Mosaic is an intensively detailed and artist driven medium. Preparing the tiles, tessera, of glass is still done by hand on the little island of Murano, near Venice, Italy. The colors are melted directly into the glass. The glass is flattened, cooled and then cut by hand into small pieces. These colors are rich and luminescent reflecting the light from within, representing the light of Christ with us. Glass tessera offers an almost infinite variety of colors. The craft of this art form is entirely hand done. Each piece of glass is prepared and placed by artists who have been trained one generation after the next. With the triumph of Christianity and the building of Christian churches mural mosaic became one of the highest forms of sacred art. It lived its greatest splendor in the 4th and 8th centuries as seen in Ravenna, Rome, Constantinople and Venice. The durability of the tessera is as impressive as its beauty. It is appropriate for outdoor use, as well as indoor. Tessera may also be made of marble. Time and the elements do not fade or disintegrate this art form. Today, we can admire mosaic installations that are more than 2,000 years old. An investment in this art form will serve your church community well for decades and even centuries. In The Cosgrave Company's experience most installations are fully custom artworks, elaborating a clients design. We do offer a few pieces that they have created before. However, as each piece is done entirely by hand with an artist using only a guide as his template, each is original and unique to the craftsman creating the piece. Please contact us TOLL FREE 800-228-9785 or info@cosgraves.net.