WIP Wednesday - Gazing Ball and Refrigerator Woes

This has been an unusual week for me. My fridge/freezer here in the attic decided it's no longer going to work. I had to cook everything from the freezer that I could and tossed out quite a bit of food. Since I was raised by depression era people, you know that was almost painful to do. The good news is I have the means to get another fridge/freezer almost identical to what I had and to fill it up pretty well with fresh food once it arrives. Life is definitely challenging but it's all good!

 

What the above means for me is no mosaic time. Once things settle again, I'll have new work to share. However, here's where I left off ...

 

The last time I shared this gazing ball here on my blog it was very close to finished. It's now resting comfortably, waiting patiently for me to grout it all in black.

I really like the different tesserae I used here but it will be a bit of a challenge to grout because none of it is the same thickness. I run across that a lot and sometimes the sides of the dish tiles stay ungrouted just because there's nothing for the grout to grab a hold of. Usually it works out okay and isn't too obvious but sometimes it can bug me for a really long time until I try to do something to fix it.

Here's hoping I am okay with it, once it's grouted, because I'd like to put this in my Etsy shop.

 

Tomorrow is Theme Thursday. I'm really enjoying tying the theme to the Fabulous Friday posts. I hope you enjoy them too.

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

 

WIP Wednesday - Gazing Ball

I've been working fairly steadily on the gazing ball this week. It's coming along very nicely and should be resting in the "to be grouted" pile very soon.

It's going to look fantastic with black grout on it! Can't wait to see it become a finished mosaic. This will be available on my Etsy shop soon (this is for indoor use only due to the glue I used).

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

 

Tesserae Tuesday - Tempered Glass

 I have used tempered or crash glass for about 10 years. Maybe a little longer. It is my "go to" when I want to paint and use glitter and glass and grout to create something. I've made coasters, wall art, mixed media art and home decor using tempered glass that was once part of a car's windshield, an outdoor table top or someone's shower door.

Really, if you can find it, tempered glass is great to use in mosaics. There is a warning here, however, it splinters and HURTS when it gets under your skin. But the fun part is getting a large sheet and tapping it just right in the corner. Then sit back and listen to what sounds like the candy "Pop Rocks" crackling all the way through the sheet. Some use tape to keep it together, I've known others to use a glue and water wash to just keep it temporarily in one large piece. I take the pieces and put them in a box. When it's time to use it, most often there are still large enough pieces for me to use in my mosaics.

Here are a few examples, shown in photos. 

 

If you have any questions on how to use tempered glass, please send me a message. I might be able to help you.

 

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

WIP Wednesday - Swirling Moon

There's a good chance this mosaic will be in my shop within the next month. So far, I've got the design on it but am not yet clear on the colors I'll use. I know the swirls will be iridescent or mirror. That's the easy part.

I didn't get a photo of it, but the way I add a hole to MDF when I need one is by using a screw eye (a screw with a circle at one end) because I don't have a drill. It takes a little patience but it works.

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

Tesserae Tuesday - It's My Birthday!

 Today I've made my way around the sun successfully 66 times. Woohoo!

You can't see my smile but trust me. I'm smiling! My daughter cut my hair last week. Now it is short and I don't need it in a ponytail ALL the time!

As far as mosaic work, I am studying the designs for the temple. I know words will go on it. Depending on how ambitious I feel, I might use all of these shown below.

There will be a sun and a moon, probably a peace sign, a lotus flower. My favorite designs to do will be on it, displayed in some cohesive way. I'd like to take my time with it, so chances are, I'll stop to work on a few things for Etsy. Plus I'd like to work on September's Birth Flower.

So far, I've used a lot of pink! I'm hoping this one turns out a little better than the gladiolus. Although now that they are painted, they look pretty good. I love fixing grout using acrylics for indoor mosaics.

BEFORE

AFTER

Looks a lot better, don't you think?

 

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

WIP Wednesday - Styrofoam Mosaic Shrine continues

 The shrine has now been dubbed "The Temple". It's the muse's wish. I never argue.

The structure was put together using thin-set and fiberglass mesh in the areas where the pieces of Styrofoam come together. All the indentations in the Styrofoam were filled with thin-set on all pieces.

Thin-set and mesh are holding all the pieces in place.

The next step was the plaster cast strips.

The next step, another layer of thin-set. Then the fun begins with stained glass and dish tiles!

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

Tesserae Tuesday - Polymer Clay and Friends

Each day I study my shelves filled to overflowing and both give thanks and curse. I have no order to my mess but I know where everything is. Such is the life of an artist. It's been referred to as "controlled chaos". This is especially true when space is limited but inspiration is boundless.

This week I thought it would be fun to show you some polymer clay words I made a few years ago, plus some jewelry that usually ends up in the center of a peace sign as a focal point.

Rumi said it best: Let the beauty of what you love be what you do.

Along with "Do Yoga", "Inspire" and "Meditate" the big square says "wish believe trust receive". That one went along with the "Wish Upon's" I made a long time ago. I thought I'd put this particular piece of polymer clay on a mosaic along with a star. Haven't gotten to it yet. That was about 6 years ago. I'll get there ...

There's also the words "sun", "moon", "energy" and "peace". All pretty groovy pieces to be added to future mosaics in the future.

I'm feeling inspired!

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

WIP Wednesday

I'm so happy to share a photo of the sun that is now in the "to be grouted" pile! Woohoo!

How it looks in artificial light.

How it looks in natural light.

Once grouted, it will be put in my Etsy shop for sale. This was a true labor of love (and patience for me, which is rare!) and I'm so pleased with the result.

Also, I only have a small section to finish on the larkspur before it will join the sun in the "to be grouted" pile.

I'm proud of this one. July's birth flower, Larkspur or Delphinium, is the first in a 12 part series. Now I only have 11 more to go! Yikes!! August will be done after I work on the crescent moon.

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

Tesserae Tuesday

I wanted to show the glass that I recently purchased through a shop at Etsy. I love this color combo for the larkspur or delphinium I'm going to attempt to mosaic.

Originally, I had glued the printout to the board I'm using but I didn't like the way the design came through under the glass. It still will do that, but with the drawing, it won't be as obvious. It seems a bit daunting to me at the moment but once I get going on it, it should be fun.

I've learned to go with the flow, so whatever happens as I am creating this flower, it will all be a learning experience. Every mosaic I make has something to teach me.

It was difficult to get a good shot of it for some reason. It looks more blue than purple here but it is periwinkle and will look more like that when I use it. The other glass is a beautiful iridescent glass in light blue violet. These two combined in this mosaic will be pretty cool.

My kitty, Baby, decided she wanted to see what I was doing as I had all these things where she could get to them on the blanket chest.

Little Miss Nosy had to sniff everything. Including the lamp. But this photo above shows the glass colors a little better and the green glass I'll use for the stems.

Final inspection. Kitty approved. On with the creating!!

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

WIP Wednesday

Coming up with a solution to the problem, if you want to call it that, of feeling the creative bug to mosaic something new, while working on fixing the older mosaics that need repairs, wasn't easy. There's a method to the madness here in the attic! I don't want to start a new mosaic just yet. I feel I need to devote some time and attention to the older ones, showing them love and making sure they are taken care of.

What I decided to do was some dot painting on these shades. I have quite a few, donated to me a few years back. And I've been looking at them, wondering exactly how to use them. Mosaic of course comes to mind, but the glue and grout might crack over time. Especially if these shades were used for candles or high wattage light bulbs. Something decorated on it, maybe a little mosaic work here and there might be okay.

Painting it using black acrylic and then I'll just go crazy with dots. Similar to what I did on the bottles a few years ago.

Hopefully, I'll get the same magic on these shades.

And the first part of one mosaic has been fixed! I know it's just one from many that need repair, but this one wasn't too difficult until I realized I had no more black iridescent tiles. I will have to order some more and re-grout this once I get them.

The chain snapped off and this poor mosaic fell down a few steps. Luckily, only a few tiles fell off! It could have been so much worse!!

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

Mosaic Monday

This is a slightly different Mosaic Monday. Happy Memorial Day! In honor of the day, I thought I'd share some mosaics I feel need remembering and caring for once more.

I've been pushing boxes around making room for the air conditioner to go into the window this week. It is stored in a cubbyhole area that is all but hidden from my supplies of mostly vases (3 large boxes) but also lots of "this and that's". I have 3 medium sized boxes that are filled with "to be repaired and re-grouted" mosaics. All have to be moved out of the way so that the kind folks who take the time to put the air conditioner in my window have room to move around in this small space.

Here's a few photos of ones that were listed on Etsy at one time but after years of being moved, bumped and dropped they are in need of dusting and a good cleaning and repair!

The cat mosaic is a favorite. I hope that gets listed again soon. Here it was before tiles started to fall off of the sides.

This box has mosaics that need re-grouting and in most cases minor repair work, like gluing on the wooden foot that fell off of a holiday trivet.

I think my favorite in this batch is the bowl.

It just needs a little touch-up of grout, thank goodness. It's so pretty.

Before I start working on the next mosaic or grouting anything new I've recently made, I thought it might be a good idea to give these guys some TLC.


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