Various and Sundry

First off, I have a picture of the finished heart for the Diversity Mural. I finished the darn thing quite some time ago, and unfortunately it got buried under supplies for the current project, so I forgot to mail it! I was lucky in that the deadline for the project was moved back, so when I found it, I still had time to mail it in. Yay!

ICYMI the mural is a tribute to the victims of the Pulse Nightclub attack in Orlando, FL two years ago. I thought the shape of the tess in this heart made the sides look a bit like angel wings and that seemed appropriate.

In other news, the Moonlit Magnolia project is moving right along. I though it might be interesting to see how the tiles are cut to fit the lines (andamento) that define the shape of the sections. Some of the tiles are laid without cutting, but many are cut. This video shows how I determine how to fit and cut the tiles for laying in areas where a full tile won't fit.

Although I still haven't taken a photo of several sections fitted together as promised, I do have a section which is a complete petal to show you:

Jigsaw Puzzles

As anyone who has followed this blog for awhile knows, I suck at photography. That's just how it is. Yes, I could get better if I put my mind to it, but it's probably not gonna happen. So there.

As a result, the photos to accompany what I have to tell you today are less than stellar, but they are what I have.

I recently saw a forum post requesting help on an outdoor floor mosaic, and I chimed in to give what help I could. She was concerned about constructing her mosaic in sections, because she didn't want the seams to be evident. So I told her about how mine are designed to fit together like a jigsaw puzzle to eliminate obvious seams (except where design elements meet, like the edge of a leaf and the background).

I showed you this picture before, but this is one section of the background. The top edge is the outer limit of the mosaic, the left edge abuts a leaf, the lower parts abut flower petals, and the right, jagged edge will fit together with the next section of background. There are three sections of background until you run into another leaf. Why can't the background be done in a single section? This is sitting on a board approximately 2.5 ft. by 4 ft. Any larger, and it would be impossible to handle the section to install it.

Now here is the section that fits into the right side of the one above (it has been finished, but this is the only photo I have of it):

The left edge (yeah, the one that is partially out of frame!) will fit into the right side of the first one. By having the jagged edge, there won't be an obvious seam here.

By contrast, this is the leaf that the third section of background abuts, and it was small enough to do as a single section, so it has no jagged edges.

Puppy blur in the background!

And here is part of a flower petal - the lower, heavily shaded section of one. The sides and bottom abut other petals, but the top is jagged to fit into the upper section of the petal. (This photo is before it was finished)

I'll try to get a good photo of a few sections laid out as they will be installed for the next post.

Fun Facts...

I've spent an awful lot of time soaking porcelain tiles off of mesh sheets in the last few weeks. I had read many years ago that if you put some vinegar in the soaking water, it will make the tiles easier to remove, so I've been using hot water and adding cleaning vinegar (stronger than table vinegar). After the first few sheets my hands felt dry and itchy, and I didn't know whether that was from the vinegar or just the hot water, so I started wearing rubber gloves. Apparently, it was a good idea - check out how the vinegar has changed the color of the gloves....

However, I ran out of vinegar last week and guess what? Hot water alone does just as good a job. In fact, there seems to be less glue residue on the underside of the tiles.

One of the leaves is finished - I'm working in what probably seems like a random order, but some of the sections have to be fit together in a puzzle-like fashion, so if I work on one of them, it makes sense to go to the connecting bit next rather than necessarily in order. This is a part of a petal that is in shadow - I'll move on to the outer part of this petal next.

UPDATE: I was wrong. Hot water alone isn't working as well. If you let the tile sit long enough to really soak, the water cools off too much.  Use the vinegar.

Uh oh...

I have no new project pics that don't look an awful lot like the ones from the last post, so here's a gratuitous puppy pic.

Remy on her first hike

Rolling with the punches is not one of my strengths, but with every project there will be some kind of problem that needs to be overcome. That's something you just accept as an artist. However, when you end up with a problem that you experienced 7 years ago and forgot about...well, let's just say I'm not well pleased with myself.

As strange as it sounds, I have come to the conclusion that you just can't keep open bags of thinset too long. Even though I have always kept them sealed against humidity (so they weren't clumped), if they've been open too long, the thinset doesn't have the sticking power it has when it's fresh. Maybe there's another explanation for it, but I'm at a loss.

After completing two sections, I found that some of the tiles were popping off the edge when I tried to move the mesh section. Ugh. It only took me about two days to remember that a project I worked on in 2011 did the same thing, and when I bought a new bag of thinset - problem solved.

It kills me to waste about half a bag of thinset, but if it won't stick tight, it's useless. New bag in the studio and I would be off to the races, except that I'm waiting for the next shipment of tile. Should arrive any day, but until then...

Moonlit Magnolia Begins to Take Shape

So here is the actual size cartoon for the mosaic installation. It is 16' in diameter, and the only place I could lay the whole thing out was in the driveway. I had it printed at actual size in pieces at Henco Graphics, then taped it together. As you can see, I started to cut out the circle and decided that was dumb! No reason to do that until I had it divided up into sections.

Here is the schematic of the different sections. The center square is for a storm drain. There are 43 sections, although a couple of them are large enough that they might have to be subdivided later.

The sections cut:

I'm using Winckleman's unglazed porcelain tile for this project. It is non-porous and weatherproof. It comes on square foot mesh sheets, and has to be soaked off...

and most of it cut into smaller pieces. I know this seems nuts since it's such a large project, but I want it to resemble a Roman floor mosaic, which would have been made of pieces about this size. Although it's tedious work, it's not hard with a compound tile nipper, and you can do it while listening to podcasts, working out logistics of other parts of the project, or planning dinner (ok, yeah, I'm probably thinking about what I will eat next and how soon can I eat it).

Remy trying to help:

Section one completed. This section (and all the other background sections) are full sized tiles.

My Biggest Project Yet!

Summer always seems to be a busy time. I am always caught off guard, because I expect it to be a time when things slow down and people relax a bit. It seems like it used to be that way; now we've forgotten how to relax. But I could write a whole blog post on that subject...

There hasn't been much to talk about from the studio lately, because I have been working hard trying to get my ducks in a row on a huge project. I have been commissioned to create an outdoor floor mosaic for a community in Cary, NC, near Raleigh.

The logo for the community is a white magnolia, so I will be constructing a 16' diameter white magnolia blossom for installation in the fall!

I'll be posting some progress pics (without giving away too much) and talking about the whys and wherefores of some of the process.

And if you are in the Raleigh, NC area and are interested in helping with installation, I will be looking to hire a couple of people (must have some experience with mosaic). Tentatively scheduled for the first week of September. Message me if you're available and interested!

Also, check out my new website for prints and greeting cards!

Public art, new and old

I spent some time this morning trying to organize art photos. It really shouldn't be such a difficult thing, but because the transition to my current computer (admittedly, that was about 2 years ago) didn't go smoothly, the photos are in disarray to say the least. I found that some seemed to have gone AWOL as well, although in a very random way.

In particular, I found that I had very few pictures of the public art projects I had participated in. I spent about 45 minutes scouring Google photos, Facebook and this blog to collect images to store on my computer. Since I have just started another public art project, this is a good time to look back at the previous ones, and look forward to more.

First, the current project. Jennifer Kuhns has designed and organized a mosaic mural in memory of the victims of the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, FL on June 12, 2016. This mural will consist of hearts in the colors of the rainbow made by professional mosaic artists from around the world, and the target date for installation is June of this year, hopefully near the second anniversary of the shooting.

I wanted a recognizable heart, but not one that was just a boring regular shape, since each artist is instructed to work in only one color. I have a sheet of stained glass that is g. o. r. g. e. o. u. s. The yellow is fairly light, and slightly peachy in places, but one side is heavily textured. In cutting it for this piece it sort of reminded me of feathers, and in placing them as I did, I began to think it looked a little like angel wings. (I know - that is SOO not me to say that). It probably won't when it's finished, but it seemed like an appropriate thing for a memorial.

Jennifer has also started a GoFundMe campaign to help cover the costs of installation. Please take a moment to view the GoFundMe campaign and contribute if you can. Even if not, please share it on social media to help spread the word!

The Pulaski Polka Dot Project

The previous public project was a project to adorn the front of Wits End Mosaic Supply in Pulaski, Wisconsin. The was a drab little brick building until the mosaic artists got hold of it - check out the before and after! 

My contribution is near the lower right corner of the window on the right. Here it is before installation:

The Pulaski Polka Dot project was accepted into the Society of American Mosaic Artists annual exhibition, which coincides with the conference, currently going on in Boston. It's a very big honor to be part of a project accepted into this exhibition.

Unfurled

Lin Schorr designed this mural to adorn the blank side of Ciel Gallery in Charlotte, NC. At 13 feet long and 8 feet tall, it is a really show stopper. Fifty some artists participated, my piece being the pink and yellow petal on the far left. This photo is from the ribbon cutting - you can see it flapping in the breeze!

A close up on the section with my contribution. I was inspired by the striped tulips that made Holland famous (and later bankrupt!)

Unfurled was also accepted into a previous Society of American Mosaic Artists exhibition.

Unfurled goes to Houston! (figuratively)

This social media thing is apparently too hard for me.
I try not to simply post exactly the same thing on every social media channel I have set up (here, Facebook, Twitter, Google+ ,  website) because I expect that there is a lot of cross over. Maybe I’m wrong, but at any rate, I try to mix it up a bit.
As it happens, that results in my sometimes forgetting to post about something on one channel, and sometimes it’s a big omission. Like this one!
Back in May, I posted about participating in Unfurled, a public mosaic mural in Charlotte, NC. I never mentioned it here again! Oops!
I finished my section of it last summer, and the whole thing was assembled and installed by a big list of amazing artists, and on January 18 there was a ribbon cutting and dedication of the finished mural. Here’s the super-slick publicity photo of the whole thing:

Design by Lin Schorr Mixed Media Mosaics, Project coordination by Pam Goode, Photography by Ashley Hayward

That’s my pink and yellow petal on the far left. This thing is huge – I think the dimensions are 8’ X 13’ if I remember correctly. You can see more photos of the ribbon cutting ceremony and the crazy artists involved on my Facebook page here.
And today, I got a notification that the lovely ladies in charge of this project had submitted Unfurled to the Mosaic Arts International exhibit (at the SAMA conference in Houston in April).
AND IT WAS ACCEPTED!!!
This is just the coolest thing ever for me! I have never submitted anything to this annual exhibit. I am SO NOT A GAMBLER, and to me, spending the money on the entry fee would seem like betting on an old nag to place in the Kentucky Derby.
But now I feel like I snuck in the back door when no one was looking! Whahoo!
~*~*~ happy dance ~*~*~

Technorati Tags: Unfurled,mural,mosaic,MAI 2014,Mosaic Arts International,SAMA,Society of American Mosaic Artists

Unfurled mosaic mural beginnings

I mentioned on my Faceboook page the mosaic mural I’m participating in – Unfurled designed by Lin Schorr Mixed Media Mosaics – and I see that I never mentioned it here!  Huh.  I have tried so hard to pull myself together and get more organized about sharing information, but I have reverted to my scatterbrained ways. 
Anyway, here is the design Lin came up with, which is being divvied up among something like 50 artists.  The completed design will be 8’ tall by 13’ wide.

Currently, artists (myself included) are working on the section on the left.  I am assigned the flower petal on the far left.  The color scheme for the petals is to be pink/tangerine/yellow. 
Searching for inspiration, I kept coming back to look at the images I have collected over the years of the tulips, from centuries past and modern day, that have very pronounced striping.  I have been fascinated with the tulips that caused a major financial panic in Europe in the 1600s – as much for the bizarre behavior they inspired as for the flowers themselves.  Tulips were introduced to Europe in the century before, but in Holland an industry developed around their cultivation which produced a bubble like the dot com bubble or the housing bubble, although on an even more ridiculous scale!   


At the height of the mania, the Viceroy tulip at right apparently sold for 3,000 – 4,500 guilders.  A skilled craftsman, by contrast, only earned 300 guilders per year.   

I love these stripes,  but I was concerned about being too literal with the design.  In part because Lin has come up with an overall design that looks to me very Jacobean (click here to see some examples from the web), although the project information says it is Art-Nouveau inspired.  I can see that influence too.  Both are very stylized botanicals with lots of curves.  I wanted to be sure to incorporate lots of curviness because of that (and because I want to, dammit).  So here is the beginning of the petal:

And because of my fear of commitment, I have only very lightly sketched in a guide with pencil.  Many of the artists have added bold black marker guidelines to follow, but what if I change my mind?!?!?!  I tend to find that I like the finished piece better when it evolves organically anyway, so I’ll just let it flow and see what we end up with.
I plan to do the pinks first, then fill in with the yellow and oranges, but I couldn’t resist popping some in just to get a feel for how it would look.

Technorati Tags: Unfurled,mosaic mural,Lin Schorr Mixed Media Mosaics,petal,tulips,tulip mania,Art Nouveau,Jacobean

Well, sh%&. Now what?

Poor planning.  It’s what I do best.  Some folks are excellent cooks, some are great doctors, some are awesome singers.  I am unparalleled at flying by the seat of my pants.
And most of the time, to be honest, it trips me up somewhere along the line.  And here we are.
I was so excited when I wrote my last blog post, remember?  Things were going even better than I had hoped – the flower centers looked exactly as I wanted them to.  I loved the way they sat up above the surface of the petals.  Well everything was rainbows and lollipops until now:



I can’t have the center of the flower behind that petal sticking up higher than the petal.  Check out the other photo again, you’ll see what I mean. 

Can I cut the glass rods as short as the smalti on the petal that overlaps?  If I do can I set them in there neatly?  I don’t know……..
My other option would be to either omit that flower, or redraw it in a different spot.  This decision is going to require a glass of wine.  Or two.  Possibly three.
At any rate, tomorrow is the last day I’ll work on it for awhile anyway.  I need to get crackin’ on the flower petal I was assigned for the mosaic mural designed by Lin Schorr – Unfurled.  That project has a deadline, and this one doesn’t.  I would like to finish that last flower (or not, if I decide to omit it) and add the flower centers to the remaining ones before I shelve it.  Here’s where I am so far:

Above and to the right of the center flower is a seedhead that will also have the black glass rod center.
UPDATE: It only took 1/2 a glass of wine (damn!) to make the determination – flower has been erased and will be redrawn just slightly further away. 

Callusa Butterfly

Here’s the butterfly I made for Eve Lynch and her project at the Callusa Nature Center in Ft. Myers, FL:

Forty-some artists are sending her butterflies for an outdoor mural – she will cut them out and attach them to the wall, then grout them all. 
I told you I’d finish in time, Eve! 
I got a little funky with the colors – wish I’d planned that a little better.  But I decided to use all stained glass because I wanted it all flat (ok, I lied, I used unglazed porcelain for the body, but it’s the same level as the stained glass).  But that meant that  a) I had to use what I already had [because I was running behind and didn’t have time to order more], and  b) that I was only going to use stained glass that had been previously cut into manageable strips [because I’m lazy]. 
And now I have nothing in the queue!  It’s been a REALLY long time since that happened.  That’s a little frightening, actually.  I get squirrelly when this happens because since none of the ideas in my head have been given a priority yet, they all want out AT THE SAME TIME.  I don’t know what to do with that!
A nicely chilled glass of Pinot Grigio will probably help, though.

Technorati Tags: Callusa Nature Center,Eve Lynch,butterfly,what's next?

Grout, schmout

When I was growing up, my mother used to tell me to be sure to get the house cleaned up and all your projects finished before going on vacation “…because you don’t want to have to come back to that.”
You know what?  The old bat might have been on to something.
I had finished gluing all the tesserae on my super secret project, and had a few days before leaving on vacation when I  could have grouted it.  I was so tired of looking at it (as always happens) that I just couldn’t make myself do it.
Well.  I really wish I had. 
I returned to work on Tuesday and spent the day catching up on emails and various projects.  But yesterday, I started grouting at 10:30 in the morning.  And kept at it with only a 1/2 hour break for lunch, until 5.  And started back at it this morning at 11, finishing around 4.
Now I know you’re thinking I must really suck at this if it takes that long, but the problem is that I have used so many different shades of grout (10, to be exact) and the color changes happen in such small sections……well, let’s just say it was………frustrating.
So tomorrow I will add a little thinned acrylic paint to help with the shading in a couple of areas and give it the final spit and polish.  Then I’ll show you what has kept me so quiet these last few months.
And then I can finish the butterfly I promised Eve Lynch (which is half done – I promise I’ll finish on time, Eve!).

Technorati Tags: grout,super secret project,Gratitude,mosaic,butterfly,Callusa Nature Center

New blog post–another way of avoiding what I should be doing.

I’m SO close to finishing my current project I can hardly stand it!  I get so anxious to finish when I get close – and for some reason that translates into flitting around doing everything BUT finishing it.  I can’t explain it.  Anyway, as soon as it is done I’ll post a picture of the finished piece. 
I am going to shift to a change of pace after that.  I have done a couple of big pieces in a row, and next I’m going to do a few small ones.  I have promised Eve Lynch a butterfly for the Callusa Nature Center in Ft. Myers, FL.  She is coordinating a public project to be installed outdoors there. 
Then I’m going to give mosaic pendants a shot.  I haven’t really been to interested in doing mosaic jewelry before, but I’m looking for something that won’t take too long, and might sell in this market (small town) and economy (sucky).  I don’t care for millefiori at all, so I will mix some glass bits with gemstone chips that I found at a bead supply house.  We’ll see how those turn out.
Also, I decided to try to mosaic some tennis balls.  I think I’m going to regret this.  I should have wrapped them in Rigid Wrap first, because thinset DOES NOT want to stick to the furry outsides.  Look what a lumpy mess they ended up!  I’ll have to give them another coat, but I think it would have been a lot easier to just start with Rigid Wrap.  Live and learn.

Technorati Tags: tennis balls,Callusa Nature Center,butterfly,mosaic pendant,mosaic jewelry

Butterflies are Free (but a dragonfly is gonna cost ya)

Eve Lynch is organizing a public installation that I have volunteered to participate in.  She’s looking for butterflies, 8” wide or smaller to be installed in an outdoor location in Florida. 
And lest you think fluffy, silly, rainbows and lollipops, take a look at the one she herself has started:

Copyright Eve Lynch 2011

This just opens up all kinds of possibilities, doesn’t it?  <*evil grin*>

Technorati Tags: butterflies,mosaic,Eve Lynch,public art