Organizing the Purple Palace and Downsizing Mosaics Supplies

If things go the way I really hope they do, all of this time spent to get 1, 3 and 5 pound bags of dish pieces (all hand cut) cleaned and organized will be available in a new Etsy shop for a reasonable price. We’ve named them Mystery Boxes. I'll be using flat rate boxes and include that price in the final cost of each bag ordered.

As you can see, these aren't super fancy but GREAT for filling in areas, like these examples below:

I often use white dish pieces to fill in areas around stained glass

 

The background on this one has the bottom rims from cups, bowls and dishes. Nothing gets wasted that way and it gives the mosaic a bit of added interest.

And so, here's the plan ... clean all the dish pieces and weigh them, prepare for the onslaught of sales 😁😂 and reduce the amount of tesserae I have as well as maybe helping someone new to mosaics or someone who just needs a little bit of odds and ends for that background on a stepping stone (I don't have any to share of those but you can find great examples if you search) or flower pots.

Here's the beginning of 20+ years in mosaic making ... lots to gather and clean and maybe, just maybe, might take longer than I think to do it all but I can do a little and that's a great way to start!

YIKES!

This should be about 5 lbs here.

 

When the second shop with these awesome mosaic supplies is up, I'll share here. Meanwhile, feel free to contact me now if you'd like to discuss purchasing a pound or two of these Mystery Boxes.

Do something creative every day!

 

Enjoy the journey.

Cindy aka EarthMotherMosaics

https://artbyearthmothermosaics.com

 

Happy Holidays!

 And Happy New Year. GOODBYE 2023!

Generally, I take this time now to spend with my family, relax and enjoy a few weeks before starting once more with art.

This year was a little stilted for me; not more than one sale for the entire year made me realize I really am making art just for myself. Guess what? I'm okay with that! I make some kind of art almost daily and it's the best life ever.

I do have a few things to share and will continue to do that next year as well. Whether selling my art or keeping it to enjoy here, I will do what I can to continue the art journey for as long as I can.

Now, there are a few things to post about this week:

First, is "The Tower of Now" mosaic shrine. Whenever I remember to use up the extra black grout I've mixed, I have been adding it to the tower. I built this in September of 2020. I'm finished with the mosaic part of it, so it's good to start grouting it.

It's been sitting in a corner of the Purple Palace for over a year. It's so very patient. The rest of the tower that's not got mosaic on it will be painted. I made this with bits and pieces of Styrofoam and lots of hand cut dish tiles, stained glass and mirror. Once it's completed, it's anyone's guess where it'll end up around here but the journey has been lovely.

I had a fun day on Wednesday, putting glass tiles on switch plate covers.

Aren't they cool looking?! These will be available once grouted and finishing touches done on my website and in the GoImagine shop next year.

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you may have seen the finished blue and white mosaic on canvas. I really love making these. Each piece is rounded using a diamond hand grinding tool and a wet stone. The process is time-consuming and wonderful. Zen time for sure as I study each piece, take the points off by hand slowly, plus I get to play in water. That's always fun.

Placed on the dresser leaning on the lamp base, it looks right at home.

We had a small family gathering this past Sunday and exchanged gift while enjoying homemade bread that my daughter made, as well as a lot of dipping things for it. It was delicious!!

I made a mosaic gift and gave it this week to my cousin who gives me a lot of my art supplies for free. This time around she brought me acrylics and markers, as well as a bottle of my favorite wine.

She also brought an MDF desk that needs repair and some not yet decided what kind of art love, which I hope to share the progress of as I work on it in a few months' time. And a slew of this and that's that I always love from books to teas. She's more like a sister than a cousin and I love her dearly.

I made her a small mosaic in a small dish. It turned out really well.

I gifted my Dad and Step-Mom the wine bottle I made in 2019 and had listed for sale for quite some time. It was meant to stay here with me until I was ready to gift it.

Does anyone remember it? It's been shared every now and then. I have about a dozen+ bottles waiting for mosaic treatment and I do believe I might use these blue and white flowered dishes on at least one more bottle. These come from my every day stash of dishes that I actually use. As they break, and they always do either by my own clumsy hand or with the help of a cat or dog, I seem to have a good supply of pieces ready to use. The blue and white circle I shared above was made using these dishes.

I'll share more art in a few weeks when I return. There's always something going on in the Purple Palace Art Studio!

I'm wrapping the last gift and getting ready for the laid back days ahead. Now that we have teenagers in the house, there will be a small gathering with breakfast foods and then a frenzied activity of paper ripping but never for very long - their gifts are usually game and/or clothes related. Lots of gift cards are given to them. Once the teens are fed and have gone through their pile, they head back to their rooms to enjoy their time off. Briefly we might have a visit from family who will bring young ones with them. It's nice to see them and for a little while, the excitement they bring with them is wonderful. It's also as wonderful to enjoy the quiet once they leave us at the end of the day. Life is filled with noise and quiet. A good balance for me.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! I will be back!!!

Enjoy the journey.

 Cindy aka EarthMotherMosaics

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