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Pique Assiette is a folk art that can be found in many different cultures during many different time periods. It is the art of recycling broken crockery, glass, pottery, china, porcelain, and stoneware into decorative pieces for the home and garden.
Very popular from Victorian times into the early 20th century, the practice was probably borrowed from an African American tradition of decorating gravesites with jugs and objects owned by the deceased. It has been used for centuries for everything from garden furniture to the now famous Watts Towers.
The French term "Pique Assiette" quite literally means, "stolen from plate", and today the term is widely accepted and used to describe this fascinating folk art medium.
There are as many methods and materials used in the crafting of a pique assiette piece as there are enthusiasts creating them. Until a bit of experience allows you to evolve your own set of preferences and styles, these basic items and easy steps should get you off to a colorful and
exciting start.
Materials:
Birdhouse made from raw or treated wood
Assortment of china and pottery plates, cups, etc.
Tile nippers and/or a hammer
Multipurpose ceramic tile adhesive (mastic)
Sanded grout, colored
Tile and stone sealer (grout sealer, weather and oil resistant)
Manicure (orange) sticks and craft sticks the size of popsicle sticks
Acrylic craft paint
Sandpaper
Paint brushes and craft sponges, assorted sizes
Dust mask for nose and mouth
Rubber gloves
Plastic container
Dry towels
Lazy Susan (optional, for turning the birdhouse easily while you glue the shards.)
Preparing Your Project
If the wood on your birdhouse is raw or derived from old and weathered boards, you will want to seal it. Both of these examples are very porous and will suck the water right out of your grout, leaving you with a birdhouse full of cracks and chips in the grouted areas.
You may use white acrylic craft paint, spray paint, or a clear sealant. After the coat of paint or sealer has dried, sand the piece a bit with the sandpaper, leaving it a bit rough. You are now ready to begin.
Designing Your Masterpiece
Select the pieces of pottery and china that call to you for this specific project. Be as whimsical and wild or refined and stylish as you feel in that moment. There is no "right way" and there is no pattern to follow but your own inner creative vision.
Break your dishes into shards of various sizes and shapes. For a precise and controlled cut, use tile nippers. For a random and less consistent look in the shards, smash your china and pottery with a hammer. (Wrap the pieces in
towels before you start smashing and wear eye and hand protection.)
Items that are fun to use in addition to your shards are: coffee cup handles used to resemble a door handle on the front of the house, and miniature figurines of birds, owls, rabbits, etc, to glue onto the roof of your birdhouse. Apply these three dimensional objects first and then place the shards around them. You are only limited in this craft form by your imagination and access to interesting materials.
Gluing Your Shards
Apply the adhesive to the back of each shard with a popsicle stick and glue onto the exterior of the house. Create your design as you go along, or follow one that you have decided upon in advance. Because your birdhouse may have up to six surfaces, including the roof, you can do a separate theme and montage on each side.
Use the manicure stick to scrape off any excess glue from around the shards. Place your bits and pieces as close together or far apart as suits your sense of form and design.
Grouting Your Piece
Allow your project to dry at least 24 hours; 48 or more if you have glued very large and/or heavy items on that need extra time to bond completely.
Wear your dust mask while you mix the dry grout. Sanded grout is far more durable than unsanded and it will not scratch your shards. It is best to buy already colored grout. The risk of running out of mixed grout during a project and not being able to match colors is a great risk if you mix your own with pigments.
Place the dry grout in a plastic container or paint pail and slowly add water while you mix. The perfect consistency should be like that of thick mud. You don't want it wet and runny, nor do you want it dry and gritty. Be sure to mix well, blending in all of the dry grout from the bottoms and sides of the container. Approximately two cups of dry grout will cover an 11" x 6" birdhouse. Use more or less to cover larger or smaller items, and remember that it is better to mix too much than too little for purposes of exact color matching. Let the mixture dry for approximately 10 minutes, mix again, and then prepare to apply it to the birdhouse.
Wearing gloves (kitchen gloves work well), apply the grout to all of the surfaces, covering the shards fully and pressing it into all of the cracks between the pieces. Don't be timid; your shards will clean up far better than you can imagine at this messy point in the process and you will never know you covered them with the goopey grout.
Scraping Back Your Piece
Let the piece stand for 5 or 10 minutes before you begin the scraping and polishing unless you notice that the grout has already begun to dry on the first side you applied it to. On multiple-sided or large items the grout may dry in the area where you began by the time you finish applying it to the final surface. In these instances you may want to work in sections when you grout to avoid this, or you can wet the grout down a bit with a spray bottle.
It is easy to use your gloved hands for the initial removing of the excess grout from the surfaces. When you get to the smaller and finer areas you will want to use the smaller craft stick (popsicle size) and the manicure
stick. Scrape excess grout from the edges and borders of your shards to achieve a more refined and polished looking piece.
Once you are satisfied with the look of the piece, use a dry or slightly damp terry cloth towel to go over it again, wiping the residual dust from each shard.
Painting Your Birdhouse
After the grout has dried for at least 12 hours, select the color of acrylic craft paint that will best compliment and enhance your creation. You will want to paint the little perch on the front of the house, perhaps the small edges at the base or around the roof. Any surface that is too small to accommodate the shards should be painted, just like the trim in a human house. Two coats should be sufficient. Metallic colors can be very fun to use, and you may just find that this final step pulls all of the various colors and themes together beautifully.
Sealing Your Birdhouse
Allow another 12-24 hours between the painting and the sealing procedures. Use a paint trim sized brush to apply the tile and stone sealer to all of the surfaces, covering the shards and the grout in between. If you find the right sealer you will not have to go back over each shard again to wipe off the sealant; it will dry clean and clear.
While your birdhouse will be fairly durable due to the sanded grout and the sealer, you will want to protect it by not subjecting it to great amounts of water and/or extreme weather conditions. Because the base is wood it will absorb water and crack the grout. And unless you have made the house yourself, you will most certainly not want live birds using it since there is no removable floor in the houses found in craft stores. Think of it as a decorative object d'art more than a utilitarian and functional one; an item best suited for an enclosed porch, solarium, or greenhouse.
Sign your name on the bottom and stand back and admire your amazing talent! If those who go before you in this addictive craft form are any indication, you may find yourself hopelessly hooked. You will begin to look at the items in your environment in a different way, asking: "Can I cover that with shards?"
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