In The Studio - Wednesday

Wow has the muse been keeping me busy!! I finished getting glass on the donation piece, which I'll share more about in a separate post once it's grouted and ready to go. Number 25 of 25 crosses got some mosaic bling and I've started working on a large glass vase that has etched fish in it. This was gifted to me by someone we consider extended family. She is always thinking about how I can take what she no longer wants and turn it into a mosaic or use for my art in some way. Gotta love it!

The donation piece is an 8 inch piece of MDF. This is similar in design to "A New Horizon" a glass-on-glass mosaic I made a few years ago. "From A Distance" is ready for grout and finishing touches.

The last cross was a difficult one. I originally used dish tiles and stones on this and the grout cracked and chipped off the tiles. I thought I had a photo of the damage it did, but I can't locate it. Trust me, it wasn't pretty. I hadn't primed the cross before putting the tiles on it for some reason; had to have been when I wasn't feeling well because this is a no-brainer when it comes to mosaic substrates --- ALWAYS prime wood or MDF and even some glass pieces before putting tesserae down on the substrate. It caused water to seep through the grout into the MDF and cracked the grout. Luckily, the cross did not warp. Whew. I painstakingly chopped up the stones with a hammer, dug out all the grout and tiles and let it sit for a while before I decided to prime it and try again. As I was moving things around during the cleaning frenzy (which has stopped for the moment because the muse wanted to play with all the fun things I found while cleaning) I saw a box with tiles in it that would be perfect for cross #25.

This vase stands 10 inches high. I tried to get some photos showing the fish. As often is the case, I started with a plan which quickly faded with the sunset. The only thing I knew was the colors I wanted would be in blues, purple and greens. We'll see what happens once it's covered with glass. As usual, grout will do wonders for this one. My nipping skills are just so-so these days. I have limited mobility with my hands some days and the tools I have are old and have been lovingly used for years. But, I will still keep going because I know at some point new tools will be purchased, more space for cutting and setting up the grinder will appear when it is supposed to. Meanwhile, here is this awesome vase so far.

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