Meet Nerissa the Mermaid!

Nerissa the Mermaid is done!Nerissa means "of the sea." I have renamed her since Sandy just does not fit her anymore.  It was like that when my daughter was born. I had a name all picked out for her: Stacia Marie, but then I looked at her, and it did not fit her. It took me three days to pick her name: Christi Lynne.

I will be creating a jelly fish mosaic next. I have already completed the drawing, and it will be glass on glass in a jeweled picture frame that I love. I am setting a 2-week time frame to complete it in.

 I have a few small mosaics that I need to make for friends, and then I will be tackling a large mosaic that I have been wanting to create for years. It is an intimidating piece of abstract art. It's time. A lot of energy and emotion will be expressed in the piece.

Silvery Owl Mosaic

I started the owl mosaic just before the mermaid mosaic, and like the mermaid mosaic; I became frozen and unable to finish the owl mosaic. Something happened when I created the Pansy which made me believe in myself. I looked at the owl mosaic and knew how I wanted to complete it.

I know I said "Sandy" was next, but inspiration is a fickle mistress, and following her lead is working for me. I am hoping that the next mosaic I show you is "Sandy". Can I say for sure? Almost.

Forth & Final Day of the Pansy Mosaic!

Here is little Pansy all dressed up and ready to go to the art auction, and hopefully to a new home where she will be adored. The pansy and yellow glass are grouted in a soft yellow grout color that I created with just a hint of yellow grout glitter. The rest is grouted in snow white grout. The frame looks like a soft grey pearl necklace with a jewel clasp. My Pansy is all dressed up for a night out on the town!

I know what you are thinking... in four days from now I will be posting the finished mermaid...No. But I will be attacking the glass and finishing her tail. That has got to be good enough for now. And yes I will be posting where I am at with Sandy the Mermaid next Saturday. I am back in the mosaic saddle. Yippee Ki- Yay!

Third Day of Pansy/Crazy Making

This is the day that separates the truly committed from the procrastinators of the world. Okay, so if I had not told everyone I know that I was going to do this mosaic for the auction I would have gladly put on my procrastinator hat which fits so well, since I have hardly touched my poor abandoned mermaid mosaic for months now.

 Let us get back to Pansy. Cutting and grinding glass to fit several unusual spaces is time consuming and difficult work  Glass on glass is tricky because if you slightly touch a piece of glass you just set in place it can move easily out of place. The glue is tricky to work with because it dries out quickly. So, I cut pieces and place them all around the mosaic, then I squeeze out some glue, butter the glass and place it, move onto the next, and finally give them 20 min. or more to set up, then start again. And when it is all done I feel really good. I lovingly hold my little mosaic, and am so proud of my little pansy that I forget how painful that last bit was.

I know to some of you reading this that you might think that it sounds a bit like child birth... I gave birth to two beautiful babies and that is the ultimate in artistic creation; nothing can compare. And do not even get me started on the pain...as I said nothing compares to it.

All that is left is the grouting after it sets up for a day. 

Second Day of Pansy Mosaic

Working with yellow stained glass with sunlight flowing into my workspace is very uplifting. Thank goodness! Because creating this perfect little cloud of yellow around this pansy is crazy-making. Why does everything that looks like it should be easy make my eyes want to cross? But the good news is: it is done!

Now I choose the background: a milky white stained glass with light and dark purple swirls running through it. I quickly put in the pieces that fit without any adjustments. Fun! And the second day is done.

My new mosaic: Pansy!

I have been asked to participate in a charity art auction to aide literacy in this area. I was invited on Wednesday, March 5th, but I was unable to start the drawing and create my template until Friday, March 7th. Saturday morning ( March 8th) I started the mosaic!

I created a pansy in the center of the picture frame. This is a glass on glass mosaic. I love this frame, but since it is so ornate I felt I wanted to keep the mosaic softly understated.There is a yellow Swarovski crystal in the center of the pansy. with dark purple, lavender, and dark blue stained glass making up the flower.

The art auction is Saturday, March 15th!