Kitties and Mosaics

Here is the cutest thing happening right now. The little black and white boys asleep together on the couch. And see all the mosaics hanging on the wall. There was supposed to be a Holiday Boutique last Saturday but we were rained out. I believe it will be rescheduled for this Saturday. So I have a few new items. There's a mirror below with stained glass and ball chain. I love the way ball chain can outline areas of glass.

On the left is a Christmas mirror with a cute kitty wooden ornament. I used Martha Stewart's glitter paints to brighten up the grout on the green glass and the red glass. 

And on the right is a spiral using plates and optic drops to define the spiral.

The studio is just about ready for outdoor mosaicing in the winter. I have a nice oil-filled heater and my great handyman, Jim, installed the fluorescent light fixture over the work table. I'm moved a lot of my tools, saws, drills and cutting devices out there so now I just need to start working! I'll send a picture soon.

Kitties in the Window

I'm working on a mosaic of two kitties sitting in a window looking out. I'm still not sure about the background and sky. Are there hills? Is it night or day? Should there be a sun instead of stars? I'm using Mexican smalti. I cut the two kitties out of a trivet with my ring saw. And I like the millefiori flowers in the grass.

We'll see what happens next!

Mosaics and Cats

Today we have a two of my favorite topics; mosaics and kitty cats. First is a mosaic mirror I finished for a client. I'm fortunate to have a lovely garden to use for picture-taking when a mirror is involved.

Below we have a mosaic I made on a cupboard face sample given to me by my neighbor. His family owns a company that installs kitchens, offices and other cool spaces. It is a botanical of a hummingbirds with flowers that I thought matched the frame. On my next attempt at one of these clear swirly glass mosaics, I'll be more careful to make sure all the squares line up properly. As you can see, I had to make adjustments near the bottom. I'm always learning from my mistakes!



And finally we have adorable kitty pictures. First we have both boys asleep atop the divider that separates the front door from the living room. There are fluorescent lights in the top so it is warm, and the kitties love sleeping up there. If it weren't for the two tails, you might think it was just one cat.

Sleeping kitties

And finally we have Prancer asleep on the bed. Is he cute or what???

Prancer takes a nap

Society of Mosaic Artists Mosaic Salon Entry

The SAMA convention is right around the corner, and I've finished my entry to the Mosaic Salon. I think it turned out very well though when I look at the finished piece,  I see changes I would have made to the sky. But I will be happy either way; if someone buys it or if I get to take it back home with me. I love the kitties that I cut out of a trivet with my ring saw.

SAMA's Mosaic Salon

The Society of Mosaic Artists (SAMA) is having its 5th annual convention in Lexington, Kentucky at the end of the month. One fun event is the Mosaic Salon. Any SAMA conference attendee can display his or her work. Here is information direct from the SAMA website:

Join us for the 5th annual Mosaic Art Salon and Auction!  Any SAMA conference attendee can display her or his work for everyone to enjoy and even purchase. Tables will be set up in the Salon area to display the art all day on Thursday.   Later in the evening, during the Welcome Reception, all attendees guests may browse the mosaics and register a written bid on any piece they wish to purchase.  At approximately 8:30pm, bidding will close, and each work for sale will go to the highest bidder. The payment transaction is then handled on the spot between the artist and the buyer, and the buyer takes the work home.


Last year was my first SAMA conference and I didn't know anything about this event. But this year I'm going to enter a mosaic piece. Now I know you can see a pig drawn on the Wedi board. That was from an idea I had a year or so ago for a mosaic. Now I'm making "Kitties in Spring" or something like that. I've been cutting out pieces with my ring saw and having a wonderful time!

Rainy Day Mosaics

It was a very rainy day yesterday, so we stayed in the house and worked on mosaics. The cats slept a lot.

Here is the blue agave mosaic with the fused tequila bottle. I used some black sparkly Van Gogh glass for the border. Obviously I took this picture indoors so you can't really see how cool the Agave leaves look. Today the sun is rising so I'll take another picture.

And here are the double-decker sleepy boys. Prancer is below on their fancy tree-shaped cat tree. You can just see the long shape of Biscotti up on top of the room divider. There are fluorescent lights up there so it is warm.

Grouting with the Kitty

So today I did a little more grouting (still have about six pieces to go). This cute little heart turned out well with rose beige grout sprinkled with pink glitter. It's only about 6" across. The center rose was cut from some English china with my ring saw

And below is my trusty sidekick Biscotti. He hung around with me while I worked in the yard.

Life is better when you have pets!

Cold Windy Day

It's a cold, windy day, and the kitties played inside more than usual. Here they are on their scratching post. Prancer Dancer is on top and Biscotti is on the bottom.

I spent most of the day working on mosaics, doing cleanup work like painting substrates, drilling holes for D-rings, patching some holes that were in the wrong place, etc. The blue and orange sunburst has been completely glued, but I'm not pleased with one of the branches of the sun. So tomorrow I'll pull out the offending pieces and try to make it more to my liking. I also see a couple potential grout rivers so I will probably fix them also.

And I worked a little on the Tequila bottle that I'm making into a Christmas-themed mosaic. I'm using Lexel to glue the pieces on as it will dry clear. I will grout it also.

That's it for today. Glad you stopped by!

Oh, and today is my brother's 70th birthday! Happy birthday, big brother!