Many centuries ago, Chinese and Vietnamese lacquer painters began to use this raw material when creating their miniatures. They noticed that when pressure is applied to the shell, a beautiful drawing from the finest cracks, making the workpieces look like the surface of a cracked rock or an ancient wall. The shell began to be used in lacquer painting to depict various buildings and crowns of flowering trees. The masters of the East were able to turn the main drawback of eggshells - fragility - into its main artistic advantage.

In general, decorating the background with a mesh of cracks is used not only in eggshell mosaics, but also in other decorative crafts. This pattern can be seen on pottery coated with a special glaze, or on hand-painted fabric. Regardless of what material they are made on, such cracks are always called craquelure, and the technique of creating a pattern of cracks that creates an antique effect is called KRAKLE.

Unlike eggshell toys, crackle mosaics made from the same material are strong and durable. If you work carefully and carefully finish even small parts of a mosaic set, you can learn how to make crafts that are in no way inferior to purchased souvenirs. Eggshell ornaments are used to decorate not only flat objects - all kinds of boxes and wall panels, but also blanks turned on a lathe - vases, pencil holders, decorative dishes and plates.

Let's try to make a mosaic picture from eggshells or, as experienced artists say, a mosaic set. Unprepared raw materials for our mosaic are more like garbage - they are not even whole eggshells, but just their uneven fragments. It is not easy to imagine that they can be used to make facing plates that have a special decorative property and look like ivory. Nevertheless, it is so.

Of course, guys, you will immediately want to decorate a specific item with crackle mosaic - decorate a box or vase with shells. Take your time. Let's first practice on small boards, and then, having mastered the secrets of the craft, we will tackle more complex work. By the way, if any educational craft turns out to be very successful, it can be used as the basis for a small wall panel or other souvenir.

You will need:

Before you start work, you need to stock up on raw materials, that is, eggshells.

1. Be sure to rinse the shells in lukewarm water.

2. And then put it in the solution baking soda in order to degrease their surface.

3. Now all that remains is to dry the workpieces thoroughly.

4. And for the time being, put them in cardboard boxes for storage. When there are a large number of shells different shades, we will start manufacturing facing plates.

PRODUCTION OF COVERING PLATES

First of all, let's decide which glue is more convenient to use for gluing parts.
The fact is that when using PVA, the quality of gluing is higher, but insufficiently experienced craftsmen often fail to firmly connect the shell to the paper.
It is easier to work with Moment, but this glue has a pungent odor, and the strength of the joint between parts decreases over time.
If we choose PVA, then it is enough to apply a thin layer of glue on the inner surface of the shells, and when gluing the parts with “Moment”, we need to lubricate both the lining and the shell.

Now we are ready to flatten and smooth the shells.

If you carefully examine the shell of a fresh egg, you will notice a thin film lining it from the inside. When hit, such a shell will not crumble into separate fragments - its pieces will be held together by an elastic film. Let's take advantage of nature's hint and glue a special lining, such as a sheet of thin paper, under the fragile shells. The pieces supplemented with lining are easy to cut with ordinary scissors - the shells do not crumble into separate pieces. But how to glue semicircular shells to a flat sheet of paper? This is why we need a smoothing iron.

Lay out the prepared shell, convex side up, on sheets of paper. When doing this work, it’s a good idea to sort the workpieces by color - stick only snow-white shells on one sheet, yellowish ones on another, pinkish-brown ones on the third, and spotted fragments of quail eggs on the fourth:

This division into colors and shades will help us when making a mosaic set.

Cover the shells with a sheet of plywood and press lightly on it - you will hear a slight crack and the pieces will be flattened.

If the raw materials were glued with PVA, we will hold the plywood in this position for about a minute, and if with “Moment”, then we will immediately move on to the next operation.

Let's take the ironing iron in our hands and, with a little effort, iron each piece of the shell.

The blanks will crack into many tiny pieces and at the same time stick more firmly to the paper. Let's take a closer look - an almost invisible network of cracks covers the shell. These are the ones craquelure, which we have already talked about. As long as they don't affect appearance facing plates, and we still have to develop the crackle pattern.

The facing plastics must be covered with a protective layer of tracing paper on top. The protective layer will not only protect the shell from crumbling, but will also facilitate the transfer of the working design to the material. You need to paste the tracing paper with paste; it is easily washed off from the surface of the workpieces without leaving marks. Under translucent paper, it can be difficult to distinguish the color of the prepared raw material, so we mark each sealed sheet with a small shell of the desired shade. The mark will tell us the color of the blanks hidden under the paper.

WE MAKE A MOSAIC

And now that we have prepared a sufficient number of facing plates, let's try to make our first mosaic set.
First, we will master the simplest type of crackle mosaic, and then, after gaining a little experience, more complex ones.
The easiest way is to paste ornamental details pre-cut from eggshells onto the background. This method is suitable for small works in which the image details do not exceed the size of flattened shells, and a significant amount of space is devoted to the background.

Now that we have prepared a sufficient number of facing plates, let's try to make our first mosaic set.

First, let's copy the pattern shown in the figure:

Let's put tracing paper on the page of the book and trace the contours of the image - the working drawing is ready.

It can be used many times - just put a sheet of copy paper under the tracing paper and trace the lines of the ornament again. When making a mosaic set, the design will have to be transferred twice - onto the board, which serves as the basis of the product, and onto the facing plates.

It is easy to apply an image on a smooth board - you need to put carbon paper and tracing paper on it, fasten them with pins and carefully trace the lines with a hard, sharp
sharpened pencil.

The pattern is transferred piece by piece onto small, uneven pieces of shell.

Let's first number all the details of the ornament as shown in the figure - this will help us not make mistakes when assembling the mosaic.

Now let’s put an image of one of the parts of the ornament on the shell and trace it with a pencil.

Let's assign each part a number corresponding to the number in the working drawing.

Having cut out all the parts of the mosaic from the eggshell, coat the inside of them with PVA glue and glue them to the background.

Let's wait for the glue to dry completely and remove the covering of the shell protective layer paper To do this, lightly moisten the mosaic set with a sponge or wide brush. Let's wait until the paper softens and remove it from the shell.

The crackle mosaic is almost ready, and all we have to do is color the background and develop the crackles.

We use black or colored ink to color crafts.

Our choice is not accidental - the chemical properties of the carcass allow us to quickly and efficiently finish the workpiece. The bile contained in this dye penetrates into the thinnest cracks, invisible to the eye, carrying with it particles of paint, and the shellac contained in them, after drying, ceases to dissolve in water and turns into a kind of cement that holds the tiny shells together.

First, let's cover the background of the mosaic set with ink. And then, when it dries, there is an ornament made from the shell. When painting the shells, it is very interesting to watch how graceful dark branches of cracks grow. Here they rush forward, scatter to the sides, branch, filling White background unusual mesh pattern.

Having developed the craquelure in this way, wipe the shell plates with a damp cloth, removing excess ink. After wiping, the paint will remain only in the cracks, and the ornament itself will again acquire a white or cream tint.

POLISHING THE MOSAIC SET

Sanding a mosaic set is a very important operation! The thickness of the shell is small, and careless movement of the grinding stone can easily damage the facing plate.

First, let's process the mosaic set with a wooden block wrapped in the finest-grained sandpaper. Then we start polishing. We will need a very simple polishing tool - a piece of ordinary writing paper.

When making paper, substances such as chalk and kaolin are introduced into it, giving it roughness. With their help, we will polish the mosaic set, which after a short treatment will acquire a soft silky shine, especially noticeable against the dark background of the board painted with ink.

Elena Artamonova "Unusual souvenirs and toys"

And such perfection is very close...

Anna Nikitina

Target: teach to perform eggshell mosaic according to plan, be able to draw up work.

Tasks: Develop the ability to plan and consistently carry out your actions during production eggshell mosaics; learn to make simple craft with your own hands; ability to use fragile eggshell.

1. Create interest in this type of art.

2. Develop fine motor skills.

3. Cultivate independence and patience.

4. Conduct safety training.

Application: The event was attended by children from grades 1 to 6, three girls and three boys.

Materials and tools for crafts from eggshells:

Eggshell, disposable small plates, gouache paints, acrylic paints, a simple pencil, an eraser, a brush, PVA glue, clear acrylic varnish, a toothpick, felt-tip pens.

Step-by-step process for completing the work.

First you need to prepare the material. Collected eggshells with the children in our dining room, then washed in warm water and dried on the windowsills.

For the manufacture of DIY eggshell mosaics, we needed disposable plates with drawings that the children drew themselves. Now let's start gluing shell. To do this, grease a small fragment of the pattern with PVA glue and place a piece on top shells. If the shell is too big, then you just need to press on top with a stick, shell will crack and fall apart into several small pieces. The children tried to make sure that between shells it was approximately the same distance. Having completed one fragment of the picture, we move on to the next.

After filling out the entire drawing, we set aside our mosaic on the windowsill until the glue is completely dry, then the children decorate the background and paint the made eggshell mosaic. Waiting for it to dry mosaic, finished mosaic Cover with acrylic clear varnish.

Publications on the topic:

This is our first experience with the children not only in the decoupage technique, but also in the mosaic technique. The process turned out to be labor-intensive and time-consuming. But this.

Eggshell applique is very interesting and exciting activity, since crafts do not require a lot of expenses. Eggshell.

Master class on the application “Wintering Birds” using the “Paper Mosaic” technique.

Master class on the art of wet felting for children 6–7 years old “Soft mosaic” Purpose of the master class: making practical felted items. Children's age: 6 - 7 years. Production time: 30 minutes. Target master.

Children really enjoy designing different animals, insects, and birds. I suggest you make a spider with us. Following our advice.

Master class in the technique of broken mosaic "The Bell Tower of the Resurrection Cathedral." We live in a beautiful city - Shuya, Ivanovo region. Big.

Sources: G. Fedotov. Encyclopedia of crafts
http://igrushka.kz/vip67/mozkra.php
Photo of eggs: http://galery.mygorod.ru/images/1602/

Technology for making mosaics from eggshells. Crackle.

Shell mosaic by direct set

The painted shell is broken into pieces using tweezers. When developing a skill, the shell can be broken quite accurately, the resulting elements will have a certain shape - triangles, squares, thin strips. Depending on the creative tasks and the scale of the work, sometimes it makes sense to first prepare pieces of the shell, sorted by color, and then start making the mosaic. For small chamber works, breaking off elements can be done directly during the typing process as needed.

Mastic or adhesive is applied to thick cardboard or a sheet of plastic. Then the outline of the picture is drawn. Pieces of the shell are placed in place with tweezers in accordance with the drawing. The work is dried and then coated with colorless varnish. For quick-drying adhesives, you can use a brush to apply the glue to the shell or directly to the place where the element is glued, but this method is more labor-intensive and time-consuming.

Making a mosaic by removing the shell

All work is carried out on separate boards, which act as the basis of the mosaic set - the backing. The prepared shell is cut into polygons with straight sides (Fig. 2, a). At the same time, they try to ensure that they have right angles whenever possible. This will make it easier to fit them onto the base. One side of the board is completely covered with shell, carefully adjusting the cut out polygons to each other. Each polygon is pressed as tightly as possible to the base with a smoothing iron.

Then, on the shell glued to the board, draw the contours of the intended image with a simple pencil (Fig. 2, b). The figure shows the sequence of making a mosaic set with an image of an elephant. In areas where there should be a background, excess shells are removed with various cutting tools. To drill blind holes, use gimlets or a small drill. Carving, as well as chipping of the shell, is done with a scalpel or a blunt knife. The engraving is applied with stichels. The work begins with drilling (Fig. 2, c1), then engraving is carried out along pencil lines (Fig. 2, c2), after which they begin to chip away the shell in the areas reserved for the background. Having completed the mechanical processing, remove the tissue paper glued to it from the surface of the shell. First, the paper is carefully moistened with water using a brush (Fig. 2, d1). After some time, the soaked paper is easily separated from the shell (Fig. 2, d2). Sometimes small seams remain at the joining points, into which small shells are glued.

At the next stage of work on the mosaic set, we begin to identify the craquelures. In this case, the background is painted in some color, for example, black, dark brown, dark blue (Fig. 2, d3). It is convenient to use mascara for these purposes. The mascara contains an alcohol solution of shellac, dyes, glycerin, bile and antiseptics. Thanks to the presence of bile - a surfactant - mascara easily penetrates into the smallest cracks, carrying with it all other components. Having filled the cracks between the individual shells, the ink not only colors them, but also holds them together. This is facilitated by shellac, which after drying does not dissolve even with water.

For reference: Crackle- a network of thin cracks on any surface, a technique for visually aging interior items using special varnishes, additional processing or use of shells.
Craquelure(French craquelure) - a crack in the paint layer or varnish in a work of painting or the varnish coating of an object of decorative and applied art.

After making sure that the mosaic set is painted evenly, use a slightly damp cloth or swab to remove excess ink from the surface of the shell (Fig. 2, e1). After waiting until the remaining ink has completely dried, they begin sanding the mosaic with fine-grained sandpaper mounted on a wooden block (Fig. 2, e). They sand the surface of the shell very carefully - after all, the eggshell is so thin that in some places it can be easily removed completely. After finishing sanding, the sandpaper is replaced with regular writing paper. It also has abrasive properties due to the presence of koalin and chalk in it. The polished surface of an eggshell acquires a soft shine and vaguely resembles old ivory or marble. The dark matte background emphasizes and enhances the expressiveness of the mosaic set (Fig. 2, f).

Mosaic set with mastic background

If the background occupies a significant place in the mosaic set, as, for example, in a composition with images of owls, then there is no point in completely covering the surface of the decorated object with the shell (Fig. 3, a). After all, approximately half of the pasted shell will have to be removed later. In this case, it is better to paste over the shell only those areas where the mosaic images will be located directly.

Work on a mosaic set begins with the prepared drawing being transferred to a wooden base. Then they cut out generalized silhouettes from the shell with scissors and paste them onto the base. After the glue has dried, the excess shell (shaded in our figure) is removed with a scalpel or cutter (Fig. 3, b). Typically, cutter marks spoil the surface of the background, and in large areas this is very noticeable. However, flaws can be removed by filling the background with a layer of special mastic flush with the glued shell (Fig. 3, c). The most commonly used mastic is epoxy glue filled with graphite, stone dust, and brick powder. You can paint mastic with any dry pigments, as well as oil paints.

The mastic is carefully applied to the background areas with a wooden spatula or a sculpture stack. Once the mastic has completely hardened, the mosaic set is carefully leveled with a file. The mosaic is then moistened with clean water. Tissue paper pasted onto the shell gets wet and is easily separated from it. All that remains is to use a brush and ink to reveal the craquelure on the surface of the shell. If the mastic is colored, for example, dark blue color, then craquelure is also used to develop blue mascara(Fig. 3, d). Finally, the set is sanded and polished. The entire surface of the mosaic, including the background, acquires an even soft shine.

Mosaic with multicolor background

The background can not only emphasize the beauty and expressiveness of the material used in the mosaic, but also actively participate in the color scheme of the composition. In this case, the parts made from the shell will serve as partitions, separating one section of the background from another (Fig. 4, a).

Mastic of three colors - brown, black and red - is prepared in different jars. First, fill the background areas with brown (Fig. 4, b) and then with dark red mastic (Fig. 4, c). To obtain a speckled background, black mastic is mixed with shells crushed in a mortar (Fig. 4, d). To prevent the mastic from spreading, edges made of thin cardboard are glued to the edges of the board with the mosaic set. After the mastic has hardened, the sides are removed, the mosaic set is carefully leveled with a file and the remaining tissue paper is removed. The shell is covered with black ink. As soon as it penetrates deep enough into the cracks of the shell, its excess is removed with a slightly damp cloth. After a few minutes the ink has dried and the set is sanded with fine-grit sandpaper mounted on a wooden block and then polished. The black speckled background of the mosaic will appear to be made from many individual shells.
The use of a particular shade of shell will depend on the nature of the image and the task facing the artist.

Mosaic on turning products

Wood products made on a lathe can be successfully decorated with eggshell mosaics (Fig. 6). When turning on workpieces, small recesses of no more than 0.5 mm are selected in advance with a cutter. The mosaic elements are glued onto the surface to be decorated and carefully rubbed onto it with a smoothing iron (Fig. 6, a). Then the product with the mosaic set glued to it is tightly wrapped with some kind of harness (belt or rope), tightly laying the coil to the coil (Fig. 6, b). To prevent the glue protruding from under the shell from sticking to the bundle, the product is wrapped in newsprint in advance.

After the glue has completely dried, the rope is removed, and the areas where the shell is not glued are filled with epoxy mastic (Fig. 6, c). When the mastic has hardened, begin sanding the mosaic set. You can grind directly on a lathe, taking the necessary precautions, or manually, attaching sandpaper to a wooden block with a grooved recess corresponding to the diameter of the workpiece (Fig. 6, d). After identifying the craquelure on the shell and subsequent polishing, the wooden parts of the product are painted in dark color stain. Finally, the entire product is rubbed with wax mastic or varnished and polished.

Easter will be coming soon, which means people will paint eggs and visit each other with them. Then we invite you to master a new type of needlework - do-it-yourself eggshell mosaic, a master class is attached. Egg shells are an excellent material for creativity. Today we will analyze several master classes that will allow you to understand how to work correctly in this technique.

Preparing for work

We collect the eggshells and place them in a deep container. Meanwhile, prepare a 5% baking soda solution. Pour it into the shell and wait 5 minutes. Then drain the liquid and rinse the shells under running water.

It is best to use raw egg shells because they lose their hardness when cooked. For example, any shell is suitable for children's crafts.

To make a painting using the eggshell technique, you first need to remove the film from it. Leave it on the tray for a while to dry. Then you need to color it with food coloring. Afterwards, we remove them into plastic containers, having previously sorted them by color scheme. Due to the fact that the shell is not always painted evenly, it can be used to depict not only pictures, but also, for example, to make beautiful decoupage on a bottle of any drink. You wouldn’t be ashamed to give such a gift to your friends on any holiday.

Egg painting

• Egg shells;
• PVA glue;
• Brush;
• Cardboard (or any other surface, everything will depend on what exactly you want to do);
• Tweezers;
• Wooden stick;
• Acrylic paints;
• Napkin for decoupage.

Step-by-step instructions for doing the job:

1. First you need to make a template according to which the eggshells will be laid out. Draw it on a simple sheet of paper, or for those who don’t know how to do this, just take any drawing and print it out.
2. You need to glue a sheet with a pattern onto a sheet of cardboard.
3. Let's move on to applying the shell. We do it as follows: grease a small area of ​​the picture with glue and place the shell on it. If the size of the shell is very large, then take a stick and press it on it. Because of this, it will crack and crumble into several small fragments. The distance between the shells should be the same.
4. With this action we fill the entire drawing completely.
5. We put it out of the reach of children and wait for it to dry completely.
6. After the drawing is completely dry, decorate it with paints.
7. At the end of the work it is necessary to coat it with varnish.

This concludes the master class.

Simple flowers

For work you will need the following tools and materials:

• Simple sheet;
• Simple black pencil;
• Set of felt-tip pens;
• PVA glue;
• Finished egg shells;
• Watercolor paints;
• Set of brushes;
• Sippy cup;
• Wooden skewer.

The technology of work is as follows.

On a regular sheet we draw a sketch, in our case these are violet flowers.

After the drawing is completely ready, we move on to the technique itself. Lubricate the flower petal with glue, as shown in the photo.

Place eggshells on it. For this action it is better to use a whole shell. We lay it so that it covers the entire surface that was coated with glue.

With a little pressure, the shell cracks, thereby filling the pattern. Just be sure to make sure that the shell pieces break into more uniform pieces.

For a more even laying, you can use a wooden skewer.

We outline the finished petals with a bright felt-tip pen; we chose black. This is necessary so that the borders of the petals do not merge.

We do the same with other petals.

After the flower is completely ready, we outline it.

We do the whole drawing in exactly the same way.

Here, the picture is almost ready.

In a small small bowl, grind the eggshells into a fine powder.

We coat all the details of the drawing with glue, and sprinkle shell powder on top. So we fill in empty seats, which were formed during work.

Let the painting dry completely. Then we move on to painting. For this you will need brushes, paints and a sippy cup.

We color according to the sketch, which was originally transferred to a simple sheet of paper. For us it was like this: one of the colors is yellow, the second is blue (purple). Then let the painting dry completely. And we apply different shades to the petals themselves.

How to ensure that the picture has an interesting texture? You can apply textured plaster to the base, but then the image must be covered with an additional layer of varnish. It is better to create a light relief using egg shells. This natural material It is easily fixed with ordinary PVA glue, it is easy to paint and looks original.
Today you will learn how to make a simple painting with a textured base.
To work you need to prepare:
- a sheet of thick cardboard (preferably from a packaging box);
- eggshells (dried);
- a tube of PVA glue;
- a napkin with a bright pattern (three-ball);
- scissors;
- wooden frame.

First, cut the cardboard to size to fit the frame.
Spread the top corner of the base with PVA glue and begin gluing pieces of eggshell.

Make sure that the pieces are placed at small intervals and the base of the picture is visible.
It is better to apply glue not to the entire surface, but in parts, gradually gluing the shell.

This is what the base of the picture looks like, completely filled with pieces.

Now take a napkin with a picture and match the picture to the size of the base.

Cut off the desired part and separate the topmost (colored) layer of the napkin.
Spread the base of the picture with PVA glue, on top of the shell, and glue the colored fragment.

All that remains is to attach the base to the frame.
The picture is ready!