Rosalind Wates

A fabulous source of ideas and inspiration for mosaic artists at all levels. The designs are in the categories of: animals, birds and bees, sea creatures, symbols borders and patterns, food, and a mix of things from musical instruments to transport modes.
Each design has two or three colour templates .

The opening sections deal with basic techniques and materials, as well as tips on colour and design. However, the real value of the book is in the designs available for copying and I would recommend another book for the complete beginner with a bit more step-by-step guidance, The one I used for my first project was Making Mosaics: 15 stylish projects from start to finish, by Martin Cheek.

This book will be an invaluable addition to the mosaicist's bookshelf, and will pay for itself many times over for the useful design sources.… (more)

Amazon review: As a self-taught mosaicist, I own 25 mosaic books, including this one, and I can honestly say that the Mosaic Idea Book is one of the best of the bunch. Instructions are clearly presented and accompanied by a generous assortment of photos. As in any good how-to book, the author explains the basic materials, tools, and techniques used in mosaic work, but she does so in a way that really holds the reader's interest. One of the book's best features is that it contains plenty of patterns -- a tremendously valuable resource for both beginners and advanced mosaicists. The patterns are especially helpful, however, for the novice mosaicist who is still learning how to plan and lay out a design. Friends and I have used a few of the patterns in the book -- we enlarged/reduced them on a copy machine, to fit our specific projects. I used the chameleon pattern and created a mosaic that everyone describes as "spectacular." This book gives readers a lot of "bang for their buck." If you can buy only one mosaic book, I highly recommend this one.… (more)