Spiral Star Mosaic

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I know I am a little behind in my mosaics....but I'm not sure they can be rushed.

I took two photos of this because the one shows the iridescent glass better and the other photo is clear. I'm going to have to get better at the photography of the mosaics.

Don't know if I am going to grout this one or not.  I made the pieces fit close together so I wouldn't have to, but there is space and I think I might prefer grout between them.

Next week I am going to shop and get some mastic, a syringe, grout (pre-mixed), craft sticks and more silicone.  Woo hoo!

Green Dreams Mosaic and the Whale

Well, I missed Thursday.  I started a mosaic--a small, 2.5"x2.5" because I had a busy day.  Small.  I could finsish...bla bla bla...  Beware of small things.

I finished it this morning.

I would tell you that it doesn't fit the vision in my head and I knew half way through it that it just wasn't right--which is why I didn't finish it, but also didn't want to be up till 3 or 4 am finishing it.

Guess I told you. :) It will be the last (with concerted effort) not to explain my art anymore--unless it is the inspiration because I like to give credit to the muse.

I read last night in my Fear & Art book that it is common for artists to defend their work, but that is not what creating is about.  No excuses, explanations, or defense--just the art.

I also read that an artist must go with whatever is calling to them at the time.  I have so much calling on me all at once--mosaic, screenplays, my whales, the idea for a children's book that just came to me (yeah, me, can you believe it, a children's book--go figure), oh, and let's not forget that my kiln called to me just the other day.  It said "fire me up!"

So, I will (maybe) do another mosaic today, but I am going to focus on my whales for now.  I had an idea come up the other day and I haven't pursued it because it scares me.  IT requires me to draw, and that is where I feel I lack the most, but the idea is aching to itched, so tonight I give myself to the whale.

Feng Shui Hail Mary Mosaic

I am applying some feng shui to my newly decorated (almost) room and I needed something to go into my fortune corner, so I whipped up this mosaic.

I used a long-saved fortune from a cookie, some foreign coin (keeping the stuff I can actually spend LOL but I think that the foreign coins will spur my travels), the word "millions," an OX for prosperity, a fish (to represent a koi fish-improvising), and of course a crown, and some gold chain.

If you click on the picture it gets bigger.  The fortune reads:  You will never have to worry about a steady income.

Star of Riches Mosaic

This one took a long time.  I redid the bottom numerous times.  I knew that I wanted it near my desk and wanted to want to look at it throughout the day.  I may add to this one...but I like it just the way it is even.  It's from a fortune from a cookie that I have been saving for a while.  The fortune reads: The Start of Riches in Shining on You.

I found the string of rhinestones in the street during a walk somewhere in downtown Long Beach.

The night before I had been perusing my Mary Engelbreit craft books and was inspired by the black and white checks in the book.

#6 Sunday Mosaic

This one was also inspired by my best friend Jaime Lynn because she just loves Sundays.

Oh yea, the tiles are also from a broken bowl that she had made for my daughter years ago.

Can't wait to grout these!

#5 Sun Time Mosaic

So, go figure.  I went to gather all my little objects that I have purchased over the years, and go figure, not what I thought.  Lots of paper stuff, but really very few things for the mosaic. Now, there are plenty of found and/or recycled objects, but as I went through my mental bank trying to figure out where I had placed them, I realized that many of them are actually being used as decoration in my home.

I did empty and smash a drawer full of broken dishes today.  Amazing how much less room they take up when smashed.  Now I have a bunch of stuff ready to be put into my mosaic.  Let's see what I create today.

Mosaic #4

This is my favorite so far.  I think I am getting the hang of the small medium.  I'll call it Burst of Love. 

Over the years I have purchased and/or found small objects, like the heart in this mosaic, that I intended to use one day in some art project.  I am beginning to get past the thought of "saving it for just the right thing." 

I've probably had this heart for years, but was reluctant to use it because I didn't want to waste something so cute on a project that might not turn out so well, and because I never really had a plan for it.  These objects might just come in handy in setting a theme for the mosaic of the day.  

I just reorganized my craft stuff.  But that was days before I decided to embark on this journey.  Now I will spend some time over the next few days tweaking the arrangement for ease of use. This heart for instance was tucked away for use in my paper crafts box.  Time to dig out these little gems so they can finally find their way into some art. 

Day Three

Okay, so I am a little off on my dates and my posting.  I started this mosaic on the 21st and finished it on the 22nd. A little late, but it was a busy day.  I'm going to have to get into a rhythm with these and figure out what to do on days that I have little time.  I'm guessing bigger pieces.

This one still needs to be grouted and also needs a better photo in the daylight.  I'll take another pic tomorrow.

I made the anchor in honor of a mini reunion of sorts for the drill team that I was in during 1975-1978 -- Mariner's.  It had a big impact on us girls, and it was wonderful to see Kitty who guided us through many successes during this time in our life that was part of the foundation of our lives.

It is a little difficult to post pics of "unfinished" artwork (since this one needs grouting still), but I did the mosaic and need to post it.  Mosaics can not be glued and grouted on the same day.

Day Two

I bought a book while I was in Yosemite titled, Art and Fear -- Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking. I'm glad I did. I'm about half way through it--taking my time reading it, which is good because what I am reading is sticking with me.

So, when I finished my second mosaic for this project, and readied it for a photograph, I remembered what I read in that book about how art nearly always looks better (sounds better--depending on your medium) in your head than it does in the physical world.

I saw the things that could have been better, what I should have done differently, contemplated removing a piece (which I am still contemplating) and replacing it so  it conveys my thoughts when creating the piece, and I thought about pointing them out to defend myself.

I have decided to let the piece stand as is, not to bash or defend it, and just to appreciate it for what it is.  Hmmmmm could this be a lesson that is to be learned from this project.

A few years back I created a mosaic that I really didn't like once it was finished. It sat on the shelf for months before my friend saw it and said she liked it.  Gladly, I gave it to her.  Now, each time I see it at my friends house, I almost regret giving it to her because I really like looking at it when I am there.  Don't know where it'd fit in my home.  Maybe it just needed the right home for it to come alive.

This was the first time that I used broken dishes in a mosaic.  Now I can begin to hack away at the broken dishes that fill a small dresser that I absconded from a trash can somewhere and repainted. Once you begin mosaic, nearly all broken things become worthy of saving.

Now that I have used them, I suddenly am evaluating in my head which of the broken dishes deserve to be preserved for larger "more thought out" mosaics, rather than being used for this year long project.  There I go with the thinking thing again.

...by the way the book I mentioned earlier is by David Bayles & Ted Orland; and, thanks to Marisa Zocco for taking the artsy photos of my mosaic for the day.

This mosaic is titled: Friendship

This could be fun!

So last night I wrote down some ideas for some mosaics for the project.  I felt a little like I was cheating, but you have to write down the ideas when they come.

No rules, no rules!

Then in talking with my best friend - my Road Dog - and being appreciative of our lasting 25 year friendship I got some inspiration for a mosaic.  Who would have thunk it?

I already have the title of the piece.  Friendship.

Can't wait to see how it turns out.

Day One

Day 1

Today is the first day of my 365 mosaics project.  I did complete my first piece and I thought it was ugly (I just threw together mixed scrap from an old project), and that it took too long, so I contemplated doing something else for the projects other than mosaic.

Just from day one I have already learned so much.
1) That supplies and a space must be easily accessible to create without hesitation.
2) A plan would be good -- a plan for the piece that is -- at least a rough idea.
3) I am kind of stuck on rules.

The rule thing....
So, when trying to decide on what to commit to create once a day, I struggled.  I am totally into mosaic, and I think I am good at it, but they do take some time to create -- especially the way that I create them.  I look at them like a puzzle, and puzzles can take time. Mosaic might be too time consuming to create one a day, but it is my love right now.

I knew that creating one a day (small of course) would teach me much and give me opportunity to try new techniques without committing an entire piece to an unfamiliar technique. I also didn't want the act of creating a piece a day to interfere in my larger projects that I have planned.  If I create a mosaic a day, will that detract me from wanting to do my other projects....burn out?

I thought, I could do whales as a subject to do everyday.  I'm not much of a drawing artist, but I used to be pretty good at drawing whales.  I could do that, and maybe it would even be marketable later.

Then there was the idea that there were other things that I wanted to work on, like using the found objects that have taken over my craft/bedroom, trying assemblage, and other glass projects....should I just not narrow myself to mosaic everyday?

It was contemplating the other glass projects that would require the use of my saughtering iron that I realized that supplies and tools being readily available is crucial--if I have to dig it out and find a place to plug it in, it might not get done.  This is when I realized my first self imposed rule:  If you are going to bring out the iron, it has to be used on a large projects, or many projects all at once. So, to crush the first barrier, I need to find a place for my soldering iron to live and look decorative (or at least artsy) on my desk.

Okay, the rule!!!!!!!!!  I had to look up the definition of mosaic to see if I could sneak in some assemblage and the other glass projects into the mix.....could I stretch the definition of mosaic enough to include them?  Assemblage is somewhat a mosaic, huh?  If photographers could call a bunch of boxes containing pictures a mosaic, couldn't assembling a bunch of objects together be called mosaic? Or should I just say that I will create something visually artistic every day.

Well, that is when I realized that I am a little stuck on rules.  And (and I think I read this on 365-skulls too) that there are no rules when it comes to creating art.  Well, I guess an art instructor would argue that there are some rules, but anyway, here I go, arguing for rules again.

So, I decided to forget the rules, or at least to work on forgetting rules and to just create something (a mosaic) everyday for 365 days.

I also decided to blog about it because maybe this will keep me on track.

So, here we go!