Preview

This picture gives you more of an idea of what the clock will look like finished. I have almost finished painting and glued down the tiles. I am open to suggestions and feedback! Thanks for looking!

Time for peace

Here is an idea of what the clock face will look like, though I am not done painting and the letters are not yet glued down...

Enjoy, and have a wonderful NEW YEAR'S EVE!

Clock progress

So I've made a bit of progress, as well as some changes from the last time I posted. I have since painted the face of the soon-to-be clock a yellow, then added a blue peace sign on it... the white paint is just a bit of Kilz from where I messed up and need to paint over in yellow.

What do you all think? I may paint the outer beveled edge part a darker blue in order to make the piece sort of "pop out" more.

So far, so good...

I've been working a bit, just painting a wooden base that I found and will use as a clock. I began by painting it white with Kilz to prime the overall wood surface. Here is a picture of the progress I have made so far.

For materials, I have a clock mechanism, including second, minute, and hour hands. I have a wooden "face" for the clock as well. I just need to make a notch in the back of the wood for the clock mechanism to fit into, as the base is a bit thicker than the post of the mechanism will allow for right now.

Eventually, all I will need to do is pop a battery in the back of the clock, and VOILA!

Happy ALMOST New Year!

So I've been thinking. Now that I'm really almost all settled into the new place, I would love to recommit to my blog. It's a New Year's resolution that I plan to STICK to!

Now, I do have a project in mind I just need to plan it out a bit more before I actually start it!!! It's another clock, but other than that I'm saying NOTHING about my plans! The clocks seem to be the most difficult for me but I've done some research and can't WAIT to officially get started!

I've actually begun priming the surface but other than that I'll keep ya in suspense... thanks for following!

HAPPY TURKEY DAY!

Well today is my dad's birthday... HAPPY 68th Dad! I am SO sorry I haven't been updating my blog lately; there is no excuse for my laziness! I hope to get started again after Thanksgiving. HAPPY TURKEY DAY TO ALL!

Will update soon!

Sorry I've been such a slacker lately! I need to get back into the swing of things. I will do my best to come up with a project this week. Sit tight!

Two-day project

Hi everyone, I promise I haven't forgotten about you! This weekend was tiresome as I walked the 5K Susan G. Komen Race for a Cure, but it was AWESOME! And now I'm back with more energy than ever to come up with this week's creation! I'm also in a much better mood than last week due to the fact that I caught up on some rest.

So, I'd like to think of something different and unique for this new project. It won't be a mosaic this time, as I'm taking a break from those for now. Mosaics are something I will continue at a later date. We'll see what I can think up in two days... :)

Anyway, I hate to post without adding a picture, so here is one that I drew about a year ago. Enjoy!

Untitled

This piece is as of yet untitled. I was planning on drawing a specific Halloween scene, but instead came up with this portrait of a young girl. There is a dark cloud above her head, and her eyes are somewhat forlorn, though they look directly at you. Her face is wan and pale, her neck thin and taut.

The project was created using oil pastels on a gessoed art board measuring 9x12 inches (22.9x30.5cm). The board I used this time is smooth rather than textured like the canvasboard was that I used before for my collage. I started with her having bright orange hair, but then after her face was mostly done I colored over it black, leaving some orange behind it, to match the overall feeling of the piece.

A friend suggested I add a mood monitor type of thing to each project, so I will. At the moment, I feel relatively calm yet somewhat pensive. It's also late at night and I'm having trouble sleeping, as sometimes happens when I have PMS. Heh. More information than you wanted to know, I'm sure...

Another last-minute project

I want to thank all my amazing followers once again for being so patient with me. My aunt got married this past Saturday and I have a big walk coming up this next Saturday, so things have been quite crazy! I've been mainly trying to prepare to walk the Susan G. Komen Race for a Cure. It's a 3.1 mile walk/run that benefits breast cancer research, and I am looking pretty damn forward to it! It's a great cause, and I was able to reach my set goal of raising $250 towards it. Yay me! I'm just not in as good of shape as I used to be so I'm trying to work on that a bit!

Anyway, as promised, I will have a new project done by tomorrow! Since it will probably have a Halloween-ish theme, here is a fun picture of me dressed up for Halloween during my senior year of high school in 1997.

New collage

As I previously stated, this week's collage is dedicated to and inspired directly by the life of my mother. What I did not mention before is that she fought a long battle with breast cancer. October is breast cancer awareness month. Since it is coming up I thought it even more fitting to pay this tribute to a beautiful and loving woman, my mom!

No original photos were used, I simply printed out the images from my computer onto glossy photo paper thanks to one of my closest friends. She was kind enough to give me a package of paper to use!

The poem on the bottom left I found online. It reads:

A Mother's Love

Your arms were always open when I needed a hug. Your heart understood when I needed a friend. Your gentle eyes were stern when I needed a lesson. Your strength and love has guided me and gave me wings to fly.

And as a sidenote, I changed the size of the canvas board to 8x10 inches. I simply found a smaller size and decided to use it instead of the 9x12 one.

This week's project

I apologize for my late start on this project. Despite a combination of being busy and procrastinating this past week, I am going to update my blog AND create a weekly art project by tomorrow. It will be a collage. Let's get things started!

Here's a picture of the unfinished and as of yet unSTARTED masterpiece, which is a 9x12" (22.9x30.5 cm) canvas board/panel primed with gesso for use with all mediums. I bought it as is at a Michael's art supply store. I plan on dedicating this week's piece to my beautiful mother, who passed away in November of 1997. She is dearly missed and loved!

Disaster...

The grout got too messy and I think I allowed it to "set" too long so it wouldn't wash off the tiles at all. Oh well. At least I didn't spend much money on this piece, and I can save the clock mechanism and hands for another project.

In hindsight, I would have done the mosaic part first THEN the painting, since the black grout got all over the face of the clock.

Brief hiatus

Sorry about the lack of posts lately but over the long weekend I was busy then today I was feeling a little bit ill. Therefore no new progress has been made on the clock. I will try to finish by tomorrow though. Thanks for your patience!

No work today...

Okay so I haven't done much actual work on the clock/mosaic today, but here is a cute picture of my dog in my studio from yesterday. Enjoy the weekend everyone!

Pre-grouted clock...

As for today, I went and changed the clock hands since the old ones weren't working. I had an old clock that worked fine that I didn't use, so I just took off the hands from it and put them on the new project.

Then I did the mosaic around the edges, which was pretty simple. I didn't cut any of the tiles down but I think it is coming along nicely. I will probably use the black unsanded grout that I bought pre-mixed.

Painted clock

Here it is all painted. As you can see I changed it quite a bit, mainly by painting the background one solid color. I will mosaic starting tomorrow. I started by sanding it down, wiping it with cheesecloth to get rid of dust, and painting it with Kilz primer. Then I painted over it.

Since I also sanded down the outer edge to roughen up the surface for the tiles to stick to, I just need to prime the surface with a 50/50 water/Weldbond glue mixture before starting the mosaic. This helps prevent the wooden base from warping under the glass tiles.

Almost fully painted clock

The clock has been painted for the most part. I chose pink because I love the color combo of pink and green, and I've decided to mosaic the outer edge in green. I will probably start the mosaic by Saturday at the latest, as I still have to paint the drink in the middle.

New project

Here is a picture of the clock I would like to revamp for this week's project. I plan to sand it down a bit, paint it with primer, repaint the clock part, then mosaic the outer rim. Should come out pretty funky!

Done!

Project 2 is completed! Lots of fun with the colors, though the daisies may have stood out better if they had been blue or something. Other than that, I like it!

Mod Podge

Here it is, the peace sign being Mod Podged. Please excuse the mess! I may paint the edges but I have yet to decide. Either way it will probably be finished tomorrow!

Almost done!

So here is the picture I promised of the sides/edges, though the grout is still not 100% dry because I just filled in a few areas where I had apparently slacked off yesterday. I pretty much grouted as if I were icing a cake...

A note to those making mosaics...

DO NOT be afraid to make a MESS! You probably want to use some sort of a dropcloth, as well as always protecting your eyes with safety goggles. When mixing grout a face mask should also be used. Always make sure to have enough grout/grout mix prior to grouting, because it's no fun if you run out in the middle of your work!

When grouting, it may be important to note that unsanded grout is more prone to leaving holes in your work, caused by air bubbles I believe. Also, unsanded grout is only recommended for use in mosaics where the space between tiles is about 1/16ths of an inch or less, whereas sanded grout can be used in both smaller and larger spaces.

Also I don't recommend this type of work for kids, unless they are dealing with pre-cut, non-sharp tile shapes and have adult supervision at ALL times! But last and certainly not least, have LOADS of fun with your project(s)!

Anyway, it seems that I'm basically done with this project. I will need to Mod Podge the surface to seal it, however. Here is a picture of the type of glue I use. If anyone has any suggestions on anything that may work better (since I seem to lose tiles on occasion...) please feel free to let me know! Thanks a bunch!

All cleaned up

Here it is, all cleaned up for the most part. I'll add the picture showing the edges once it's fully dried. This isn't the best picture since it's raining out and I tried using natural light but you get the idea...

Grouting the peace sign

Here it is, if you can see it, after adding the grout! This time went a lot smoother since I had the previous grouting experience to go by, though I did almost lose a tile again! I even smoothed out the edges a bit, which I will show a picture of once it's all dry, by adding grout around the perimeter and the inside rim as well. You'll see what I mean when I post the picture.

New supplies!

Tomorrow's supposed to rain pretty heavily so I actually bought the white sanded grout today when I was up in/around New Hampshire. I bought some other exciting supplies too! One is a surprise, as it's going to be the basis for next week's project. That is what I am most excited about! But I got some other fun things...

At Michael's, I bought Mod Podge for the first time EVER, which should work to seal my mosaics. I got some sponge brushes to apply it with, plus some more Weldbond glue. I also got some Rubbermaid containers at one of my favorite stores- the Dollar Tree- as well as a dropcloth, mini paint roller and tray, and more face masks for when I mix powdered grout. I was like a kid in a candy store!

Mosaic layout

Here is the layout for the mosaic peace sign. As you can probably see, I've glued all the tiles down. Now I need to let the glue dry and pick up some grout at the store tomorrow. I'll probably just use white. Since this will be my second time grouting, I hope I have a better handle on what I'm doing!

Peace sign

Here is a picture of the peace sign mosaic so far. I have decided to use mostly yellow and orange tiles for this. The border is made from vitreous glass tiles (the kind that I used on my last project). The focal piece is an orange glass sun, and the other pieces are glass daisies.

Next project!

Hi!

Up next is a mosaic peace sign! I have yet to decide on what color scheme to use... I'll have to go through my supplies and see what I have available. The mosaic base I ordered on Etsy, where I hope to eventually set up shop and sell some of my finished mosaic projects! Etsy is a great place for handmade items of all kinds, including mosaic supplies. Check it out!

Any suggestions for future (and preferably cheap) mosaic projects would be most appreciated. Thanks again for reading and have a wonderful day!

Finished!

So my piece is basically finished! I do maybe want to seal the surface at some point, and fix the grout around one of the tiles that fell off. It was definitely worth the effort though, and it was a huge learning experience, especially when it comes to the grouting process!

All grouted!

So here it is, the almost-final jewelry box! Thanks for bearing with me this far! I look forward to future projects!

Tip when using grout...

Allow the grout to "slake" first! That basically means allow it to settle for about 15 minutes before using it. I didn't do that and ended up with a big old mess, and nearly lost another tile! Anyway, I think I managed to salvage it. Now the grout is drying and I am almost done...

There is NO picture yet because my camera won't upload for some reason.

Pre-grout

Here is a picture, pre-grout... I will wait to unveil the grouted pictures... though I will tell you I'm losing a small tile in the grouting process!

Excited about grouting!

So the time is drawing near to actually GROUT my new piece! I was afraid of the grouting process for a long time but now am getting excited about it! I just hope I don't make too big of a mess... heh.

Here is a list of supplies I used/will use to mosaic the box:

Glass tile, glass tile cutters by Leponitt, Weldbond glue, water, powdered grout in terra cotta, a mixing container, goggles, a face mask, latex gloves, mixing stick, and a combination float/sponge. I will also cover the floor with plastic left over from when I was painting, and use an old rag to clean up any mess. I hope I'm not forgetting anything!

Take care, and wish me luck!

Ungrouted mosaic gecko jewelry box

Here is the almost finished product! I will grout it either later tonight or tomorrow, and be DONE with it by the deadline! This went faster than I had anticipated... now I won't have to break down the project into two separate weeks.

Hope you're having half as much fun reading this blog as I am writing it!

Gecko mosaic

Here it is... the new gecko design for the top of the box. I had some time today so I got started on it. It is far from perfect but it will have to do. I'm going to continue to mosaic around the gecko with light blue glass tile. I should have that done by tonight.

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Ahead of the game

SUCCESS! Today is only early Tuesday morning and my project is complete! I am pretty happy with the results. I sanded it down a bit, wiped it with cheesecloth to get rid of any dust, and reinstalled the knobs once it was dry. Voila!

Next I'm going to transfer a hand-drawn gecko image onto the top in pencil. I will probably go over it with a black Sharpie, and then prepare the surface to mosaic.

In order to do that, I will use 80 grit sandpaper to roughen up the surface, and then wipe it down. After that I will use 50/50 water/Weldbond glue solution to seal the surface. I will use two coats, then begin the mosaic. This project is SO much fun! I definitely recommend it. It's really not as daunting of a task as it may seem at first, when broken down into steps.

If interested in repainting a dresser, or something similar, you can find step-by-step instructions here: http://www.ehow.com/how_4781819_repaint-a-dresser.html

As always, thanks for reading!

First layer of paint

I stayed up last night to finish applying the Kilz, then was up early anyway so I sanded the drawers and dresser/box down with 220 grit sandpaper, wiped it all down again with cheesecloth, and painted the first layer of paint. Looking pretty good, if I do say so myself!

I will have to come back later; the dog is itching to go out!

Progress, not perfection!

So I've made some progress... I have finished priming the jewelry box. It took longer than expected, and is taking FOREVER to dry in this humidity, but it was worth all the effort because I think it's looking pretty good so far for an unfinished box!

I plan on next sanding it down a bit very lightly with a fine-grit sandpaper (around 220), then wiping off the dust with cheesecloth (found at any hardware store), and coating it with some latex paint. So far, so good!

Break time!

This project isn't "due" til the 26th, but I thought I'd share my progress. I hope to have it all painted by Wednesday. That will be the first project, since I got started late, and then by the next Wednesday I hope to have it topped with a mosaic design, probably another gecko.

I started by cleaning the jewelry box (which is in the shape of a small dresser) with soap and water. I then removed the drawers from it, then removed the hardware from the drawers. I sanded down the box with 80 grit sandpaper, then wiped it with cheesecloth to remove any dust. I then sanded it down again with 120 grit sand paper and wiped it down again with cheesecloth. Then I began to prime the drawers and the box itself with Kilz. The picture shows where I left off... as you can see I still have to finish priming the drawers. But alas, it's time for a break!

New goal, new project

I have come up with a new goal for myself. I am going to strive for a project per week, no matter how crappy I may feel I did, and hope for critiques. I will do my best to post pictures along the way. The deadline is every Wednesday.

Unfortunately, most of my art supplies are still in random boxes... I'll post a finished picture by this coming Wednesday though! Heck, even if you hate my artwork, feel free to let me know! Just as long as you give a reason, I appreciate honest feedback.

Well I am off to check out a link and look for ideas for my next project... wish me luck! I think I want to do something with this old jewelry box I bought.

An introduction to my world!

Hey there!

Welcome to my very first blog! I am a big fan of almost any type of art, and of writing, so I think blogging is a great way to express myself.

A little about me... I am born and raised in the Boston area. My subjects are generally women's faces and portraits of animals. I have dabbled in drawing and painting, but my true love lies in mosaics. I am very new to this medium, and look forward to learning as I go! I am always on the lookout for classes, workshops, etc. If you know of any, let me know!

Since I am so new to mosaics, and I just moved into a new section of town, I have yet to get around to grouting any actual projects. Right now I am working on a mosaic of a tree frog atop a nightstand. I hope to have it finished soon! I have attached a recent picture.

Thanks for visiting!