Every mosaic artist imagines getting a dream commission – one that offers real creative scope, a more or less open brief, an enlightened client and the opportunity to be appreciated by loads of people. Mosaic Workshop co-founder Tessa Hunkin traces the journey from an initial chat with the client to the installation of a new work in a prime public location in central London.

The Enterprise is a well-loved pub, and one that’s just a stone’s throw from our Holborn shop. It’s been our local ever since we opened, so it was a real thrill when I was approached by Nick Moore, the new landlord, to design and make a large sign for the flank wall of the pub. Nick left the design completely open – quite a rare occurrence, and one I was determined to exploit.

The pub is in a very conspicuous location with a huge amount of foot traffic – from the nearby Inns of Court and. The challenge was made even greater, however, because the pub is just around the corner from our shop in Princeton Street. This meant that not only would I see it every day but also all our knowledgeable and critical customers would be able to examine and judge it. There was no alternative but to make it as close to perfect as I possibly could.

The Design

My initial research revealed that The Enterprise was a 19th century sailing ship. There were various craft with that name but the most famous, and therefore most likely source for the pub name, was one of the ships that travelled across the north Atlantic searching for the North-West Passage and the missing explorer, John Franklin. I was already excited by the idea of a sailing ship because it is such a traditional English image, recalling our lost sea-faring history, but the arctic location was an extra gift for an interesting visual image. I always like, if possible, to include animals in my work and a little further research excluded penguins (Antarctica only ) and led to the choice of the iconic polar bear.

Having settled on the elements to be included I then had to think of ways of expressing them best in mosaic, using the particular strengths of the medium to give interest to the image. It’s one thing to develop and arresting image, quite another to produce something that exploits the medium of mosaic. In this case, I decided to base the design around two contrasting, powerfully graphic elements - the inverted fans representing the waves and a simple chequer pattern of rectangles indicates the bear’s fur. The final, and perhaps most important part of the challenge was making sure that both the image and lettering would read strongly at a great distance, so that the sign would have an impact all down Red Lion Street – after all, this was a commercial commission, whose aim must be at least partly to attract drinkers! The key to this is to use dramatic tonal contrast, with the pale clouds against the dark sky and the pronounced shading across the billowing sails. The tiny accents of bright red and sparkling mirror also read from a distance and enliven the effect.

Making the Panel

The client was sure that they wanted the mosaic made on a removable timber board in case they left the pub and wanted to keep the sign as a memento. I was pleased that this decision had been made for me because it can be quite difficult to weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of direct fixing. Rendering the brickwork, making the mosaic using the indirect method and sticking directly to the wall gives the most durable bond between mosaic and wall, but it involves fixing from a scaffold platform, open to the weather and high above the ground. Under these conditions it is impractical to spend too long applying different tones of grout and because of the high contrast used in this particular design, I felt that different grouts were quite important to the final effect. Fixing to a board in the studio would allow me to play to my heart’s content with the grouting effects until I was sure they were right. However, working on a timber base is not without its problems in the British climate. The potential dangers are that the expansion and contraction of the timber will cause the tiles to fall off, and that the board will warp and bend over time, causing the same effect. The first problem can be overcome using a super flexible adhesive such as Bal-Flex. The second can be solved in various different ways. Adding bracing timbers to the back of the board can be a good solution, but it will add to the weight of the finished piece and horizontal timbers can trap moisture against the back of the board. Because of the size of the sign, I decided to make it in two sections, so that the lettering is on a separate board. The back of the boards and frame were treated with three coats of weather resistant stain to protect them from moisture penetration and then tiles were taken off the mosaic to allow fixings at frequent centres to stop the possibility of warping.

Fixing the panel to the wall

This was the most nerve-wracking part of the process. Although in two pieces the sign was still very heavy, and the scaffold platform was not very high. In order to reach all the fixing holes to drill through them Nick and his assistant Claudio had to balance on high, bendy ladders while holding the sign in place. Eventually all the screws were fixed and the tiles replaced and grouted in. When we finally stood back and looked up at the finished effect we all agreed that it looked as if it had always been there. It is a definite characteristic of mosaic that it has an ability to blend in with its surroundings without ever looking shiny and brand new. This has many advantages but for the mosaicist it is sometimes disappointing that their work is so self-effacing!