Elemental Swan

A mosaic that I will forever associate with my stubborness and refusal to quit. It got really hard to just sit down and finish this one, so it took far longer than it ought to have done. I'm not sure why this was the case - I've done more complicated mosaics. Yet again I'm glad I ignored the little voice in the back of my mind that would have had me quit. It is 9x18 inches, and is made from stained glass and vitreous glass tile on board.

Once more bulbs and screens arrive I'm going to try burning a gocco screen of this - I have a feeling it'll work pretty well, fingers crossed!

Gocco

A new toy arrived :) I've done a couple of screens now, and I have really enjoyed doing it. The first one was taken from an image of my Maneki Neko mosaic, and is cute, if a little messy. Not too bad for a first go.

The second print is better. I used my Reflecting on the Divine mosaic for that one, and I think it looks lovely. I am already out of screens for paper though, and have used up more than half of the provided black ink. Luckily I ordered some more a couple of days ago, in preparation. :)

I love the fact that the image has gone from being a photograph I took, to a mosaic I made, to a print I stamped.

Usagi Yojimbo (c) Stan Sakai

I got Usagi back from the framers today - I did this one as a test of technique, and because I love the character so much. Usagi is a creation of Stan Sakai, who has a comic book series packed with the adventures of the samurai rabbit :) I really recommend his work.

It was a tricky mosaic to do, in the end - a lot of careful consideration of the flow of tiles. The stained glass background was a real mess when it came to moving the whole thing - they kept falling off the mesh. What I might do next time is grout the main motif to the board, and then fill in the background directly onto the board.

The photograph isn't the best, as the camera died after I got a single shot - need to find that battery charger. The colours aren't quite right - ie the ears are two shades of white - bright white on the upright bits, off white for the floppy bits.

I am pleased with the end result :)

I did this one at the beginning of the year. Two monks walking - the inspiration came from a photo I took when I was in Laos a couple of years ago. One of the things that I am discovering about myself is that I prefer figurative work. This comes as a surprise, because I've always been drawn to more abstract images, yet I get more satisfaction from making something feel alive, even though it is made from glass.

I went to Edinburgh at the weekend (and will be going again this weekend :) lucky me) I got some nice shots that might translate well to mosaic. I would particularly love to do something with the chap holding a daffodil - he was part of a protest by the group Anonymous, who were campaigning on the 12th April against Scientology.

Reflecting on the Divine

30cmx30cm. It shows a little statue, arms raised in prayer, eyes closed in reflection. When I started this one I was doubtful about whether it would work, I was fussy, and picked pieces off here and there. Being as stubborn as I am though, I carried on and eventually reached that sweet spot where I knew everything was going to be ok. At that point it becomes more of a physical battle to get to the end, in contrast with the earlier intellectual struggles . I'm glad I did it though.

The inspiration for this one comes from Japan (again!) - wandering around the older parts of Tokyo revealed a wealth of temples and small shrines. Such statues were tucked away in little corners, if you were willing to look. To me, this mosaic, while depicting Eastern spirituality, calls to mind Western religious art. Fitting I suppose, that I was making it with a degree of reverence that I don't normally have...

I used Italian glass tiles and stained glass, on board, with a strip of copper around the edge. The stained glass strips at the side are there to suggest a triptych.

Neko, framed, and a little musing.

I have the mosaic back from the framers and I am really pleased with how it came out. I went for the bold option of a red mount board with black metal frame, and it all blends nicely together, especially with the strip of copper that I wrapped around the raw edges of the mosaic.

I would be loathe to see the back of this one, I think it has a certain charm. It's an interesting point to get to - to want people to see what I have done, something that has taken me over five years to reach. I guess it has a lot to do with an emerging confidence, a beginning recognition that effort can pay off with results. There are a lot of great names out there, tremendous mosaic artists - is it really too presumptuous to want to join their ranks one day? I am still a long way off, another five or ten years of work at least, but I think I can aim for that - I don't think it would be worthy of the effort if I aimed for less.

Latest Mosaic

I just finished grouting my latest. It is a Maneki Neko - otherwise known as a lucky cat. He is modelled after one I saw in Japan a year ago. I changed some of the details - the colour of the kimono mainly. The original was a wishy washy colour, and this needed vibrancy - I love strong colour. The eyes were made by adding a little bit of silver dichroic glass to some black glass, and then fusing it in my kiln. A wide mount board will be the next component to sort out, and then a frame. This one took me about 5 hours to make, over a couple of days - he is only 6"x7", but when you are working with little pieces like that it takes a lot of effort to get them where you want them. Even a small change here and there will have a big effect on the final picture. Being a perfectionist I also tend to prise pieces off and start again if I am not happy with how it is going.

I like the soulful look it has.

What I would have liked to have known from the start.

I had a moment of clarity a while back. I realized that making a mosaic isn't about filling the space - it is about using the space. If I was just filling the space it wouldn't matter how I put the tiles down, the shape of the tile or the orientation. I'd just slap something down and move on to the next tile in the pile. One of the things that it took me time and a number of mosaics to learn is that of course these things matter. The tiles can suggest movement, and structure, and emotion, if the time is taken to ensure that the right tile for the space is chosen / created. Looking at the peddlers hat, taken from my Barrow Boy, Hanoi mosaic, the tiles were placed to suggest the downward flow of the typical Vietnamese head covering - I could have filled that space a lot more quickly with some random triangles, but it wouldn't have looked the same. It wouldn't have felt the same.

I fell in love with glass.

My first time was in a cheap bead shop in Leeds. I had done some weaving and made a bag, but it needed something extra. I went looking through the Market and came out with a bagful of brightly coloured glass beads. Guided by instinct, I hadn't chosen a single wood or plastic bead. All were glass.

I ended up staring at the beads and wanting more. It was the colours that interested me most - the rich vibrant possibilities you get with light and transparency. And I still remember my first bead - a mustard coloured tube about a centimetre long.

I sold some jewellery and went straight back to buy more beads.

Some years later, I had the same experience with mosaic tiles. I was working with ceramic tiles and getting frustrated by the lack of vibrant shades, so I decided to use glass for the first time. I invested in a Leponitt wheeled cutter and some glass tiles. It was like stepping into another world. The cutter sliced through the tiles cleanly, and the glass broke where I wanted it to. I keep promising I'll go back to my unused ceramic pieces one day, and perhaps I will - if the world ever runs out of glass.

Not so long ago I got a kiln, and some art glass. I've found that I am drawn to things where I can make a transformation - I used to have a darkroom and loved the magic of seeing a picture appear on the submerged paper. I have taken lye, and fat, and made soap. Melting glass satisfies my need to transform.

It has only been recently that I have started to understand what I want from my craft, and why I do it. I want to paint with glass. I want to take emotion and express it though tesserae, and I want to record the process as I go along. I want to get better.