Mosaics were seen first on floors then on walls as the art form came to be more in demand. They were installed in public areas such as bath houses as well as in private residences. You may want to depict a Roman god or scene from their mythology. Teacher explains that the tiles should be placed on the drawing depending upon the color and shape needed. Students will, in effect, be painting with the tiles by filling in different zones of the picture with the desired corresponding color as if they were coloring that area with paint.
Teacher models the correct way to place the tiles by using overhead color squares on the drawing.
Tiles can be placed directly next to one another or with spaces in between but should not be overlapped. Tiles can be cut to fit in oddly shaped spaces in the design. Teacher instructs the students to, first, make their design on scrap paper and then lay out their tiles before gluing to ensure that their design is what they want. Once the desired design is acquired on the scrap paper, the final background sheet is prepared by applying the glue to the area where the design will be placed. The teacher models how the clear contact paper can be used to pick up the entire design from the scrap paper.