Nature

6.5" x 6.5" on a thin piece of wood. This was an experiment with layering; first I covered the entire piece with art glass. Then I added layers of glass, broken plate tiles, vintage jewelry, and beads. 

I am working on a large round wall hanging based on the "Wonderful World" series that is my most favorite thing to do (besides "Outer Space"). The frame pictured below is an example of "Wonderful World." On my new project, I started in the center with white and pale blue, and the rim, which is all thick, dark, specialty drapery glass. In between the light "sky" center and the dark "earth" outer rim will be a beautiful mix of pinks, oranges, greens, browns and purples with a touch here of mirror.  Excited! 

"Texas Flood" mosaic guitar

The top (the mosaic part) is done.  Next I will paint the sides and back with a black/white pattern.

Darcy's 2nd Guitar, Done

Just finished a batch of Garden Stones.

and just sold my Round Space Mosaic:  

Out of This World - Framed

Aaron Brothers on Brodie Lane in Austin did a wonderful job framing these.  I'm so pleased.  Thank you, Justin at Aaron Brothers!

18" x 24" Mars Outer Space Mosaic

18" x 24" Black Hole Space Mosaic

 24" x 48" Cow Jumped Over the Moon
Stained Glass Mosaic

Installed side by side they are 7 feet wide.  

Dave Mason (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, founder of the rock band Traffic)
outside South Austin Music store, 2013

Second Dragonfly Done

facing the light

with light behind it

About these GOG mosaics, it's difficult to choose which view is best.  In a window, the translucent stained glass is beautiful, but you lose some details.  For example, the dragonfly body is a long jewelry piece of emeralds.  With the light coming from in front, you can see it, but with the light behind it, you can't.  So it's a tradeoff.

I'm working on a new mirror called It's Hip to Be Square (inspired by one of my favorite energetic entertainers, Huey Lewis and the News).  It's square with a nice wide frame and the mosaic will be a collection of 12 years of square jewelry, mostly earrings, supplemented by mini and 3/4" tiles.  All color mix, only theme is Square.  I've been hoarding squares for all these years and I'm letting go of them all at once.  Next to go, my hoard of shells.  I've a beautiful mahogany cigar box, covered in shells, with an antique rectangle tile featuring a shell as a focal point.  

Space Round

Stained glass, dichroic glass, crystals, pearls, rhinestones, vintage jewelry, 2 feet in diameter, wall hanging on wood, click on image for a larger view . . . 

Ready for the next project

Just got back from Blue Moon Glassworks with the black and white glass. I took some time to look around Jim's and Rose's shop and was so happy to discover that they have added MAC glue to their inventory and Wedi board (!) (my favorite glue and my favorite substrate). They carry everything a mosaic artist would need. I bought 2 firesticks to use as strings for the next mosaic guitar. I plan to spend this weekend cleaning and organizing; getting ready for Thanksgiving and the upcoming mosaic project. The granddaughters are out of school for a week (yay!) and we will be gearing up for the Thanksgiving meal. The sign is coming on Tuesday and I will be multi-tasking (baking pumpkin pies and homemade rolls and nipping stained glass).

Space Mosaic WIP - ready to grout

Click on the image to enlarge.

Ready to grout with black grout - then metallic paint and some touches of GLow In The DarK paint! Seven feet long, two feet high. I am happy with it. Earth - Saturn - Mars - Black Hole! Sorry for the glare on the bottom third.

Ready to put the space mosaic together

I spent yesterday preparing the substrates. I am using three gallery-wrapped canvases; the center one is 24" x 48", and there will be one on each side measuring 18" x 24", so this will be a horizontal installation measuring 7 feet long and 2 feet wide. I flipped the canvas over so the back is now what I call the front. I glued pieces of 1/4" birch plywood to the front of each canvas, using Liquid Nails, and then placed wood screws at each corner. I clamped it all together and left it overnight. Remember, I already have the mosaic done on mesh! so it should go quickly.

Space mosaic work in progress

Here are pieces I've finished so far, little vignettes that will be used as filler around the planets and the large comets. (Click on the picture to enlarge, and then click again to enlarge further.)

These are done on mesh (netting), the largest ones being approximately 12 inches by 12 inches. This technique will save me hours of work; it's a simple matter to glue the mesh piece to the cow and the piece will conform to the cow's curves. I order this mesh from Wit's End Mosaics and apply the tess to the mesh with MAC glue. I wrote a how-to article about this method: http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-mosaic-on-mesh