried, my son-in-law and I did, to cut this board with the wrong tools. He did manage to get 5 long boards cut for me measuring 3 feet by 1 foot each using a lot of the wrong tools: a box cutter (I know ... wrong!), a jigsaw (the blade went dull after the third try ...) and finally elbow grease and a lot of force pushing on the score lines. Exhausting work but he did it. I purchased a few hand saws that were supposed to be used for these boards.
I didn't ask my SIL for help at that point thinking I could do it myself. It wasn't easy. I managed cutting down 2 of the boards into about 12 inches each using the tools I show above before I gave up and they are not exactly straight around the edges either. I don't care. 😑
At the moment, I've been walking past these boards each time I enter the Purple Palace and although I really thought I'd figure out a way to hang them securely above each window and door, I finally gave up on that idea. I had visions of them falling from their high perches and crashing to the floor, or worse, smacking me in the head as I entered or exited through one of the doors. Cement would hurt and do major damage if it hit me on the head. The extra weight from a mosaic would also be a thing. Just too much weight for what I wanted to do.
There are lightweight boards available and when I figure out if I can afford them (the Backer Board was very inexpensive which was the selling point for me), maybe a little at a time ... I will get them instead for this project. I still want to add art above the windows and door frames, just not something so heavy it could kill me if it fell.
Meanwhile I'm wondering what the heck will I do with these?! After doing some research I learned the cement would accept the liquid medium I use for collage! As well as acrylics!! That's a wonderful thing to discover! Yay! 😎 I image these panels will all have some kind of collage on them as well as getting some paint on them too. Huzzah!👌
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| Cement board and acrylics - leave it as is or do some collage? |
Then the thought I had: where the heck am I going to put all the panels and boards when they've got art on them?! They won't go outside, I don't really have that option anyway but I'm guessing paper and acrylic paint wouldn't do well under all 4 seasons here in PA.
And so, we shall see where these all end up. I'll definitely share the development of art on them as I go along here on my blog.
I do have to ask myself however ... what was I thinking?! I don't know why I thought I could use cement board for high above my head thresholds but I now know I have the option to get creative on some boards that will eventually get placed here and there within my room.
If there is a moral to this story to remind myself of how to approach creative endeavors, I'm guessing it's mostly: plan things out a little better and really think them through!
Remember to do something creative as often as possible! It's good for the soul.
Enjoy the journey.
Cindy aka EarthMotherMosaics
https://artbyearthmothermosaics.com
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