In The Studio - Friday

It's the end of the week and I've been sick through most of it. This is the time of year where I am prone to get strep throat, sinus infections and ear infections due to allergies. This year is no different. I've got a doozy of a sinus infection and allergies have played havoc with my eyes this time. That slowed me down with all I had planned for this week and has been added to the list for next week.

I did move some things around midweek and noticed a pair of masks I made in 2010 all wrapped up and protected in a box. I made both masks to be venetian/carnival/mardi gras inspired. These masks were for a gallery in Muncie, IN which is no longer open called Art & Soul at Phoebe's Gallery. The display was all masks.

I thought it would be kind of cool to show how I made them because I used recycled plastic containers! The black mask was cut from a plastic iced tea jug. The white mask was cut from a green 2-liter bottle. Both were covered generously with plaster cast strips.

measures 9 x 6 inches

measures 8 x 5 inches

I let them sit overnight to make sure the plaster was completely dry. Next step was to paint each mask and add some glitter. Fun!!

Now onto the mosaic magic.

And lastly, grout to finish them off nicely.

Each were embellished with tempered glass, iridescent stained glass and mirror. Green Van Gogh stained glass was added to the white mask. Adornments like broken jewelry, plastic beads, and ribbon were added.

I painted the backs of each and signed them.

Here they all displayed in the gallery (I know they are hard to spot, but they are there!). They are placed in the front. White one on the left, black on the right.

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

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Mosaics Set of 3 Bohemian Incense Holder / Bud Vase Bottles - FREE SHIPPING Within US - $87.65

A small bottle once held soy sauce. A cracked ceramic vase from the 1950's was in a bag to toss out. A beer bottle, sitting on the counter. All these spoke to me begging me to give them some mosaic love.

Each is unique within itself but look so cool as a set.

The soy sauce bottle is 5 inches high. Turquoise stained glass, calico and blue willow designs in china were added in a wave pattern. Grouted in white.

The ceramic vase is 6 inches high. Stained glass pieces in blue, some iridescent, cover this really cool shape. Grouted in charcoal.

The beer bottle is 9 inches high. 4 different patterns in broken china were used. Navy blue, white, blue willow and a soft violet flower. Grouted in my own hand mixed plum.

For those hard to buy for people in your life, these would make a wonderful gift. Use all 3 on a shelf with a flower in it or a sweet smelling stick of incense. Let them sit near a light source so the shine can make you smile. Gift yourself! You deserve it!

I am proud to take items destined for the trash and create a beautiful, useful piece of art like the ones shared here. It is a delight to share with you all the joy I have when I find broken objects and give them new purpose. The art pieces I make using discarded and/or broken items holds a special place in my heart.

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 learning how to use the "new to me" camera and taking updated photos of existing listings. I have to say it's been exhausting but fun. I still have a lot to do but it's part of the way I like to do things anyway, so it's all worth it to me. My favorites are below:

I am also taking some photos of my painted pieces, the small art acrylics, which haven't yet been available to anyone in 2 years (I put them away deeming them no good when I made them. It's an artist thing, apparently). These will be listed in my shop on storenvy hopefully within the next few days. I'm slowly adding all my listings from Etsy into this shop. It just got real, as they say, at Etsy. The truth is that I can't afford to keep it running if I don't make any sales. It breaks my heart but I have to do what I have to do. Keep in mind my art is my job and selling it is what I do to buy supplies and pay the bills. It is time to close the mosaics shop at Etsy only (the only site I use that requires payment for listings) and keep the photo shop open there at least until November, if that's possible, but it too may have to close.

I will always find a way to share my mosaics and photography through social media for as long as I'm able. For now, using sites that don't offer monthly fees is what I have to do. Starting over is never a bad thing but adjusting the thought process is hard. It also takes a long time to build a following and make sales when you start on a new site. That will be hardest because I will be out of some supplies to create very soon (glue is a biggie as are substrates to use - I am blessed with grout, dishes, stained glass, mirror, dodads and baubles to fill my room up, but attaching them together onto something is where it gets tricky). As always, I'm positive something good will happen soon. It is not uncommon to have dry spells. But 5 months is a little too long to keep things running smoothly without much of a budget and each week it gets a little harder. I've been with Etsy for a long time (opened my shop in 2009). That alone tells me that it might be time for a change.

In any case, the photo below is from an acrylic I call "Blue Heart". I'm contemplating a price for these too. As soon as I get that figured out and the rest of the photos edited of the other mixed media pieces I have, I'll share them here with the links for each on storenvy.

Heading towards my new shop on storenvy very soon!

I do love these 5 x 5 inch acrylic paintings. Some of them (most of them) are mixed media pieces. The only thing I'd change is having the signatures on the front. When I do more, that will go on the back or be a little less prominent on the front. That is partly why I put them away. I signed them quickly and with permanent marker. And way too big!!

Speaking of supplies, I'm running low on acrylics too; I still have hardly any room to move around in here, but I am running low on the favorites, so that makes it hard. The muse is getting fussy and wants to paint something. I'm going to have to dig up some things and use the paint I have while I'm at it. She can get so bossy when she doesn't get her way! ;)

I also closed the door, for the time being, to the "Super Secret Mosaics Lab" this week. The last gift was given and I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

Oh the cool things you can do with a discarded beer bottle!

Finally got the donation piece for DWB/MSF grouted. What a chore that was! Lots of fussy bits to clean still, but it looks great. I'm also a bit sad since these boxes have been discontinued. I wanted to make more similar to this using suns and moons on them. I am on the lookout for other boxes with the right depth and look but it isn't something I need to figure out how to buy at the moment. But it's something that's been added to the ever growing list!

I'm making a pendant to send along with the box but none of this is due for a few months, so I have time to gather up the funds to send it and get the pendant made (which honestly only takes a few minutes some days!).

I was asked to make a custom order from broken blue willow dish shards that belonged to her grandparents and was hung on a wall before shattering. She sent the shards and I got to work right away. I'm covering the sides too so I can use as much of the original dish as possible. This is kind of cool to be doing this. I first learned how to mosaic after I broke my own grandmother's blue willow plate. I burst into tears and then vowed I'd figure out a way to make something from the mess into a piece of art. That's how I started my mosaic journey and now I'm doing it again, but this time for someone else. Happy me!

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

Stay peaceful,

Cindy

In The Studio

The fun continues this week! All the mosaics I made last week are now grouted!

Two are gifts.

Peace Ornament - Birthday Gift for Rowan who turned 8 years old yesterday but who is having a party this weekend. She loves peace signs and the color purple. I think I've got it covered.

This shoe is for Maddyson who is turning 5 in March. While this might look a tad too sophisticated for a five year old, Maddy is quite an unusual little girl. She drinks coffee (decafe) and prefers zombies over cheerleaders. Starfish is the pet name her grandfather gave her.

One I'm keeping but using as a prototype for made to order items once I can hone my Wediboard cutting skills a little more. Anyone interested in ordering one similar to this, let me know. This was a wooden cheese board my Dad made, probably in the 1960's, and passed down to me to use when I moved back east in the 1990's. I used it quite a bit but the small wooden dowels for feet fell off and I put it aside to do something with some day. I love what I've created with it. The retro feel to it is soooo "me". Recycling something my father made and making it a piece of art has given it even more meaning to me. I'm very happy with it.

One I'm listing next month. Another cutting board my Dad gave me; not sure he made this one, but I used it for years, then put it aside thinking I'd do this with it when I was ready. It took many years to decide what to do and how to do it, but I'm happy with the results. It's solid wood too. Really heavy!!

One is a donation. The iridescent Q's have not yet been added to the quilt. I'm considering adding resin to them, although I've only used it once before and covering them to give them a more solid foundation. On mesh and grouted, they are still too flexible and the mesh is still visible on the sides. It needs a more polished look and resin will give me that. And if they come out looking really bad, I have time (this is due before June 1st) to make another set of Q's and adding resin to those. I'll share a finished photo once I've got it.

And finally one still needs some TLC but will get listed AND offered as a made to order item. I'm not thrilled with my paint job on this - some of the paint bled into the grout on the sides and the hand mixed acrylics color is bit off too. I've decided to get some Washi tape when I can afford it and cover the sides with it. This too, will be shared once it's really finished.

Bohemian Morning

Today I am working on the next donation piece which is a mosaic star box. Inside and out, this box will be covered with stained glass and mirror.

A lot of work-in-progress photos will be shared as I continue. This is due before August 1st.

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

Stay peaceful,

Cindy

In The Studio

This week has been fairly filled with activity. After taking some time away to rest, I have managed to catch a cold which has slowed me up quite a bit more than I would have liked. It did however produce one mosaic that I am fairly proud of.

This was a discarded microwave plate in a former life. Now it is a piece of mosaic art. It's going to have black grout once complete; I'm waiting for the glue under the rocks to dry before I do that.

Using discarded items and creating art pieces is my favorite thing to do!

Waiting for grout.

I've given this the title: A New Horizon because when I look at it, I see grass, a cliff, a hill in the distance, water and a sandy beach below when I look at it. Can you see that too?

Yesterday I wasn't feeling well at all and spent most of the day resting. However, I didn't want to go a day without doing something creative, so I attempted working on a gazing ball with jewelry bits and pieces and some polymer clay items. Honestly, I took half of it apart before I took these photos below. I still like this part. Now I need to figure out what to do with the rest of it. It is possible that I'll be adding stained glass to it. It can go in any direction and may end up being torn apart more before it's completed.

I like this part but don't really have much else to go with it that I do like. I've added and taken off just about everything I thought would work here. So this sits as it is for the moment until I decide what should go on it next.

There's some exciting news to share here in the studio! I've just been commissioned to do a mosaic sun! This made-to-order mosaic will be 9.5 inches and in beach colors for the customer's kitchen. I showed her a range of colors from previous mosaics and have landed on a palette in between those. Once the supplies arrive, I'll start sharing work-in-progress photos here and on flickr. I ordered some glass but am going to use some I have here in the studio too. I have a lot of blue glass!

Yesterday, I neglected to share the newest items listed in my 2nd Etsy shop! I can't believe I forgot to share them! Aren't they pretty?

"Heart In The Clouds" series at Etsy

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

Stay peaceful,

Cindy