In the Studio

Another busy week for me here in my small studio. It is very fulfilling to work every day on my projects. I’m very grateful to have the time and space to be as creative as I need to be. My life is filled with daily activity involving my family now, therefore, the times when I have what I call “Zen Time” in the studio is becoming sacred. I never take any of it for granted. Quality time with the fam is as important as meditative time with my mosaics.

The Sphere World: Things are going along at about the right pace for the gazing balls custom order. Even though the beach balls aren’t exactly what I anticipated, I am working them up quickly so hopefully the final results will be something the customer will be happy with. As in all custom orders, when I work on them I am always so excited to make something unique and one-of-a-kind.

When I started getting frustrated with the experiments because I’m making ten of them and trying to make sure they are as identical as something handmade can be, I expected to feel a bit disenchanted with this job and spheres in general. I wasn’t surprised when I got tired of looking at gazing balls in all forms of preparation for mosaics. I reminded myself that everything natural is perfect and that there is beauty in each and every thing handmade whether by my hand or someone else. I appreciate handmade items and the time it takes to create them. I relaxed, reminding myself to enjoy the ride.

I have become completely enamored with these balls. As they have been built and played with, experimented on and set aside I still see these spheres as real potential beauties with a finished mosaic on them. There are days when I just walk away from what I’m working on because I’m having a problem with something, but I think that’s normal and always, when I head back to it again, it works out just fine. That is good news because I have many balls to cover with mosaics in the months to come once this order is finished!

Resting ... 10 beach balls covered in plaster cast strips

The next step: Adding thinset to bulk them up and give them more substance will take about two weeks maybe less. From that point, a few coats of the waterproofing membrane will be added to each. In between waiting for prep work to dry, I’ll continue cutting the mirror up into triangles.

sheets and precut tiles of shiny gold mirror

The actually gluing of the glass onto the spheres won’t take long at all. I’m still waiting for the color swatch from the customer to get the color just right for the grout. This is for a wedding in November whose colors are gold and cranberry red. I asked my customer for something showing the exact colors she picked so that I can match the grout to the red. She’s sending me an invitation which is a perfect way for me to find the color I need when the time comes. I can walk around my favorite haunts when I shop for such things with it tucked safely in my bag as I go. I plan to mix my own color using a few colorants/tints/acrylics. That will be fun to do! My daughter will help me; she and I work well together and I’m positive we will find the perfect blend.

Etsy Shop News: My Etsy shop will be re-opening on Saturday, October 1st! http://www.etsy.com/shop/earthmothermosaics

I’m taking pictures of the new things I’ll be adding to my shop this week and have grouted a few small pieces. Here’s a sneak peek of two newly grouted items that will be listed.

DONATION PIECES: I’m happy to say I’ve finished the 2 donation pieces for the auction at The Star Press in Indiana to support breast cancer survivors.  “IN THE PINK”, a silent art auction will be held at the Muncie Mall in conjunction with Women’s Head to Toe Expo, Saturday, October 15, 2011.

"Rise Above"

"Bright Light"

Look great as a set or as a separate piece of art

4×4 MDF squares – Recycled silver mirror, stained glass in yellow, tangerine and blue, some triangle Millefiori and ball chain. Grouted in antique white, bails and jute added for easy hanging. Once I’m sure the sealant is dry, they will get packed up and out by the end of the week. Woo-hoo!

TAKE NOTE: Last week I didn’t post on Friday due to site maintenance. This week, I may decide to do two Featured Items to make up for it! 🙂

The theme this week on Tumblr is Black and White Stripes and I’m having a great time finding new and usual items on Etsy for it. I really enjoy seeing all of the items together in one post. This is a lot of fun for me to do and a way to share my love of color and design. Next week may be a bit of a different theme for me. Once in a while I find something that I fall in love with that is either whimsical or unusual. Then the REAL fun begins when I start doing the research on Etsy to see what I can find!

Happy Autumnal Equinox and a very Happy Rosh Hashanah to my many friends throughout the world!

All the links in one handy place:

Website: http://www.wix.com/earthmothermosaics/earthmothermosaics

Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/earthmothermosaics

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/EarthMotherMosaics-Cindy-White/101853741152

Tumblr: http://earthmothermosaics.tumblr.com/

☼-EarthMotherMosaics

©2011 Cindy White, EarthMotherMosaics

In the Studio

This week the studio has been hopping! I’m busy and happy!

My hand still hurts, but I don’t care … I can’t stay away from the mosaic fun for too long. It’s important for me to have something going at all times no matter what.

Update on the custom order: First of all, I decided to give up trying to add inches to the gazing balls with cement. That was a big decision and one I gave in to easily. I have enjoyed the complete experience of learning what to do, how to do it, became even more creative than I ever thought I could be and discovered how wonderful people can be when you need to bounce off ideas or brainstorm with them.

Plan C: After noticing that not much changed in measurement after adding lots of plaster cast strips and cement to the 6, 7, 8 and 10 inch balls I’ve got here, it was a no-brainer. I could start with 12 inch spheres and not have to worry about making them too large. My original thought as many of you may remember when I started with this, was to build up a small foam ball making it easy to get the size just right. I wasn’t wrong and it could still work if I had more time but I wasn’t thinking about how long that process actually takes. Never doing it before in this way, I really had no clue. I have learned so much! What a ride this has been!

spheres ranging in sizes of 6, 7, 8 and 10 inches

Spending weeks doing the plaster cast strips and cement combo to the sizes I have, yielded a little more than a few inches. That was after many, many, MANY layers of plaster and cement. That’s a good thing, I knew, because that means if the price was right, I had enough left in the budget to get something in that 12 inch size, cover them with a layer each in plaster cast strips and thinset so that I could get to the next part. Woo!!

Before too much more time goes by, I wanted to mention that I got the plaster cast strips from a medical supply company. For $20+ shipping/handling I got a dozen packages of 3 inch plaster strips. Those who use these strips a lot should definitely go here to buy them instead of getting the other brand at craft stores. orthotape.com

I’ve got to say, I’m lucky to have such a large online support system. Because I do, when I share my photos or concerns about what I’m struggling with when I’m working, often I’ll get a large group of like-minded folks offering suggestions or giving me advice. I LOVE the internet for this very reason. The person that hit on the best idea was Heidi.  Heidi, an online friend from Austria http://www.naturallymosaics.com/ does some really cool mosaics that are hanging in museums. I have one of her mosaic gems in storage that she surprised me with last year … how lucky am I?! When I mentioned I was on a limited budget but had these balls made, many folks pitched in offering advice and ideas. Heidi and a few others took quite a bit of time in thought to help me figure this all out. How cool is that?! People all over the US and on the other side of the ocean, helped me. That’s kinda more than a little awesome.

Heidi’s suggestion was to get 12 inch beach balls and take it from there. Thanks to Heidi, who reminded me of the website I had already bookmarked long ago, I found exactly what I wanted at a price I could afford at S&S Worldwide. http://www.ssww.com/

As I wait for the delivery of the beach balls, I’m cutting up mirror and getting these pieces in sealant. This sealant, called mirror edge sealant, will protect the mirror after I cut it from getting black spots once grouted. I was looking at the pieces of mirror today and honestly, I’m not sure I have enough mirror for all 10 balls. For now, I’m doing what I can to get triangles made up and ready to go. It’s a meditative process and is always fun for me. Once I cover a few of these gazing balls I’ll know how much mirror it’ll take. Hopefully I’ll be able to find what I’m looking for when the time comes. That’s always a bit of a challenge.

Once this custom order is finished, I will get started on the smaller spheres I have here. I want to list a few on Etsy but also keep a few to show future potential customers. I think if I could find a mold to pour concrete into and make the sphere that way, it would work really well. I’ll have to investigate that.

Etsy Shop News: And speaking of Etsy … my shop will be up and running again in a few weeks. Keep an eye out for the official announcement on that. I’m aiming for October 1st.

Donations: Two new donation pieces are being made to go to Debra Gindhart Dragoo in Mucie, IN for her call to artists plea that came my way through email not so long ago. “In The Pink” is a silent art auction being held at Muncie Mall by The Star Press to support breast cancer survivors. This event, Women’s Head to Toe Expo is on Saturday, October 15, 2011.

My doodles have been pretty much the same for the past month and all involve the sun or moon. When these are finished, they will be ready to hang either side-by-side or individually.

work-in-progress

Ball chain was used for the swirls, stained glass and mirror with a touch of triangle Millefiori here and there.

My personal deadline for these is September 27th. By then they should be grouted and getting packed up to head on out towards Indiana in plenty of time for the auction.

I am thrilled to be involved in more than a few donations right now. It is a great feeling to do what I can with the resources I have.

My online buddy and fellow mosaicist, Rayna Clark is involved in a huge undertaking at the moment for children with cancer. I hope by now she got the small box of goodies I sent her way towards this good cause. She rocks!! Read her blog post: http://rayna-clark-mosaics.blogspot.com/2011/09/being-kind-to-kids-with-cancer.html

That about covers all the studio news for this week. It’s time to get back to cutting mirror!

Friday’s Featured Item will probably be a pillow from Etsy in keeping with this week’s theme.

☼-EarthMotherMosaics

©2011 Cindy White, EarthMotherMosaics

In the Studio

This week I mangled my left hand enough to stop working on much of anything for more than a few days. Not by misusing a tool or doing something in the studio but by smashing it into a door jamb while trying to carry a laundry basket filled with clean clothes out of my room. As I’ve always said, chores can be hazardous to my health! I’m safe around broken pieces of stained glass, grinders, sharp tools … but get me near a basket full of clean clothes and I get hurt. 😛

I wasn’t able to do much work after I hurt myself but before I did, I got a good start on a frame and a layer of cement on the gazing ball. No photos of the sphere to share because there’s nothing different in how it looks yet but I do have a few photos of the frame.

Suns and moons are a favorite for me to mosaic. The mirror that isn’t covered in stained glass will get tempered glass on it. This gives it a 3D look. I’m glad I put it aside after I got hurt because after looking at the photos I took, I’ve decided I don’t like it! Putting it down and walking away from it for a week or so will do me good. And I probably will like it once it’s completed.

Nice close up of the blue, red and orange I used. The good news is I like the design a lot so I will continue with it again soon.

☼-EarthMotherMosaics

©2011 Cindy White, EarthMotherMosaics

In the Studio

Progress Has Been Made: I’m still working on the newest idea for the gazing balls. It is working out fairly well so far.

The first thing I did was cover a 1o inch bowling ball with plastic wrap. My favorite is Glad’s Press’N Seal. I used to take it to the classes I taught last year for the students to wrap their coasters up in once I discovered how easy it was to use. The next step was to cover it in plaster cast strips and wait for it to dry. Before it was completely solid, we scored a line around it to make it easier to cut.

scoring before drying completely made it easier to remove

I found this particular picture below really cool looking. The spheres I made ranging in size from 6 inches to 8 inches. One foam ball has yet to be covered in plaster wrap but once it is, I’ll have 5 to put some fun designs on. They will stay where they are until I am finished with the custom order. I have great plans for them! Once the plaster was completely dry, my daughter and I cut the strips and gently removed each half.

I love this shape!

More strips were added to put it back together again. This weekend I’ll be getting some insulation foam to spray inside. Building 2 inches on this should be fairly easy. At that point I can start making the rest of the spheres needed just like this! Woo-hoo!

I really do love the way the half sphere came off of the ball and immediately thought how cool it would be to make a mosaic bowl using this technique. I will definitely have to try it!

Some Work-In-Progress: I’ve always got something to work on and lots of inspiration around me. Having a small space to work in is actually working out for me. I don’t like being surrounded by so many packing boxes but as time goes on they will be replaced with clear ones so that I can see the colors of tess I have accumulated.

A while back I started working on a glass bowl I had been given. Covering it in stained glass was the plan but as I was trying to veer away from the design on the bowl, my vision got jumbled and it was an ugly mess!

yuck!

I yanked all the glass off of it and decided, with the helpful suggestions of many friends on flickr to go with the flow of the design instead of fighting with it. I also knew the colors weren’t working for me. The second time around, I picked some glass made in hues of purple and pink. I have found it to be a lot more pleasant to look at.

much better!

When something isn’t working and I’m still trying to make it happen, it takes a long time and I fight the whole process. It’s exhausting, frustrating and irritating to keep pushing when it just isn’t right. The above example proves that once I decided to go with the flow instead of fighting with it, the process became easy. Yet another life lesson.

I also used this glass to mosaic a candle holder. There will be some major grouting happening soon!

I played with dish tiles this week too! I usually am not all that pleased with my work after I’ve done something with them. I have gotten used to using stained glass and mirror and the results with each. Dishes are wonderful and I really enjoy collecting them and nipping them up for use in my mosaics. I have decided that the style has to be considered Folk Art or Tramp Art in order for me to like what I’ve done.

I need to hone my dish tile skills a lot more but I have lots of dishes around me. No problem there. I am learning that some times I am drawn towards dish shards and other times stained glass. Switching from thing to thing is good! I think it’s what keeps me happily creating.

Art Deco mosaic tray - not yet grouted

“Atomic” design plates, a dogwood flower plate for the focal, Depression glass plate in green and some Millefiori added to this gave the Art Deco tray an uplift. The ceramic Art Deco tray and the Depression glass came from the stash of goodies I got when we sorted through some family treasures.

small silver-plated mosaic tray - not yet grouted

The silver-plated tray got the “atomic” treatment too but the pieces were cut much smaller to fit.

I do like them both and am happy with the results. It’s just so different than working with stained glass! Make no mistake … it’s ALL fun!!

☼-EarthMotherMosaics

©2011 Cindy White, EarthMotherMosaics

Daily Design Picks Compilation

Each day, my dedicated blog “Eye for Design and Color” shows an item I’ve chosen that fits the design and/or color theme for the week. Most of these items are on Etsy but I try hard to find other sites that have the kind of things I’m looking for. I would like to encourage anyone who knows of another site similar to Etsy to let me know. I’d love to find some more sites to virtually peruse.

I have been doing this for about 2 weeks, and just decided to share them here. Every Saturday, I’ll be adding a post to show what I’ve picked for the week. Most are themed, many will be by color, all will be something that catches my eye.

Here are the picks for the last 2 weeks:

©2011 Vincent & Jessie Leman of Uncommon Handmade

This item sold yesterday. That’s awesome! Congrats to the new owner and to Uncommon Handmade.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/uncommon

Because this shop is a fav of mine, here’s more clocks entirely as cool as the one above:

©2011 Vincent & Jessie Leman of Uncommon Handmade

How fab are they?!

©2011 Cindy White, EarthMotherMosaics

http://earthmothermosaicsstore.blogspot.com

©2011 The Art Planet

http://theartplanet.groovepress.com/

©2011 Robin Grattarola of atomiclivinhome

http://www.etsy.com/people/atomiclivinhome

©2011 Dawn Stewart of TheSavvyShopper1

http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheSavvyShopper1

©2011 Chris Austin of kiwistudios

http://www.etsy.com/shop/kiwistudios

©2011 VintageZen

http://www.etsy.com/shop/VintageZen

©2011 Willow Mietus of willowonthewater

http://www.etsy.com/shop/willowonthewater

©2011 Jackie Yarmo of JBirdHome

http://www.etsy.com/shop/JBirdHome

©2011 babylonsisters

http://www.etsy.com/shop/babylonsisters

©2011 SusabellaBrownstein

http://www.etsy.com/shop/SusabellaBrownstein

©2011 mothcushions

http://www.etsy.com/shop/mothcushions

©2011 Lunar Lounge by Jonathan Sebastian

http://www.etsy.com/shop/lunarloungedesign

As you can see, I do have a soft spot for Vintage, Retro, Mod, Mid-Century design. But just as delightful to me are colors that are soothing to my senses. These too will be used as a theme.

When I started this a few weeks ago I wasn’t sure where I was headed with it but as the weeks progressed I saw that if you combine all the things I picked together (including my own mosaic retro frame), you can see a blending of designs. These all would look good in one room or many. They’d be great to give as gifts or an inexpensive way to spruce up a corner of a room in your home. Some of them, placed together in one room would look really cool too!

I love the Atomic design so much and found a lot more that I will share as I continue. Next week will be a soft color choice with a beach theme. For those living in areas where it gets cold and wintry, using these items in a room you spend time in will surely keep the memories of beach living fresh in your mind.

The weeks to come will have themes such as winter white, recycled art items and vintage EVERYTHING including cool retro delight. A true favorite!!

Enjoy the weekend!

☼-EarthMotherMosaics

©2011 Cindy White, EarthMotherMosaics

Friday’s Featured Item: “Coasting On The Wings Of Tomorrow”

While looking at a group of gazing balls and spheres photos I’ve made within the last year plus some, I noticed, once again, how much I like this mosaic table sculpture I made for the presentation I gave at the art league in April.

I found a lot of photos showing the progress of where it started and how it finished and thought it would be something to share here as the Featured Item. It was fun for me to go back and look at these, I hope you enjoy it too.

it started with a broken wine glass

a 6 inch bisque sphere, once stained glass is added, will get glued on top of the stem

a porcelain bird and an old glass blue marble perch on top

glass and mirror have been added to the sphere

swirly design to resemble waves

I see two elephants but once grouted they aren't as visible

not yet finished gluing glass and mirror

grouted in white

lots of silver mirror added to the top (pre-grout)

"Coasting On The Wings Of Tomorrow" is complete

Tomorrow I’ll be adding another weekly post doling out the great finds I’ve shared on Tumblr. There will be a photo and the link on how to find these awesome items and placed together in one spot. Hopefully in that way you can see how the theme works together. So far I’ve done them on Tumblr for two weeks; all of them will be in one post tomorrow. After that it will be just one week at a time in a post I’ve dubbed: “Daily Design Picks Compilation”. Not every week will be themed but most of them are similar to what I find when I do Etsy Treasury’s and I always have a theme in mind. When I do those, there’s often one item I find so neat I have to share it.

Enjoy the last official weekend of Summer and wave hello to cooler weather. Although warmth is always welcome, I enjoy the crisp air that Autumn provides. I’m happier with less humidity. Stay safe and make your day creative!

☼-EarthMotherMosaics

©2011 Cindy White, EarthMotherMosaics