Do-it-yourself project | Create a sharp glass mosaic

When mosaic artist Jo Braun is around glass, she turns rhapsodic. She strokes the glass, admires the color and even tastes a piece now and then.

She's also a self-described glass snob who dislikes round glass pebbles and cuts her own glass. The mosaic technique she prefers — rooted in Byzantine and Roman times — knits glass cubes together with just a basic cement.

It's more complicated than simply buying glass, but the glass quadrangles offer flexibility to the artist, with stunning results.

"Without grout, you can create a very textural, living surface," Braun said.

Braun teaches her craft at Bedrock Industries, a Seattle glass company that makes tiles from recycled glass. She uses BlazeStone tile, inspired by the use of Italian smalti, the glass typically used for this classic mosaic technique.

Artists cut the glass into quadrangles, typically measuring 1 to 2 centimeters square, and use only the split edge of the glass in the mosaic. Known as the riven surface, the glass is glossy and streaked with texture after it has been split.

But Braun's passion extends to all the elements of her mosaics. Thinset cement is "just my frequency," and she loves the palette knife. They are all characters in her mosaic "drama."

Perhaps you will feel the same way after you try your hand at the craft. Take a look at the "how-to" gallery where Braun shows how it's done.

Nicole Tsong: 206-464-2150 or ntsong@seattletimes.com