Button Quail - Phase 2

The button quail is done. I'm glad I didn't try anything fancier for the background; I like the way the bird seems to emerge from the similar colors. I also like the combination of three main colors in the background; I've seen other artists use this technique and I think it adds depth. Now I have to figure out how to frame it. For smaller pieces, I've been using boards that are just the right thickness for a 3/4-inch tile border. This one is slightly thinner, and I don't have tiles that size, so I'm considering a shadow box-type frame in dark brown.

I think I need to learn some basic carpentry skills...

Button Quail

Ever since I learned about a species of quail actually called "button quail" (probably because it's so small), I knew I had a use for the many buttons that my sister Barbara has been sending me. She loves garage sales, and she has a standing order from me for junk jewelry, buttons, and other strange stuff that I like to use in my work.

I spent a lot of time thinking about this project before starting on it. For one thing, I wasn't sure whether I wanted to glue the buttons flat or stack them; as you can tell, I did a bit of both. I think the stacked or staggered ones give a feeling of movement to the wing portion, and the flat ones define the breast nicely. Also, I still haven't decided whether to grout or not, so I painted the bird outline first in brown paint, so the primed board wouldn't show if I decided not to grout. The beak, topknot, feet, and branch are stained glass. I'm still thinking about the background - leaning toward an abstract stained glass design that will not fight for attention with the buttons, and I will most likely grout any stained glass parts. The other option is a painted background; that would be a real departure from previous work, but who knows? It might work best. I can always paint first, and mosaic over it if I don't like it.

The color combination is pretty close to what these birds actually look like, though my interpretation of it is loose, to say the least.  I might replace the small millefiori I used for the eye with a larger half-bead so it's more prominent. Stay tuned for phase 2!

Thanks, Mom

My mother was cleaning out some boxes recently and found these buttons - an early "mosaic" project that I had completely forgotten about. I must have been in junior high or high school, and I think I was intending to make these into jewelry; some of them have brooch pins glued to the back. 

It made me remember how sweet it was to grow up in a house where creativity was encouraged and there were always art materials to experiment with (my mother taught elementary art). All kids should have that kind of opportunity.

These also reminded me of a mosaic form called "micromosaic": exquisite creations using tiny pieces of enamel, glass, semiprecious stones, and found objects. The art form dates back centuries, but there are many artists doing it today. I know a mosaic artist in Atlanta, Janice Schmidt, who creates beautiful one-of-a-kind belt buckles in micromosaic. I'm working a lot larger now in mosaic, but I sure appreciate the patience and steady hand that this type of artwork requires.

Thanks to all the Moms out there who save everything! Some day it may spark a happy memory.