A few weeks ago, in response to an inquiry over my website, I sent an email trying to explain how I transfer a design to a 3D object, specifically a vase. The following is copied from that email, with a few quick clarifications added, and is a general explanation only. Maybe there is a tip or two that could be helpful to someone. I reference my vase titled Skin Deep, which you can see by clicking the thumbnail.

Shapely vases are really a challenge for accurately transferring a design. I have only done a few vases, but have done quite a few bottles. The bottles are easier as the technique I use is different and the overall design is simpler... but I employ a similar approach.

I usually start by trying to divide the vase in half vertically, and then in quarters... from top to bottom and through all circumferences... like through the body, neck, lip, base, etc. So what I end up with is the vase with vertical lines marked from top to bottom that vertically section the vase into quarters.

To do this, I use a combination of tape measuring and ... I think you call it a plumb line? I use a string with something tied to the end of it to weight it. I start with measuring around the vase to get halfway points... usually on the widest part of the vase... then quarter points... then hold up the plumb line along the points to mark all the way down the vase. I measure with every step, and remeasure.

This takes some time.... on my Skin Deep vase, I spent more than a day just measuring and marking... but it was the most complex design I had tried, I was doing the whole vase in gold and onyx, and I wanted it to be as accurate as possible.

Once I have the vase divided up vertically into quarters, then eighths... whatever... then I start dividing it up horizontally according to my pattern... this would of course depend on your pattern whether or not this applied. But for me, this is how I generally approach it.... I break it down by how I want to handle the base, the body, the neck, the lip, the inside of the opening, etc. So I make my markings, measuring from the table up and from the top of the vase down, and double-check by measuring from each horizontal marking to the next all around the vase.

The rest really depends on the pattern. For Skin Deep, I knew I wanted to do those kind of eye-shaped ovals within the 4 quarters of the vase. I think that I kind of free-handed the first one, and then from that one I could establish some measuring points that I could use to help me make the other 3. The rest of the pattern pretty much came about as an extension of the eye-shaped ovals.

The best advice I can give is to find reference points with each step, then use those points for the next set of reference points, and so on. This requires constant measuring and remeasuring, but it is well worth the time to get it right. But don't be too dismayed if, as you're happily mosaicing along, you realize that you are a bit off... this will happen... unless you are a lot better at marking your vase than I am. While I strive for perfection, I have yet to achieve it. Besides, the 'imperfection' is a testament to the authenticity and true spirit of mosaic art... or at least that is what I keep telling myself.