Mosaic Monday

It feels like a Mosaic Monday to me! It's been a productive weekend.

The tray I was going to mosaic for the Norway family has been nixed. The bottom wood split where the nails holding it together are. In 4 sections along the outer edges.

Sorry about the fuzzy shot, but even fuzzy you can see it. Not suitable for my needs.

Luckily I can do something with it; fix the splits with either wood filler or Plaster of Paris (both need to be purchased but also need to be in my supply cabinet) and I can paint it. Maybe put something light in it; paper ephemera for instance.

And so I moved onto the coasters. A set will go to Norway and the rest will go into my shop.

This set was primed with Kilz. Not all of them are going to be done in this way. I like the natural wood showing through.

I made a color mistake - used a light grey over the Kilz and it didn't really look good. The white from the primer came through and I quickly used up this small tube. What I did was mix up white and black and got the perfect color as you can see below.

After adding the felt pads I decided the paint needed to be protected from scratches if possible so I have sprayed the sealant on them. I can replace the pads if I need to since these were added too soon they might not be sticky after the sealant was sprayed on.

I made a few coaster sets using olive oil for the backs. I love the way the wood look using oil. It's enhanced the wood a little bit and isn't oily to the touch, it sinks in.

I made 2 sets of coasters for the shop this weekend. They'll be grouted soon, it doesn't take long for these kinds of mosaics to dry.

The funniest part for me was telling myself NOT to cut them into triangles which is my "go to". It was hard to leave them in squares. And it was hard for me to go back 20 years to a simple design in my head. 

They look like a quilt with the blue tape around them. The tape was used as a measurement guide for me. This tape is 1/2 inch wide. Perfect. Believe it or not, I can't draw a straight line. Not even with the help of a ruler. Using this tape makes it so much easier to get a straight line and it will come off after I've grouted.

I know I shared the color tiles last time, but I'll share them all again below. I'm not sure all will get used in the coasters but I have a lot of them and can use them throughout the months in future mosaics yet to be dreamed of.

The supplies list is below. I'm not including the tray because it basically fell apart.

If you make mosaics, I highly recommend these two sites.

Vitreous and Morjo™ Mosaic Tile: https://mosaicartsupply.com/

Van Gogh Stained Glass: https://mosaicsbymaria.com/

The glue I prefer is: Aleene's Original Tacky Glue. It is easily found and reasonably priced. If you're doing indoor mosaics, this works really well watered down a bit (ratio 1:1) as a primer, sealer and over glass-on-glass mosaics to make sure the grout doesn't bleed through the stained glass before grouting, and as an adhesive full strength for glass, dishes and mirror. It takes a little while to dry to clear but it does get there.

Next post will have a mixed media project I've worked on and some painting/doodling. Look for that midweek.

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

In The Studio - Part 1

In the studio means many places around here. Right now there are things going on in the Purple Palace Art Space, The Garage Art Studio and an area in my room (a large folding table and a laptop table) that are all used often to create art and hold WIP's.

Ever wonder what it takes to make a mosaic? Besides a little knowledge, it takes tools. They are scattered here but basically I've got glass cutters, glue and grout. Throughout the years I've found what I like to use. I have picks and tweezers in there too. Alcohol swabs can be use for cuts on my fingers but they also can be used to clean glue off of glass and mirror. A few tools are missing (like a pumice stone, diamond head hand tool grinders and the electric grinder in the garage) but they are all important to me. I'm grateful for these tools and thank them each time I use them. For real. They help me create what I see in my head. Why wouldn't I thank them?!

 

I've got a lot of photos to share, so instead of writing about them, I'll share them with descriptions underneath each in two posts this week, breaking it up to make it easier to read.

The latest doodle, now has a lot of color added to it. I actually think I liked it better with no color as shown here. I put it aside and now can't find it ... subtle reminder to myself that not all things come through as I planned, I promptly put it "away" safely, I'm sure. No photo was taken after I finished coloring it in.

I shared this on Facebook before it was finished. I really love it. The white streak along the left side was an accident with my hair and white paint -- true story. I left it and will always remember how it appeared. Meanwhile, I love the blue background as much if not equal to the dot painting itself. I mixed colors together to get this blue which is another reason I left the white streak. I probably would only end up ruining it if I tried to duplicate the color. It's been sprayed with a sealant and is now sitting in the garage waiting for fumes to dissipate. It'll take about 3-5 days.

Here is step one of the water color pieces I just did. I'm going to add doodles with black ink. That should be fun.

I ordered these beauties from mosaicsbymaria.com a favorite place to shop. I'm planning to use them on canvas with dot paintings. So far it's just a plan, but I'm positive they will eventually make their way into at least one mosaic.

When I made this moon, I hadn't any D-rings for attaching before making it. I successfully glued one to the back long after it was finished and it stayed for a few years but didn't last. I studied my alternatives now that I have a little more around to use and came up with what I'll share below.

This piece of wood is beautiful. It came from a box of scraps I purchased on eBay months ago. I believe after I sand around the edges a bit, it will be exactly what I need to fix this mosaic.

Once I get a hanger on the back of the wood, I'll attach the moon to the board. I really like this moon, so it'll be a welcome addition to the Celestial Wall! I can't wait to share it!

 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

In The Studio - Part Two

The vase I put the water/glue treatment on before grouting is drying nicely. It should be dry completely by the end of the weekend.

As you can see, the milky spots of glue are just about gone

Using some of my earnings from the recent custom order, I purchased some glass tiles. A few were on sale, making this a fun visit to my favorite website: mosaicsbymaria which has a nice selection of tiles and sheets of glass at prices I can afford.

On December 31st, the end of the year sales were about finished up but I happened to find a 30% off coupon through Monster Mosaics and grabbed some really cool substrates!

The cat is a clock. Below the really cool square peace sign is a plaque that comes with a hook sturdy enough for a purse, tote bag or leash. And of course I had to get a new sun and moon! I like to have more than I could ever possibly mosaic around me. It's the beginning of a GREAT year!

Here's some progress pictures of the cardboard box mosaic. It's going to be so cool!

The sun hit the mirrored roof in the afternoon

Ceiling reflections from the mirrored roof on my house mosaic

one side is finished

It's pretty obvious that I had little to no planning with placement or design - but I am having fun!

I had no idea in which direction, design-wise, I was going with this and it shows. However, I knew it could possibly all collapse within itself when I started which is why I picked stained glass and mirror (not as heavy as some tesserae) to use for my first attempt. I have a second box I can use to do this treatment and I will try using a more thought out design. And maybe broken china.

The sky's the limit!!

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

Stay peaceful,

Cindy