. . . trial run
The first step in planning a pebble mosaic is to assemble a sufficient
quantity of pebbles so that you can experiment with them and decide
upon the nature of the design which you'll want to make. Also it will
help you to determine what quantities of what colors and sizes of pebbles will be needed for the entire project. Try to select the colors and
shapes which are available in fair quantities, so that you'll not have to
make a lifetime project of finding the proper ones. Draft your family
as assistants and have them help you to pick up pebbles of the size and
kind you finally decide upon. You'll be surprised how the stock pile
grows each time you combine a picnic or a beach outing with the
gathering of pebbles. Sort them as to size and color, storing them in
large cans or small wooden boxes for future use. The economy-sized
fruit-juice cans make good containers which are not too large to be
handled conveniently, but which will hold a good supply of stones.
When your total supply reaches about a half bushel or more, you are
ready to begin a trial run or "sketch" of your design.
Knock together a rough wooden frame or better still a shallow box of
the size of the project you have in mind. It should not be deeper than
2 to 3 inches and should be filled with sifted sand or loose soil. Sand is
better, because it will not adhere to the pebbles, while soil may get
muddy and have to be washed off pebbles before you attempt to use
them in cement. Water the sand bed and let it settle a bit; then start
pushing your pebbles down into it to make the designs and patterns
you want to carry out. It is immediately apparent that working in sand
is less irrevocable than working in cement mortar; you can make any
changes of pattern you wish merely by lifting out the pebbles and replacing them, wetting down the sand again if you need to.
Some craftsmen work out their designs in such shallow boxes of sand
beforehand, lay their cement mortar for part of the final design, and
then remove the pebbles from the box design one by one and insert them
in the mortar for permanent placement. However, you may not want
to go to all that bother, for once you have worked out in sand the way
the designs are to be made you will know that you can do it in cement,
too. But this trial run will give you some idea of the quantities of pebbles needed for the entire job so that you can assemble them before you
begin the final design in cement.
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