Art By Earth Mother Mosaics: In The Studio

For those of us in the US, this is the week of Thanksgiving. What a busy time of year. I love to keep busy, so I'm fine with the excitement of the upcoming holidays but I sure do feel sorry for my daughter, who works, goes to school in the evenings and helps raise 3 children with her fiancé. I'm here for her, when she needs me, but my mobility is limited. I so wish she could relax a bit and enjoy this time of year. I do remember what it was like, trying to get the house clean enough for company according to our standards, making sure the kids put everything away, etc, and the stress that goes with it is almost visible. That is how it is here with us this year. We all help when we can but she often feels like she's doing it all alone. Poor thing. I say, if you have the chance to relax and enjoy the holidays, please do it. Don't put so much pressure on yourself! These holidays come and go whether we are stressed out or not!! And most times, they are enjoyed by all (except the frazzled host and hostess!!). However, I do cook a mean turkey and we're looking forward to that. We're having our Thanksgiving on the Saturday after the holiday, which should make my daughter happier ... she has more time to get things done ... but she says she has more time to stress out! Hahaha. Poor thing.

Speaking of cooking ... I've been on FIRE lately with mosaic creations and other fun things In The Studio. I finished the mosaics for my folks and decided not to try to frame it with one of my handmade frames. I need to work on those more, to make them sturdier before placing one-of-a-kind handmade mosaics gifts in them. I know my Dad has tons of frames he's gathered over the years. I'm positive he'll find one to fit this mosaic. I'm going to add some ribbon tape around the edges so it doesn't cut fingers when handled. But this is, in my opinion, almost ready to wrap up and gift! Yay!

My Step-Mom, Patti and my Dad, Lew in mosaic

The small frame I made using cardboard is coming along nicely. The R&D it takes to get something like this done is very time-consuming but once I reached the cementing part of the frame, I discovered how much I really love the look without a mosaic over it.

I love the look of the cement here - it was placed in plastic to slow the drying time down a bit to prevent cracks - it's so cool!

The glass and my doodle art are not yet attached to it but I had to see how it looked against the earthy, industrial look of the cement frame. Did I say: I LOVE it??!! I will have to work on the back part and stand to make sure it can hold the weight of cement and eventually the weight of a mosaic. More will be made, that is for sure.

This has some gesso primer painted on the board and the stand has plaster cast strips on it. Not yet attached. I want to work on toughening up the cardboard backing, possibly adding more cardboard to it in a few layers to make it less flexible and more sturdy. Then I want to paint it. The stand will probably be painted and no cement on it either but if I need it for weight distribution, adding cement to the stand will do that. Stay tuned ...

I recently got new wheels for my glass nippers and some pretty glass tiles and ball chain from the last sale I had. I had a burst of energy and got this gazing ball made in a day (12 hours exactly from start to finish, so far) using all new glass. A real treat for me because I use scraps all the time for almost everything I do. Unfortunately not being used to new wheels, I have cuts all over my fingers from the glass. I'm not used to the sharpness of glass!! I didn't realize how bad the wheels were until I discovered I couldn't cut a tile in 1/2 any longer. I knew it was past time to get new wheels for the nipping tool. My fingers have been sliced and diced!! Yikes!! I must keep new wheels and maybe a new pair of nippers on the wish list.

In any case, I really do think this gazing ball is gorgeous (my DNA is hidden but it's definitely on here!). Well worth the few days it'll take to heal all the cuts from the glass on my fingers. I'm very happy with it.

6 inch gazing ball waiting for grout - will be listed soon

I finished up the "Phases" vase, the shabby chic mosaic glass bottle and both Snow Dudes. They are now listed along with a mosaic frame called "energy". Check them all out below (click on the links to take you right to them in the shop).