In The Studio - Part One

My goodness we have been getting some true winter weather here in PA this week. Freezing rain, snow, ice and all the usual suspects are visiting us before the next season begins.

The good news is, I have all I need to keep me busy inside and have been working hard on the custom order, as well as a few small projects here and there.

I've started grouting and all but one mosaic looks awesome so far. Sadly, "Expect Miracles" isn't ready for the limelight just yet. I have put it aside for a while to determine what I'll do with it to fix what I see wrong. Something good, I'm sure, to make myself a little happier with it. The wording, while looking great if I do say so myself, has blended in a little too well with the rest of the mosaic and it's hard to see.

It also has a hanging problem ... the D-ring I attached doesn't keep it centered. There are sawtooth hangers on the back on each side that are still available. I may take the D-ring off and leave those on. Let's just say, this needs some TLC before I offer it for sale.

However, the rest of what I had waiting for grout to go into Storenvy look great and have been listed.

The custom order is going really well. I've made 4 peace signs so far, as you may remember, and decided to grout and paint those before moving on to the next few. This allows me to get some fresh ideas for the mosaics part and not feel so overwhelmed at the end having to grouting them all at once.

First 10 inch peace sign

Sides and back are painted in burnt sienna

close up of details

First 8 inch peace sign

Stones give this one an earthy feel to it

Before any peace signs were grouted, I spent an afternoon taping them up to protect the areas with no mosaic on them. This allows for cleaner grout lines around the edges and keeps the grout from sticking to the bottom of the shape.

There are 2 left to grout today! The same grout color will be used for the 10 inch as that shown above, but the 8 inch will have a dark grey grout.

I'll share photos of those in addition to any new ones I've started on Friday.

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

Stay peaceful,

Cindy