Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle

I'm always happy when I can find a use for something that I'd normally throw out — it helps somewhat to assuage the guilt of keeping a lot of things around that "someday I might want." Maybe painters can be neat and tidy because their supplies are pretty much limited to paper or canvas and paint, but one of the things I love about mosaic art is that you can use found objects in your work, which feeds my tendency to keep a lot of things that I should just toss, so my workshop shelves are groaning, and there are boxes of tile and buttons and shells and other "stuff" hanging around under the table and stacked along the walls slowly inching their way toward me. It doesn't help that friends are always giving me their leftover tile from home improvement projects — not that I don't appreciate it!

So, when I acquired a new dish drainer, it was a delight to realize that the old one was perfect for storing the large glass pieces that I was using for the Monet project (see last post). It helps me see what I've got, what's getting low in stock, and reminds me of the color palette. Usually I store glass in those clear plastic shoe boxes and stack them on shelves, but this gives me a way to have what I need for the current project at hand. I feel righteous and efficient.

Finished!

As I look back over the last few posts, it seems I've always been showing and talking about unfinished projects. Hopefully all of them will be done someday! But today I have the pleasure of showing you a real, honest-to-God finished product. It's the first of two panels, 48" by 40", with the subject of Monet's "Water Lilies." My clients have seen the originals at L'Orangerie in Paris, and they wanted to see if it could be re-created in mosaic. To tell you the truth, I was not so sure at first. I'm used to piecing together random shards or tiny squares of glass or tile, but this project required a different technique so that it would have  more of the flowing quality of water. I experimented and came up with a vaguely oval-shaped piece that I cut randomly from sheets of stained glass. They are laid horizontally where the intention is to portray a lily pad, and vertically for the background water with its refections of the surrounding trees. The second panel will be another view of the pond.

Progress

Finally getting somewhere with this tray project that I started last month. I really only have time to work on it in my beginning mosaics class if my students don't need me, so that means fits and starts. That's fine, because that means the project evolves intuitively. I don't have time to think about it too much - I just stare at it for a while until it occurs to me to place a piece of glass somewhere! So now it's nearly done; I just have to fill in the sky, and grout it. I used larger pieces than I usually do, and I like the effect. The finished size is 12 by 18 inches.

Something Useful

A shop owner once told me that people are more likely to buy a work of art that has another use besides being a work of art, such as a mirror or bowl. After I got over my indignation ("people should appreciate art for itself, etc. etc."), I realized she had a point, and I produced a few mirrors, which promptly sold. The two galleries that now show my work, Ashby Art and Antiques in Towles Court, Sarasota, and The Baobab Gallery, in the Village of the Arts in Bradenton, carry both types of artworks, I'm happy to say.

I'm working on a new "useful objects" project that will be mosaics about 12 by 18 inches, which a framer friend, Dotti Sechrist (Uptown Framers), suggested I produce to turn into trays after she frames them. I think that's a wonderful idea and am about halfway through one of them. The second photo is the stacks of primed masonite boards waiting their turn. (I stick a yogurt or cottage cheess lids between them so they won't stick together. I also use those lids as a paint palette for the small amount of painting that I do. Waste not, want not!) Stay tuned for photos of the finished trays.

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.