Finished!

Wow - what a fun piece to do! This little table (it's only 16 inches in diameter) was given to me to mosaic using the client's own china - mostly blues and purples, as you can see, plus a glass mobile whose pieces I embedded in the top. Since most of the china was in the form of mugs and bowls, I had to cut very tiny pieces in order for them to have enough of a flat surface that I could attach them to the table surface. So it took a bit longer than I expected. But one thing that helped was that the client did not want any particular design - not even a border edging - so I just fit pieces together like a puzzle. She was very happy with the result, and so was I. I've covered tables before (click here for an example) but have always used glass tile. This was my first foray into the broken-china route.

First Class

This is the group photo from my first mosaic class, which just ended about 10 days ago. It was pure pleasure, and I think I learned as much as my students! Everyone was enthusiastic and really creative, so I often felt like all I had to do was be there for questions, mostly. Most students were able to complete two projects and eagerly embraced several different mosaic construction styles, material choices, and shapes. Several people expressed interest in going on to an intermediate class, where we'll be exploring 3-D mosaics. What fun! 

New Beginnings

I've been commissioned to cover this little stone table (yes, it's solid stone - very heavy!) with mosaic. The client had a sack full of broken mugs and dishes that she wanted to use for the project, which I have happily shattered with a hammer (very therapeutic!) and then had to further cut into small pieces with the tile nippers. I say small, but I should have said tiny; because the pieces are curved, they need to be cut into very small pieces if they are going to lay - sort-of - flat on the table. Grout, of course, is the great leveler. 

Here you see the table "before" and again after the underside of the top was finished (before grouting). Now I will flip the table back upright, put the top on (which I created earlier on mesh) and finish the sides. It's a wonderful way to get back in the game, because my client did not want any sort of recognizable design, so it is easy to just nip and stick any which way.

Keeping On, Keeping On

As many of you know, I was sidelined for several months this past spring by a serious illness and a long recovery. But I'm glad to report that I am back in business. Not quite up to speed yet, but getting there. Everyone whose friendship kept me going has my heartfelt thanks.

Now I am anxious to get back to art! I have several projects in the works, one of them this bird-in-progress that was inspired by the buckets (OK, not buckets, but boxes and bins) full of faux pearls in various sizes and shapes that I've collected over the years. Sometimes it's the materials that inspire a design, rather than the reverse: starting with a design and then choosing materials for it, which is the usual pattern. When I started it, last fall, I didn't have a finished product in mind. I still don't, but I find it evolving every time I sit down at my work table to look at it. Sometimes I add a string of pearls; other times I just stare at it for a while. Recently I found a perfect white shadowbox frame for it, which is an impetus to finish it. I'm thinking right now of filling in the body with more lines of pearls -- at least a few, not sure if I want to completely fill it -- and maybe fill the background with clear beads (since I painted the substrate) or black and dark blue ones. I'll just have to try some and see how they look. Just like life -- you keep trying until it works.