Most of my mosaics are made according to the reverse - or inverted method. I build them upside down, glue them on their support then flip them.
There are several reasons to do that :
When you work with materials of different thickness, and you want a flat , smooth result, this practically is the only solution.
It is also, in my opinion, results in a smoother mosaic than the direct method.
The drawbacks are that you do not see exactly what you are doing, the colors of materials may be very different. Mirrors, for example, are usually grey or blue in the back. Stones are usually not polished on both sides, and the unpolished side is generally of a very different color ...
Here is an example of a piece right before and right after its flipping in August 2012. Remember than one is the mirror image of the other. You can see how the black granite looks very different in both pictures Usually, non polished stones have much duller colors - but at times, the colors may be totally different from one side to the other... This is the case for some porcelains and of most mirrors.
Eva's Eyes is mostly made of granite and ceramics. I will publish it in a few weeks when I have completed it. Once a piece is flipped, there are still quite a few hours to clean it up, grout it and frame it.
