I've been pondering for a long time how to make tiles out of some of my mosaic images. I thought it would be both an interesting project and maybe, over time, a marketing idea. My original plan was to have the images printed onto glazed ceramic tile, but after scouring the Web, I realized that I would have to leave that to the professionals.
In the course of my search, however, I found a site called Above the Mark, which is a site that sells rubber stamp dies and other products, but also kindly offers complete instructions on how to transfer images onto tumbled marble tiles. It's time-consuming but fairly easy, using acrylic medium and laser copies. I've made several so far, and I love the antiqued look that results - as if the tiles had been dug up from an archeological site. I can enhance that effect by tinting the medium so the edges are a bit browner. I've stuck small felt circles on the back so they can be used as coasters (these are 4-inch square tiles). They make wonderful and personal gifts. I plan to experiment with larger tiles to offer as trivets. They can also be hung on the wall; one recipient of a Christmas-gift tile coaster is planning to do just that.
A few years ago, on a lark, I entered -- and won! -- a local duct tape art contest. My entry was a barn owl, wings spread, clutching a mouse in its talons. The title: "Dinner's Ready!" It won first prize. I was, naturally, completely thrilled, since it was the first time I had entered and won anything in an art show, so it gave me a big confidence boost in the first years of developing my art career as close to a full-time pursuit.
My mother loved the picture I sent her so much, I made a copy for her for Christmas that year, and added a wire so she could hang it from a rafter in her kitchen. The next year, I made her a cardinal in flight, which is now hanging next to the owl. This year, I am continuing the tradition with this ivory-billed woodpecker. I personally believe that the ivory bill is still out there, hiding in the swamps of the South, and will rise again when its numbers have increased to safe levels. In my mind, at least, it is still alive and free.
A shop owner once told me that people are more likely to buy a piece of art if it has another function, such as a mirror or a plate. I don't mind creating useful art - sometimes creating useful things makes it possible to have the time to create art that is just art - art for art's sake. It would be ideal if all art was considered useful; one could argue that good art is always useful because it makes people think, or feel, something new - even if it's just a new feeling of delightful surprise. Goodness knows, we could all use a bit more delight in life.
As you know, I love 3-D mosaic creations. I also love cake! So when I saw this masterpiece, I just had to contact the artist and get her permission to share her work. She is Sylvana Baracchini, and she creates mosaics in Hingham, Mass. Her website is Mixed Media Madness.
What I like about this piece is the whimsy factor. She calls it her Mad Hatter cake, and it won a "Best Sculpture" award at an art competition in Quincy. Did you notice the light bulbs used as petals on the top, right next to the porcelain roses? I think the colors are perfect, and the icing details are just right.
Only problem: With this type of cake, you can have it, but you can't eat it!
The subheading for this post is "The Customer is Always Right." I made this piece for clients who had seen the green and blue "Summer School" that I made a couple of months ago and wanted something like it but in a different color scheme, for an alcove in their home. They wanted to match their decor in mostly browns. I started with more pastels than brown, thinking it would be livelier, but the feedback I got was that they wanted less pastel - especially no pink, and no bright yellow or orange. At first I was not so happy with that directive, because when I think of fish, I think of bright colors, but then I found some beautiful caramel colors of glass, and some pale orange, and an off-white, as well as a rich honey brown and vibrant rust, and as the piece began to take shape, I realized they were right; there are so many variations to the base colors that the finished piece is as lively as if the fish were swimming right there on the wall! So the moral of this story is Listen to the Client and Everything Should Turn Out Right!
I just had to share with you this very creative mosaic by my friend and mosaic artist Margo Barber. She often says to never throw anything out because it just might find its way into a mosaic, and here's proof! The way the tiger's head is incorporated into the side of the pot makes it seem as if he is ready to leap out of the pot. Seeing this makes me feel a lot better about the many buckets of broken dishes and vases and figurines and miscellaneous ceramic things stowed away in a corner of my studio (people always save them for me). Someday they will find their way into a garden ornament...
"The goose thought, on reflection, that in his next life he'd prefer to be a flamingo."
