This is "Dude". I made him in 2008 for my daughter for Christmas. He's got iridescent stained glass, mirror, millefiori, marbles and a broken brooch on his head. His mirrored teeth were added after the original white tiled ones fell off as I was about to grout him.
I had a lot to learn about 3D mosaic art. There is an art within itself to prep it properly, what adhesive to use and a few other things I learned along the way. But she still has him sitting on the dining room shelf protecting us while we eat.
His name "Dude" stems from my struggle to keep stained glass and small pieces of millefiori on him while cleaning off the grout. I'd keep saying "DOOOOODE" each time another piece popped off. He seemed to respond to the name, so it stuck.
Before I finished him, I took some WIP photos with a really bad camera. However, I managed to salvage a few to show how he looked before grout. One shows the tiled "teeth" that weren't cut small enough (I know this now, after 6 years of more practice with such things).
If nothing else, sharing these photos lets us all see how far I've come over the years!
Here's the last skull I did not so long ago. I do believe I've gotten better.
Support Independent Artisans, Designers and Crafters for your gift-giving needs all throughout the year. Thank you!
Stay peaceful,
Cindy
