Mosaics have the ability to turn something small and meaningless, like a stamp, nail, toothpick or cork, into a beautiful work of art. And in many cases, they give an opportunity to recycle materials that would have otherwise been wasted. Here are some of the largest ones created around the world.

 

This stamp mosaic measures 1,077.47 square feet and contains 115,133 individual stamps. It was created by over 300 parents, students and teachers at the Leipzig International School in Leipzig, Germany between August 2007 and June 2008. The finished product, which depicts the Leipzig skyline with the word Leipzig written across it, took over a year and a half to complete.

Saimir Strati (from Albania) has set the record for the largest toothpick, nail and cork mosaics.

 

 

This nail mosaic of Leonardo Da Vinci is on display at the Arbnori International Centre of Culture in Tirana, Albania. About 500,000 industrial nails make up this 86.11-square-foot masterpiece. It was finished in September 2006.

 

 

The largest toothpick mosaic is 86.11 square feet and is also on display at the Arbnori International Centre of Culture. After forty days and 1.5 million toothpicks, this horse mosaic was finished in September 2007.

In September 2008, Strati finished the world’s largest cork mosaic at the Sheraton Hotel in Tirana. With 229,764 corks, this masterpiece, titled Romeo with a crown of grapes playing the guitar while dancing with the sea and the sun, was made to be over two stories high.