Trevor Hook of Evansville, Wisconsin’s Hooked on Tile took part in the inaugural Artisans Revolution in Tile (A.R.T.) Training last summer, where he and 14 other A.R.T.isans made a 107-piece koi mosaic.

Hook has yet to invest in a ring saw and advanced wet saw, so with this 100% stained glass project, he made all cuts with a 7" inch Rigid wet saw outfitted with a glass blade. For the inside curve of the nose pieces, Hook used a glass grinder minimally where the wet saw or angle grinder couldn’t fit, since “ironically it chipped the glass pretty bad, so it was very frustrating,” he said. He got cleaner saw cuts with the saw than with the shaper. The result is a playful pup inset into porcelain wall tile with the added bonus of LATICRETE SpectraLOCK Dazzle Glow Grout, which adds a whole new dimension to the project. Puppy love? I’d say so!

The first new hotel and casino built on Fremont Street in Vegas in 50 years is the Circa Resort and Casino. And what better way to adorn this venue that has roots in the classic Vegas of the past with a dedication to building a new legacy than to commission one of the country’s top mosaic artists to welcome visitors with her vision and creativity.

Eden said that while chatting on the phone with the owners and designers from JCJ Architecture about the mood board they had sent her, she was inspired to draw up the entire ballroom design. “I knew exactly what it had to look like – in golds and blues – with a hint of a Mid-Century Modern feel,” Eden said.

Mosaic artist extraordinaire Cherie Bosela runs Luna Mosaic Arts in Orlando, Fla., and has created many stunning mosaic murals in the area. For this client, Flora Family Vet, Bosela worked with the veterinary staff to completely personalize the mural with paw prints of employees’ dogs and cats to create the “pawmade” tiles. Each pet also got their name on their paw print. “I love being able to add a personal touch to the mural,” Bosela said. Both of her girls’ pup paw prints are included too.

Another A.R.T.isan tile setter who attended the A.R.T. training last summer sponsored by NTCA and LATICRETE was Josh Vassallo, of Vassallo Tile & Stone in Wimberley, Texas. On a recent shower project, Vassallo demonstrated that artisan tile setting skills span a range of uses. Though this project wasn’t a mosaic art piece, Vassallo used what he learned at A.R.T. to pre-mount sections into 18" x 36" pieces for the ceiling of a steam shower. Using the pre-mounting methods taught at the class – and detailed in the NTCA Reference Manual, Chapter 6 – spared him from having to install every single piece of tile individually on the ceiling, while trying to line it all up and keep it all flat. “That would have been a nightmare,” he said. “Because of the methods I learned, the install went very smoothly, and I couldn’t be happier with the results!” Though the client wasn’t up for a mosaic in this project, Vassallo said, “I will continue pitching every single client for a mosaic piece.”

Back in February, Mike Moreno, owner of The Artisan Tiler, Inc., in Lompoc, Calif., shared a photo of his amazing 200 sq.ft. Saltillo floor with a circle and star pattern in the Tile the World Facebook group. What made the lippage-free floor in his home more astounding was that every single circle and star was hand-cut on a 10" wet saw from 12" x 12" Super Saltillos by Moreno himself, over the course of about a week.

Not surprisingly, amidst accolades like “Respect,” “Patience”, “Crazy,” and “Sick,” commenters suggested ways to streamline the process, like creating a jig or using a hole saw. But Moreno said, “No jig, folks. I traced everything – cutting one circle and one star and tracing all the rest.”

Grout was CUSTOM’s Saltillo mix – just sand and cement, old school, with no pigment.