Mosaic tiles are considered to be in vogue nowadays for use in showers and floors to add color and style to a room. These mosaic tiles are also used in producing many forms of mosaic art by mosaic artists. There are several types of mosaic tiles of different textures, colors, layouts and shapes to suit the needs of the artist and the piece of art. Ceramic mosaic tiles, glass mosaic tiles and stained-glass tiles are usually used for producing wonderful pieces of mosaic art.
The history of mosaic art is said to go back some 4,000 years. People during that time used to point-push terracotta cones into a background in order to give decoration to their surroundings. Then slowly by the eighth century, patterned pebble pavements using different colored stones came into vogue. However, this form of decoration was unstructured. The pebble technique was turned to an art form by the Greeks in the fourth century B.C., with the use of precise geometric patterns and detailed pictures of people and animals. From the 5th century onwards, the rise of the Byzantine Empire turned mosaic art into a new form. Their pieces of art included Eastern influences with the use of special glass tesserae called smalti. Smalti was made from thick sheets of colored glass and had a rough surface with tiny air bubbles.
Mosaic arts are used in many spheres of life, but mostly for swimming pools, murals, gardens, tables, etc. In swimming pools, the mosaic art is found at the bottom of the pool as well as along the border of the pool in various designs. It is up to the swimming pool owner to enlist a mosaic artist to create the right piece of mosaic art to suit his needs. Murals and garden pieces can also be created by mosaic artists to get beautiful, decorative pieces of mosaic art. Then, of course, anyone can create small pieces of mosaic art using mosaic tiles, glue and some imagination.