Monthly Mosaic Blog

November was somewhat productive as far as mosaics go.

I finished my larger piece I've been working on for a few months. The title is "Mundo de la musica" (World of music). It is 24" x 24". I used all mexican smalti and adhered the pieces using Weldbond onto a sealed plywood substrate. Overall I like the design and how it turned out. There are a few things that I might change if I were to do it over (but I'm not). I do like using smalti but I feel like I can't be as creative when I use all the different tesserae that I normally use. It was a nice challenge to try this out on my own though. I plan on getting it framed using a "floating frame". I also entered it into a juried show. Not sure if it will be in the show I have not heard back yet. There is an issue with my piece (live and learn!). After finishing I finally read through the fine print of the show and found out that you can only enter a piece that is under 15 pounds (a little difficult for those of us who work with a heavier medium). So...my piece is 17 pounds and they will not except it as a hanging piece but if I put wood strips on the back and put it in a sculpture stand they will except the piece for the show. So note to self to make sure I read all the details beforehand! Also to use Wediboard instead, if I'm thinking of entering in a show.

Onto other things! Our Minnesota Mosaic Guild were invited to make tiles at Sheryl Tourila's studio. It was a lot of fun and so interesting to do something I have never done before. We rolled out a slab and she let us use a huge array of different cutouts. The only restriction was keeping it to one color. So...I made all sorts of shapes, including two huge olives, I have an idea with olives and a martini glass (ha). We have such a nice group of people in our guild and always so nice to see everyone!!!

I had a fun mosaic "field trip". I met a few of my MMG pals at St. Michael Catholic Church to tour their mosaics. They are BEAUTIFULLY done. There are stations of the cross and many more around. It was so fun to go with others that had an "eye" for the art of mosaics and to help see all the details and materials that were used.

Another project I started and finished is a "mini" mosaic. Thanks to an idea from an MMG friend (Janine:) I made a mosaic inside a framed mirror from IKEA. It did not take a lot of time to make. It's quite different using teeny tiny pieces to fit into your design. I loved coming up with a bunch of different designs and I'm looking forward to making a few more. I had a couple reasons for making them. One being for gifts and another is to make something quickly. They are so fun and cute :)

GOALS FOR THE MONTH

1. Make a few more "mini's"

2. Do some grout cleanup on the bar/countertop piece.

3. Do some sketches for next piece, maybe start???

4. make bookmark business cards.

5. may visit local stainedglass shop and see if they are looking for someone to teach stained glass mosaics.

6. Get "Mundo..." framed.

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

"Sometimes in the middle of a hectic day, I am stopped in my tracks by the sound coming over the speakers, melting my heart and helping me remember what life is all about. Music satifies our deep need to feel our longing heart, a core of softness within ourselves." -Madeline Bruser

(This goes for art also!!!)