![Stripe mosaic, by Helen Bushell, summerhouseart.com Stripe mosaic, by Helen Bushell, summerhouseart.com](https://www.summerhouseart.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Finished-stripe-squarewm-644x619.jpg)
I do have sort of a weakness for the black and white stripes. I like to add just touch of stripes here and there, in a lot of artworks. They just jazz up a pattern or surface. We make a type of mosaic called Pique Assiette, made with broken dishes. So you can imagine how excited I got on spying a whole stack of dishes with black and white stripes in the thrift store. But, believe it or not, I actually left them behind, on the shelf, when on a dish buying trip with mosaic students.
In the end, of course, I just couldn’t resist. I did get exceptionally lucky when I went back on the seniors discount day and found them still there and promptly snapped them up and also got 30% off! Always nice to get a discount, you know.
So now I had this huge stash of black and white stripes to work with. It occurred to me that instead of using them for just an accent here and there, that I could go mad and also have some fun experimenting with using way too many black and white stripes, just to see what would happen…. especially with a few other dishes to take it right over the top! That’s me, just an artistic rebel, ha, ha.
I’d started with just the stripes, the black and white with a “river” of colorful stripes and it just needed something. Which was when I noticed I did just happen to have a few of these bits of cups with black and white bulls eye on them.
![Choice of dishes for mosaic, summerhouseart.com Choice of dishes for mosaic, summerhouseart.com](https://www.summerhouseart.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/dishes-choicewm-644x595.jpg)
Finally, almost done with the tedious breaking, gluing and fitting. You’ll have to excuse the glue everywhere. There’s just no way to avoid that messy gluey stage.
![mosaic, pre grout, by Helen Bushell, summerhouseart.com mosaic, pre grout, by Helen Bushell, summerhouseart.com](https://www.summerhouseart.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/pre-grout-full-viewwm-644x483.jpg)
And now a new decision to make. What color grout? And here Will came to the rescue, by Photoshopping a few choices.
![Grout color test, summerhouseart.com Grout color test, summerhouseart.com](https://www.summerhouseart.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/grout-testwm-644x642.jpg)
Since I was already over the top, I did consider really colorful grout. Then black too, but I decided that the uneven black paired with the very straight black on the dishes just wouldn’t work. In the end, I came to the conclusion that the pale grey set off all the pieces and that I really couldn’t/shouldn’t push the composition any more than I already had.
Here it is again, Finished!
![Stripe mosaic, by Helen Bushell, summerhouseart.com](https://www.summerhouseart.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Finished-stripe-squarewm-644x619.jpg)
And a side view too.
![Striped mosaic, by Helen Bushell, summerhouseart.com](https://www.summerhouseart.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/finished-side-viewwm-644x385.jpg)
I’m quite happy with it, oddly. I know it’s over the top, too much pattern, eye popping, on the verge of looking like camouflage, but it has a nice sense of fun to it. The size, by the way, is 8 in x 8 in. Still haven’t come up with a title….
Oh, Will just came up with a perfect title…..”One, Two, Many”
(BTW if you’d like to comment, and we do like comments, please just click on the title to bring up the post with a spot for comments at the bottom.)
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save
Save