A friend had old pottery shards and rock pieces in a box that he gave to me to create a mosaic. Since I was taking an online mosaic sculpture class, I decided to apply some of what I was learning to this project. I decided to make a 3-D wall hanging that looked like an old Native American pot, using the variety of pieces he gave me. My goal was to use ALL of the pieces!

Roll your mouse over each image to read what is happening.

The foundational shape is what takes the most time, but it was fun working with new tools and products (the hot knife, spray adhesive for styro, Apoxie Sculpt and Clayshay).

Here's where I made the new edge for the pot and created a pot shape with Clayshay.

Finally the fun part - attaching all the tesserae!

Now the background...

Finishing touches...

I used every bit of pottery except a shard that I used for testing finishes. I used most of the random stones. I could have used all of them, but it would have been overkill.

As to the name of the piece "Olla de Historia" means Pot of History. The shards are from random places, mostly in the Southwest, and each has its own history.

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.

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.

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

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

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)!

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 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."