In The Studio

I'm almost finished with the GOG Challenge bottle; although I thought it was completed a few days ago, there's a little more to do.

I took a lot of photos of all sides and studied it for quite a while. I learned to use the digital camera as a tool to help me see things my eyes can't with the mosaic right in front of me. Sometimes a piece of glass looks off kilter in a photo that isn't all that visible with the naked eye and always looks so much better once it's fixed.

With these photos of the bottle, a few things bugged me.

The two stones on the front near the lighthouse just didn't please me. I replaced them with glass.

Much better! The stones on the back are still on the bottle.

The other thing that I'm working on now with this bottle is the outline of the lighthouse. It was an afterthought, after I put the sandy rocks around it at the bottom. You can see in the 2 photos above that show the lighthouse in full view, that the outline breaks up at the shore line. I don't like that but didn't really notice it until I saw the photos.

I'm working on adding the rest of the outline to the lighthouse today. My energy level has been on the low side with creativity these days, so doing this kind of thing, instead of starting something new is always a good thing.

And once it's finished, I'll share more photos next week.

I do like it now. Thank goodness. Grouting is next, once the outline is on and glue is dry. I thought at first that I'd use black grout but now I'm thinking white grout and acrylics might be fun. By the time it's ready for grout, I should have my decision made.

The Star Box for the DWB/MSF auction is waiting for grout but I need to get some tape (I think I mentioned that before - it's more of a reminder for myself and good to repeat it a few times). The item isn't due until the summer months, so I have time to gather funds for some tape and grout it. I also need to gather the funds for shipping both it and the other donation piece, the Quilt for The Ronald McDonald House and luckily both aren't due right this minute. I have time to get it all worked out - what a wonderful thing!

Next in the studio are a few birthday gifts and baby shower gifts for April. I should start on the April gifts later this week but of course, that's not where the muse wants to go. I've learned not to fight with her, so we'll see what she comes up with as the week unfolds. It's always fun to follow the muse on our creative adventures together!

I hope you'll come back to visit once in a while to see what new mosaics will be created next time from In The Studio.

Support Independent Artisans, Designers and Crafters for your gift-giving needs all throughout the year. Thank you!

Stay peaceful,

Cindy