Mosaics, still

We've been joined by a number of new people the past couple of weeks:  Tamsen and Jessica (who, unlike the rest of us biologists and scientists, have actual fine arts degrees; Jessica not in the photo).  And Manasi and Jess (not the original Jess C, of a few years ago), biologists with various degrees of artsy/crafty aspirations (Manasi paints, and Jess croches and knits).


We're continuing with mosaic tiles, some of us starting new pieces, some grouting pieces started a few weeks ago. 



Here are Manasi and Jess, with their first tiled pieces (to be grouted next time):

  

 

Jordan grouted his first piece (wearing a very flowery apron, which I wasn't quick enough to get a photo of), and started on a new piece.  I had originally assumed that his first piece was abstract, but he tells us it was meant to be a beetle coming out of, or going into, the water - and I can see that now.

 

 Jessica grouted her original piece (an 8x8" trivet):

.. and started on a very interesting new piece, which I'm interested to see finished.  Her plans for the squares she left open is to fill them with grout, and make imprinted designs into the wet grout before it dries. 

 

 Tamsen and I collaborated on a tiled project.  Tamsen's background is in furniture restoration, conservation and design, so I wanted us to work on something together that involved some sort of fabric or mosaic tile design (my job) and wood finishing (Tamsen's).  We settled on a wooden tray, covered in mosaic.  I painted a couple of tiles in bright colours and dark tree silhouettes (acrylics, varnished after they dried, so the colour wouldn't rub off while grouting).  Tamsen broke up these tiles and rearranged them to fit our wooden tray (the tray is actually the back side of a framed print picked up at a thrift store - I'll have to put handles on each end to make it into a functional tray).  

Here's the piece after it was grouted (we had to decide what colour grout to use, and settled on white, which gives the piece a much more striking effect than gray would have - and it's a much smarter choice than pink!).  I'll post more photos once the wood has been sanded and shellacked, and handles added.

Mosaics, continued

The mosaic tile theme is going to go on for a while, it looks like, as various people start and finish their projects.  Here are Ellen's two finished pieces (she'll be using them as hot-pots or trivets):

And I've finished 2 projects too, both meant to cover small tables.  Here's one with wonky uneven edges, which I mean to use under a potted plant.  For this, I started with a large 12"x12" tile, and broke off some of the corners, to achieve the asymmetrical look, then covered it with tile shards up to the edges (but not beyond).  Grouting these edges was challenging, but they look smooth and polished enough.

And the small table mosaic I started with a few weeks ago changed somewhat from my original design.  For one, the grouting I used turned out pink!  (what did I expect when I mixed in red and terra-cotta paints with the white sanded grout??  or rather, why did I expect it to turn out a dark brown??).

Mosaic Frenzy Again!

We're reviving our crafting get-togethers (but, we'll have to come up with a more interesting name for them than that!).  It's been years since more than 2 of us have met on a regular basis, and it's about time.  New-comers Jordan and Angela are joining us, to start with.  Ellen is back in town for a few weeks this summer, Cory was able to make time as well, and Katya joined us over Skype from Colorado.

And the theme for the next couple of meetings:  MOSAICS!

First night:  putting together the design, and gluing it to the backing.  I mistakenly assumed that my tile adhesive bought back in 2010 would still be good to work with, but it turns out that 4 years of  storage dries is out and makes it rubbery and unusable.  Luckily, I had some tacky glue on hand, and we used that instead.  It seems to have hardened well enough after a few hours.  We'll find out how well it holds next week when we grout each piece.


Below are the finished and glued (but not grouted) designs:

Jordan's piece is set on an 8x8" tile.  I loved his uneven edges, so decided to copy the idea and used them  in my own piece below (the top of a small table).  The tricky bit will be how to finish these visually interesting edges with the grouting...

Cory is making a mosaic stepping stone for her garden (on an actual slab of stone from her garden - ingenious!)

And Ellen is making an 6x6" trivet or hot-pot: