This mosaic of a ship on the ocean is in the Saint Ann Shell Chapel. Its "tiles" are shells from the Wabash River.

The Saint Ann Shell Chapel is full of mosaics. A mosaic is a picture or design made by setting small colored pieces (often of stone or tile) into a surface. What makes the Shell Chapel mosaics special is that they are not set with tiles but with shells! The natural colors of the shells help make the different designs of the mosaics stand out.

No matter what they’re made out of, mosaics are super fun to create. Why not make your own?

 What you’ll need

• A sturdy backing piece, such as wood, foam core or thick cardboard.
• Strong glue. (If your pieces are heavy, regular white glue may not hold them securely.)
• “Tiles.” These could be colored rocks, unpopped popcorn, shell pasta or old mismatched board game pieces. Be creative! For the Saint Anne Shell Chapel, Sisters of Providence collected shells from the nearby Wabash River. What can you find in your own backyard, kitchen or bedroom?

Your tiles could be beautifully colored rocks like these. Use your imagination!

Get to work!

1. Decide what you want your pattern or picture to be. If you want, you could draw outlines of a design in pencil on your backing piece first and then fill in the spaces with tiles. Or let inspiration strike you as you go along!

2. Carefully glue down items and let your design start to emerge. With true mosaics, the individual pieces are very close together. Ideally you’ll cover the surface so well that your backing piece won’t even be visible!

3. Make sure to let the glue dry completely before you pick up your mosaic, or some of your items may fall off.