by Juanita Canzoneri
Bowling balls seem like the perfect inexpensive base for a mosaic.
They're round. They're sturdy. They're easy to find at thrift stores and garage sales. And they already have a nice, smooth surface that looks like it should be ready for tile.
I've seen plenty of beautiful mosaics made on bowling balls, and have made on myself.
But if you're thinking about putting one outdoors, there's something you need to know:
Bowling balls can crack. And sometimes they crack badly. Just look closely at the bowling balls in this photo. (Bowling Ball Pool @ Hillside Gardens, Colorado Springs, CO)
Why Would a Bowling Ball Crack?
A bowling ball isn't just a solid ball of one simple material.
Modern bowling balls are made from different materials and layers, depending on the type of ball and when it was manufactured. Those materials can respond differently to changes in temperature and moisture.
And outdoor conditions can be tough on materials.
A bowling ball sitting outside may go through repeated cycles of:
- hot and cold temperatures
- freezing and thawing
- direct sunlight
- moisture and rain
- snow and ice
Those changes can put stress on the ball.
Over time, that stress can result in cracking.
And when you've covered the ball with glass or ceramic tile, the problem doesn't stop with the bowling ball.
What Happens When the Ball Cracks?
The problem with using a bowling ball as a mosaic base is that your tile and grout are attached to it.
If the base moves, flexes, or cracks, your mosaic has to deal with that movement, too.
You will eventually see:
- grout cracking
- tiles popping loose or falling off
- cracks appearing through the mosaic
- sections of the mosaic separating
- or, in a severe case, the entire ball splitting apart
That's a lot of work and materials to lose because the inexpensive part of the project wasn't suitable for the environment.
And that's an important lesson when you're looking for inexpensive mosaic bases.
Indoor and Outdoor Are Two Different Questions
A bowling ball that lives inside your home doesn't have to deal with the same conditions as one sitting in your garden all year.
That doesn't mean every indoor bowling-ball mosaic will be trouble-free. It simply means that you need to consider where the finished piece will live when choosing your substrate.
If you're making a bowling-ball mosaic for indoor display, you may decide that the risks are acceptable.
But if you're planning to put that beautiful ball outside in the weather for years, I'd think carefully about whether the bowling ball is the right foundation for the project.
The Shoestring Rule: Cheap Isn't Always Cheap
This is one of the things I want to emphasize with the Mosaic on a Shoestring series.
I'm all for finding inexpensive materials.
Thrift stores, garage sales, recycling bins, construction leftovers, and things you already have around the house can all be fantastic sources for mosaic materials.
But there's a difference between finding something inexpensive and finding something suitable.
The base is literally holding everything else together. Think of mosaic as a skin on the surface of whatever sits below.
If the base isn't appropriate for the environment, you could spend hours cutting and gluing tile, only to have the finished mosaic fail.
At that point, your $5 bowling ball wasn't such a bargain.
So Should You Never Mosaic a Bowling Ball?
Not necessarily.
If you already have a bowling ball and want to experiment, there's no reason you can't explore the idea.
Just think about where the finished piece will live.
For an indoor project, the concerns are different than they are for a piece that will spend years outside in Colorado weather—or anywhere else with significant temperature changes.
And if you're making a mosaic for someone else, be especially careful about promising that a bowling-ball mosaic is suitable for permanent outdoor use.
The cost of the base is only one part of the equation.
The goal isn't to make the cheapest mosaic possible. The goal is to make a mosaic that lasts.
Before You Choose a Found Object
When you're looking around for inexpensive things to mosaic, ask yourself a few questions:
What is it made from?
Will it flex or move?
How will it react to heat and cold?
Will it be exposed to water?
Is it intended for indoor or outdoor use?
What happens to the material as it ages?
Those questions can save you a lot of time, money, and frustration.
Because sometimes the best shoestring decision is knowing when to walk away from a cheap base.
And that's especially true when that base is a bowling ball.