Mahi-Mahi Mosaic on Sandstone
The mahi-mahi, also known as dolphinfish and dorado is a surface dwelling fish found in off-shore temperate, tropical, and subtropical waters. They have a lifespan of around 5-7 years, grow to 22kg maximum and attain a length up to 140 cm. Mahi-mahi have dazzling colours; blues, greens and golds on their sides and back. The pectoral are iridescent blue.
A long, narrow slab of sandstone was selected for this mosaic. Iridescent glass tiles were used for the fins and head area. Blue ceramic tiles were used for the tail.
The outline of the mahi-mahi was drawn on the sandstone using a pastel pencil.
The glass and ceramic tiles were stuck down with Thinset. For the body I used glass “drops” to represent scales, starting with blue shades just below the pectoral fin, then green to yellow moving down the body.
After all of the tiles were stuck down the adhesive was allowed to dry for 24 hours.
A bone coloured grout was then used to grout the mosaic.
The finished mosaic, designed for external display, was positioned in our garden.
