Mosaics Blog "How-To" by Andrea Edmundson-Blog

Jerry the Snake (plant stand)

11/20/2019

Jerry the Snake (plant stand), finished.

A long-nosed snake in Arizona, Jerry's role model.

STEPS TO JERRY
Just hover over each image and click to see what was being done. I had to build the snake to fit the plant stand and then I created the 'scales' on mesh instead of applying each one directly to the substrate. He liked to roll and curl a lot (dang snake) so it took awhile to finish the scales.

JERRY STARTS TO TAKE FORM
I applied the mesh 'scales' to the snake substrate (top first; then bottom) and then grouted. Notice what a dramatic difference the grout makes. His eyes are actually buttons.

FINAL STEPS
Attaching Jerry was the toughest part because I FORGOT to drill bolt holes in him before I tiled and grouted. Sorry Jerry! I had to pop off a few tiles to drill and place bolts.

LASTLY
I mosaicked the plant holder, stained the wooden areas with teak oil, and reattached it to the stand. I sealed the grout so everything is ready for the outdoors.

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How to Mosaic a Small Gourd

7/24/2019

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Primed gourd pieces with KILZ. Did not attach house to roof yet, but drilled holes for hanging.

Painted bottom. Attached millefiori. Applied thinset.

Rolled bottom of gourd with thinset in green glass bits.

Working side ways, slowly, used thinset to apply small tiles.

Continued adding small tiles and medallion by embedding directly into thinset.

Checking to see if there are enough pieces!

Attached medallion in back with thinset as well.

Attached white glass on sides with thinset, using toothpicks as spacers. Have to wait for each row to dry before moving to next...argh. Grouted the next day.

Adhered red glass for roof. Protected medallions and small tiles with tape.

Grouted the roof.

Side view.

Front view with plant painted inside.

Back.

Lizard moves in.

Not shown: Small green leaf loop at top for hanging the gourd. Also, repained that green area under the roof to beige to match the grout.

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How to Safely Break Pottery for Mosaics

7/1/2019

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A Flowering Future

5/2/2019

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This was a piece commissioned by Cox Communications here in Tucson for Earth Day 2019.

Box #1 of potential materials!

Box #2 of potential materials.

Remote controls I popped open with my vice - fun!

Laying out my options to stimulate ideas.

Exploring potential layouts, once I decided on the 'flowers in pots' theme.

Sketched layout on substrate so I could drill holes for attaching heavy pieces and to determine where I would place mosaic glass around the flower pots (aka remote controls).

Starting to place mosaic glass around 3D objects.

Attached stained glass to backs of remotes so you could see color through them.

Laid the first row of glass - the 'ground' the flower pots are sitting on. Nothing is attached yet, just positioned for review.

Starting second row of stained glass to create contrast for the flower pots.

Almost done placing glass for leaves and sky. Again, other items are still not attached, just set in place for spacing. (Blue tape is holding stained glass on back of remote until adhesive dries.)

Backs of remotes were convex so I painted the substrate the same color as the grout I would be using so all would blend well.

Had to paint the back BEFORE all work was completed. Imagine trying to flip it over, otherwise! Here you can see the wires I used to help attach the heavier tools (along with adhesives).

Once the back was completed, I finished the front by adhering all remotes, tools, and things I cannot even name!

Attached smaller items at the end, like circuit boards and other doohickies (LOL, I'm sure Cox people know what these all are). Used CAT 5 cables for blue and yellow flowers. Painted remotes with spray paint and painted cables with acrylic (the only paint that will stick to rubber).

Almost done...had to use an epoxy adhesive to attach metal edges. Unfortunately, modern technology sometimes requires toxic materials.

The Final Product

Happy Earth Day! This project made me smile. Remember, we are constantly getting better at reusing materials, reducing waste, and repurposing or upcycling materials...A "Flowering Future" in my opinion.

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Some Experimenting

4/12/2019

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I had a pattern in mind and laid out the tentative locations of key bling.

I then marked where the chains and other boundaries were going to be placed.

I used a cake decorating icing bag - it takes a lot of oomph but I like the lines it made.

Here's a close-up of the 'iced' lines.

I iced all lines then filled in the boxes one by one.

This was the second-to-last box and I liked the gray color of Wedi board for background so I decided to use light gray thin set.

In my very last box, I made thin-set flowers with the icing bag. I see more experimentation in my future!

The 'almost' final product. I built this in the frame so I have some touch-ups and cleaning to do, but the hard stuff is done.

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Mid-Century Mod Hippy Bird House

2/26/2019

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The mosaic bird house is mounted outdoors. Thanks to my hubby Victor for the perfect post mount.

A view of the post mount from the bottom. Cool, eh?

Finished, front view.

Finished, back view.

Unless I sell the bird house, I'll be mounting it in my back yard on a metal perch off the patio.

Construction!

I wanted to build something useful while I was learning to use all my tools. The project let me use all the features of my new band saw (stART grant). However, I also used a jig saw, the versacut saw, and my drill, plus wood glue, nails, screws, and hinges. Thanks, Pam, for helping me learn to use all the tools (safely)!

Used many tools to create the bird house, especially my new Wen band saw.

Painted wood with primer, added red metal grid.

The mosaic tiles were placed but not adhered.

Glued (with thin set) mosaic tiles on front first.

The Final Touches

As usual, I used plenty of re-purposed materials to complete the project. My friend NJ gave me the brass letters; the roof 'tiles' were metal samples used by a sales rep.

I sealed the grout.

Grout sealer with a brush tip!

This is a hinged back door so I can clean the house.

I used metal samples with caulking to create the tiled roof.

I printed the bird images but covered them with textured plexiglass samples.

All of the tiles in this project were leftovers from another artist, including the smalti glass I used for the patio and the fused glass star next to the bird house door.

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Holiday Tree Mosaic

12/3/2018

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Final holiday tree with all bling added!

Plain MDF substrate, cut with my new band saw!

Substrate primed on both sides and edges with KILZ.

Had lots of green glass shards and pearls so those work perfectly for a tree.

Just laid out all the broken pieces so I could build the mosaic like a jigsaw puzzle.

Sorted the pearls to find the best quality (painted ones get ruined and also absorb grout).

Started by laying out the garland.

Marked the garland locations with a pen and then glued them onto the substrate.

Started placing the glass tesserae.

Once I had most pieces in place, I started gluing.

I added beads and millefiori in some grout spaces, too.

Protected the bling in the grout lines with masking tape.

Decided to use the last of dark green grout instead of coloring it myself with acrylic paint.

Final grouted version without additional surface bling.

Final holiday tree. I love the drama the dark green grout added to the piece.

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stART Grant Recipient

12/2/2018

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I recently received a stART Grant from the Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona, funded by the City of Tucson and Pima County. Part of my grant was applied towards a band saw. I started learning how to use it today, making holiday tree substrates for my December mosaics class, "Using Found and Personal Items."

The new band saw.

Me, learning the basics.

First cuts - nice and simple.

Basic holiday tree substrate for my class, Mosaics 1 - Using Found and Personal Items.

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Birth of a Tapestry Mosaic

7/16/2018

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Laying out the bling. Always take a picture on your cell phone before starting. You can change your mind, but at least you have the main layout!

Starting with colored thin set. I used powdered colorant and I had to wait for moisture to really get into the thin set.

What, you ask, was my inspiration for this one? First, I had a lot of silver and dark bronze or black bling. I had a lot of flower-like pieces, as well as tear drop shapes. The challenge was that I had square and oblong tesserae (very non-organic looking) and just as much round (more organic) bling.

So, I decided I needed to have sky, rain, clouds, and then flowers and a garden. But what about all of that rectangular bling? Ah, a building! Then I remembered from MANY years ago my visit to Central Park in New York. What was next to the park? Awesome art-deco style buildings! Thus was born, "Spring Rain, West Central Park"...a bit cool and a bit warm, all at the same time.