Day 58

Day 58

October 23rd, 2009

Well I have not been mosaicing a lot because I have been getting ready for my class that I am teaching! I made a 7 page handout formulating information of all the classes I have attended and my own trial and error. Yesterday I stopped in at j ring (a wonderful glass wholesaler in st paul) to pick up glass sheets and beads for the class-Most of them wanted jewel tones. Today I have been organizing and cleaning my studio to get ready. Here's a picture of my studio all ready-there will be 4 people total. I figure two people can work at the island and two at the table.

I am very excited to educate and inform other people on this wonderful (and addicting) art.

Quote of the day

"The best way to know God is to love many things."

-V. VanGogh

Song of the day (I was listening to my ipod)

Weiss-"Sonata #5 in G-Prelude (sm32)" played by David Russell on guitar

Day 55

Day 55 of mosaics

October 20th, 2009

Well my family and I had a fun mini vacation.

Now it is back to work! I have been busy gathering and typing information for my mosaic class this weekend. I've also been continuing working on my glass on glass piece. I like how it is coming together. I was just going to stick to a blue and white theme, but I had some greenish beads that I added so I continued with adding the blue-green color. I am not sure what the name of this piece is yet but I do like the elegance of it. I have really liked my tweezers with this project!

I also received my next groutline publication-I love reading the articles they always do such a nice job. I enjoyed reading the article on Randina Casenza's Mosaic diary-she is making a 12x12 mosaic a month for a year-so sort of what I am doing! Nice to hear what she has done!

I have been forgetting to put music on my blog that I have heard and has been important in my day. Music is so important to me that I need to continue with it. Art and music go hand and hand anyway they are such a great duo!

I was listening to MPR and I love lute music so my song of the day is:

"Pinetops" by Ron McFarlane it is off the Indigo Road CD

This was a song that he composed while doing warm up exercises on his lute-I thought isn't it wonderful to have those creative moments where we let go and let the natural creative force come through!

Quote of the day

"God speaks when I'm quiet enough to listen."

Day 50

Day 50

October, 15, 2009

I was able to get a little further on my piece. I finished adhering the border and added the metal charms to the corners-I like to add metal if I can to my pieces. I finished the swirls on the lower part of the "flower" this took a while to adhere all the tiny square beads-I took them off the string they came on since they had to bend for the swirl.

Last night I attended our Minnesota Mosaic Guild meeting-it is such a nice group, they are so resourceful and I always come away with new information! We had a discussion on marketing yourself , business cards, networking, and website/blog info.

The next few days I am taking off for doing sketching, computor work for my class and it is MEA for my daughters. I may add pictures here and there of sketeches or interesting things I come across, mosaic wise.

Quote of the day

"Fall down seven times, stand up eight".

-Japanese Proverb

day 47

Day 47 of my mosaic year

October 12, 2009

We woke up to a winter wonderland this morning! The snow was so pretty (even though it's quite early for snow). There certainly is a calmness to a nice gentle snowfall, it makes you feel cozy and protected.

Today I was in the kitchen most of the morning, we have a get together tonight that I had to make appetizers for. Soooo, I did not get as much time as I would like to mosaic. I did have a little time to start planning and adhering some things for the next project. I did find some interesting beads and metal tokens to add here and there. I like how it is coming along so far. I figured out the border and the corners. Things are not all glued yet but I like to place the tesserae out where I am thinking to see if I like the feel and look of it before adhering.

Quote of the day (It's from the Artist Spotlight on CMA, I just loved the interview)

"I think that creativity needs moments of suffering, that only the maceration of the seeds brings new life, that happy days are always the same from that you can not grow much. There's no tension,spasm; everything is easy, simple, normal. The spark of new needs thunderstorms and lighting to rip the darkness." -Giulio Menossi

Day 46

October 11th, 2009

I have been working on organizing my workspace. I put my small sketches in a sketchbook and wrote next to the sketches where it was inspired from and a picture of the inspiration. I also organized my idea file into different categories.

My Aunt would like me to do a mirror for her so I was working on some sketches for the border.

I also put my daughters project on hold. I found a pattern on paper that I really liked and thought it would make an interesting mosaic. I've been in the mood to do a glass on glass project again anyway. I bought a few frames at IKEA (thanks Sharra for your suggestion) and picked up a few large sheets of picture glass from Suzanne's Stained Glass in town. I scored the glass to fit in the frames and used silicone to adhere it within the frame. I think I am going to stick to a blue and white theme. It may go in our master bathroom.

I will be heading out soon to Michael's to pick up some more beads for this project.

I also have been putting info together for a class I am going to teach. Some gals in town would like to learn how to do mosaics. So it has been fun getting ready for that.

Quote of the day

"One day at a time-this is enough. Do not look back and greive over the past, for it is gone; and do not be troubled about the future, for it has not yet to come. Live in the present and make it so beautiful that it will be worth remembering." -Ida Scott Taylor

Day 42

October 7th

Day 42

Yesterday I did finish the 2nd 8 x 8. It still needs to be grouted and cleaned up with some cute adornments added after. It definitely looks "girlie". My daughter loves pink so she should appreciate this one!

Today I spent the morning sketching since I had one of those bad sleeping nights and could not turn off all my thoughts. Of course when this happens I lay in bed thinking of all the designs I would like to attempt. A few things I tried were some different layouts for a round mirror, and also a sketch for a glass on glass project.

Quote of the day

"This above all; to thine own self be true."

-Shakespeare

Day 42

Day 40 of my year of mosaics!

October 5th, 2009

Mondays are always good "workdays" for me since my daughters are in high school and they both have after school things going on til 4:30.

Sooo...today after my walk and normal routine I finally got out to the studio after not getting to work since last Thursday.

Today I continued working on my daughter's Fleur-di-lis piece. It is fun working with the pink colors since I have never worked with pink before. It is hard to find the right shade of pink though. I am using beads, mirror, stained glass and marbles. I can't wait to grout these pieces because I have some cute additions to adhere after they are grouted.

One of my favorite "tools" that I have been using on this piece is a toothpick! It really helps to move the little pieces around before they dry.

Quote of the day (It's a long one)

"This life is yours. Take the power to choose what you want to do, and do it well. Take the power to love what you want in life and love it honestly. Take the power to walk in the forest and be part of nature. Take the power to control your own life, no one else can do it for you. Take the power to make your life happy." -S.P. Schultz