In The Studio

I've had a lot of fun in the studio this week.

The scrap glass window is finished and placed on my windowsill. It makes me smile a lot during the day. I find myself staring at it for long periods of time both amused and amazed that I was able to complete it in about 6 weeks, with a good 10 days off in between.

It's grout time!

2 panes down, 4 to go

Sitting on the sill in my room

Eventually I want to stain and/or paint the wood in a burnt umber, my favorite brown for wood frames. But for now, it will sit here and keep me happy. Yay!

I worked on the crescent moons too. One has glass and mirror on it. The stars are painted in a glow-in-the-dark paint and covered in tempered glass.

Had some fun too with plaster cast strips and an old porcelain doll.

Getting it ready for the strips

Looking very macabre and creepy ... like a mummy or something much worse.

Next step is to add some thin-set to the body over the strips and then I can start adding the tesserae to it. The thin-set will ensure the doll is sturdy enough to hold the weight of the tess.

And while waiting for plaster to dry, I pulled out the next candle holder (because all of the ones I had listed on Etsy have been sold recently - woo-hoo!!) and the glass to go with it. Love these colors of blue.

I painted some switch plate covers using acrylics and glow-in-the-dark paint. When I can figure out how to get a photo of the glowing paint, I'll share it. I think I have to invest in a black light soon because I really love using that paint!

Portions of the clouds are painted in glow-in-the-dark paint. Can be turned either way too!

Only the flower has glow-in-the-dark paint. This too can be flipped either way.

Once I get a sealant on these and better photos, I'll list them in my shop on Storenvy.

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

Stay peaceful,

Cindy

In The Studio

Happy Friday!

At this writing, all the customs I was working on are completed. Yay!

First, the switch plate covers are headed out today towards their new home. I really love how they look. I did a 2nd grouting around the sides of 3 of them (the black grouted one was painted along the sides) adding a glue/water mixture to the grout. When that dries, there's usually a bit of a gluey film on the glass. This requires a vinegar wash and some scraping with handy-dandy dental tools for just that purpose.

And all 3 Father's Day gifts should be picked up later today, I hope. These are for an extended family member. She has been watching their progress and says they bring a smile to her face. Yay!

DAD - has a tree of life with the 2 glass globs representing his two children

POP POP - this one was the only one she requested colors for - I really like how classy this looks

POPPY - I picked up the rooster and loved the colors of it so decided to add it to the plaque. I didn't realize until I placed it next to the word charm that this becomes "POPPYCOCK" - funny!

Yesterday in the afternoon, I decided to pull out the window and finish it up. I was so close to being completed with adding the scrap glass on it, I had to get back to it.

This is where I left it the last time I worked on it.

At this point, only one window was left to cover with stained glass scraps.

And here it is! Finished! Even in lamplight, it looks really cool. I'll be grouting this bad boy in a few weeks. I want to make sure the glue is dry.

Now I'll be doing some research for the newest custom I'll be working on. The order is for 2 candle holders, 2 vases and a 10" peace sign! Woo-hoo! I LOVE being busy!!

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

Stay peaceful,

Cindy

In The Studio

I've been busy working on the custom ordered switch plate covers this week. They are all resting for a few days before I grout.

I'll take pictures of them once grouted and share again. I love grout for projects like this especially. It will pull everything together and make some of the glass "pop".

I grouted "my world". This sphere had a lot of incarnations but in the end, I think it turned out nicely. I'm considering listing it but I like it a lot. It might just have to stay with me.

An extended family member contacted me a few days ago and asked if I'd make 3 small Father's Day gifts for her. I love making mosaics for those I love. It adds a certain delight in creating something for them. Makes it a little more special. Often those emotions come through when I'm creating.

First up, is a mosaic for "Pop Pop". The only one, out of the 3, that had a color request, so I started on this one first giving me time to play with the other 2 I have waiting. And yes, the hook you see is a can tab hammered into the back of the wood. These wood pieces were given to me this way and they work well for hanging even though on quite a few I pulled them off and added other hangers, in the end, these hold the mosaic just fine and work well for gifts for Dad.

I did what you see above in one sitting. Seriously couldn't stop even to pee. It took almost 4 hours to get this 7-1/2 piece of wood covered up in gray Van Gogh glass, gray stained glass, foiled mirror glass, silver mirror, black stained glass and white dish shards along with glass gems in black and white, the small ones are iridescent. And what's left should take about an hour. I'm slow and methodical when it comes to these kinds of mosaics where color placement is important to draw the eye around the entire piece. I think I accomplished it so far!

The other two plaques were painted in burnt umber (my favorite!) and will have different colors on each of them but I'm leaning towards earth tones in green, light brown, amber.

Great news on the Etsy front! I sold the 8 inch shabby chic gazing ball this week. Yay! This is happy news because that means I can add another sphere once I make one in broken dish china to sell but also because it's been with me and admired and almost purchased quite a few times. Most recently someone was interested in the layaway plan I offer but in the end decided not to purchase it. That just means it was meant to go to the right person, because that's how the Universe works. I hope the customer that considered layaway will come back to visit and consider it again as an option to get a beautiful mosaic or two sometime in the future.

SOLD!

The customer who asked for the switch plate covers above also purchased a vase this week in my shop. That means I get to go shopping for more glass vessels to add pretty stained glass on very soon! Happy me!!

SOLD!

My shop is officially out of hibernation. It's been a great few weeks. And my policy of replacing what has been sold with the same kind of things means I need to get busy soon! I now have 2 candle holders, a vase, 3 switch plate covers and a gazing ball to replace. Woo-hoo!

And probably the best news of all, my back is starting to respond to the yoga exercises I'm doing. I put my computer chair with the hydraulic lift all the way down and worked at the low table almost filling up another pane before I got started on the custom orders above. And although I do get stiff from working on it, I love it just the same.

When this 6 pane beauty is all grouted and in my window, all the aches and pains will be forgotten. It's beautiful now and I know grout will bring it all together for me since I love using grout so much. I'm smitten with this window!

For those who think they might like to have a window like this made for them give me a shout out. Shipping is pricey unless you're local and can come get it, but honestly, using old windows in a new way is such a great idea and worth the cost to get it to its forever home safely. I know many who add heavy duty hanging apparatus chains and hooks to their windows and I'm positive I can get someone to help me do the same thing with one for you. Working on these windows is another way to take something that was once used for one thing and create art with it. Gotta love that!

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

Stay peaceful,

Cindy

In The Studio

Welcome to my studio!

This week, I thought I'd try to catch up on the donation pieces that are now either delivered or on their way out the door. Yay!

First, the "Q" for Quilt has been delivered and will go on a wall as part of the ABC Mosaic Mural for the Ronald McDonald House in Portland, ME. Head on over to Mandolin Mosaics' blog to read all about it after you finish reading this post, of course.

The Mosaic Star Box for the DWB-MSF 2014 International Mosaic Auction is heading out tomorrow towards Michigan. I'll share more info about this auction as it gets closer to it, because it is an online auction and all you have to do is sign up to start making bids! I've also included a pendant, which I believe I neglected to take a photo of grouted (how unlike me!) but I'm hoping I will be able to share a photo after the multi-talented Lin Schorr takes a few photos of everything before the auction.

The window is coming along really well, however my body gave out way before it was finished and I'm giving myself the rest of the week off from working on it. My neck, shoulders and back are in bad shape right now, stiff and sore from lifting the window which is ever getting heavier as I keep adding glass to it.

I place it on a makeshift table each time I work on it and put it aside along a wall in my room when I'm finished for the day.

Lifting it each time and moving it around has caused my body to groan with the movements. But it looks so pretty in the window already!

Of course each time I take photos of it in the window, it is me who is lifting it up onto the windowsill and then back down again. Really not helping myself one bit by doing that too but as they say, we suffer for our art!

Only 2 more panes to go before it can sit and rest until all glue is dry (I'm guessing about 2-3 weeks).

Once all the glue is dry, this awesome window will be grouted and placed in my window. And if it needs to be moved, someone else will move it for me. Because I'm positive it will be a struggle to get it lifted once all glass is on and it's grouted.

Isn't it cool?!

The sphere, which I've dubbed "My World" is waiting for grout. The glue is almost dry enough to do it!

I had a grouting weekend as I anticipated, and got all 3 mosaics finished up.

I love how this trivet turned out. Even though I went from one design to another, the grout sort of molded it altogether nicely and it looks great. It's on a beveled mirror with felt feet and I'm considering adding it to the online shops next month. :)

I really do love to grout. I love to see the results of my labor as I'm cleaning off the sanded grout. It's like unearthing a treasure deep under muddy ground.

The GOG Nugget Challenge! piece turned out to be a bit of a problem because I dropped it after I got the nuggets glued on the glass. It stayed together, though, so I continued on with it. It came out really nicely. I hope to frame this at some point. It's 13 x 9 inches on one of the donated glass window panes given to me recently.

Black grout rocks!

Lo and behold ... it's a turtle!! I didn't even know!! Honest. I had it horizontal for most of the time, even when I made it, and I didn't see the turtle until I turned the glass vertically. Coolio!

I also played with paint over the weekend and used the last ATC sized piece I had (2.5 x 3.5 inches) to create a "Meditation Flower". Groovy.

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

Stay peaceful,

Cindy

In The Studio

It's not as busy here this week as it has been. I still have a lot of grouting to do, but decided to forge ahead and start working on an old window I've had sitting here next to me for quite some time. Grouting will have to happen on all the things waiting for it this coming weekend. And I'm okay with that. I love to grout but really have to be in the mood for it. And I know I'll be ready for a break from things after I have finished and grouted this window.

I decided to do a scrap glass mosaic on a 6 pane window frame because I think it is one of my favorite mosaic designs to make. The other window waiting for some mosaic goodness will have a sun and moon design on it in my favorite Bohemian style if I can find all the right colors in my stash of glass.

It takes a lot of hard work to make a mosaic on a window. I have very little room to let it sit out on a table or work station so each time I work on it, I build a small IKEA end table someone gave me to put a mosaic on a few years ago (she gave me 2 actually and I'm still waiting for inspiration to cover them with something awesome) and lift the window onto it. When I'm finished for the day, I break it all down and move it all back into a corner until the next time.

I work hunched over I've realized and my back has been giving me some trouble since I started hoisting this thing and working long hours on it. But it's so worth it!

I'm almost 1/2 way finished with the 3rd pane.

Doesn't it look awesome in the window?! Once grouted, it will be placed on this windowsill but not in this window. I really love it.

And my back will heal a little bit before I start in on another window now that I know how it bothers me and why. But while I'm resting, I'll be able to enjoy this beauty with the sun shining through it.

Life is wonderful when you have art in it!

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

Stay peaceful,

Cindy