Mosaic Rocks

Heart

I've started doing mosaics on rocks. Like the flag I displayed in my last post. I go to the beach and pick up a bunch of rocks that have come in on the tide. I look for rocks that are pretty flat on one side. Then I wash them to get all the sand and dirt out and glue on a design! Some are good, some not so much! I keep learning, however.

I've seen the ball chain outline used by a few different mosiac artists and thought I would give it a try.

Musical Note

This orange musical note on the right is a commission from one of my garden club friends. I've decided I really like the ones with mirror glass.  They really sparkle in the sunlight.

Bromeliad

The Bromeliad below was a rock I made for my friend Gary' birthday. I think it looks more like an octopus, but he was kind enough to say he liked it. Here it is sitting in his garden.

Ballet toe shoe and snail

This toe show was suggested by friends of mine from Los Angeles. They said ballet is very popular with the young crowd. So I made the rock on the left and NO ONE knew what it was. Well, one person did know but the other 10 people I asked could not identify it. Then when I tell them, it seems so obvious! The photo is before they were grouted.

Cat

The one on the left is obvious. A kitty cat! One of my favorite things!





And the colorful fish below started out as a musical note, but it just didn't turn out as I planned.  So I turned it into a fish!

Fish

Seascape Mosaic

Beginning

I have a client who requested a scene of the sea to hang over a new sink. She said she really liked seascapes and would like it to have movement. She wanted a curved top and a large mirror that would be big enough for brushing teeth.Then she said she didn't want it to be busy. And she said she would like some beads in it like she'd seen in some of my other mosaics and she wanted me to use blues, greens and turquoise colors. She had some accessories she had purchased in those colors. 

I started out by cutting a domed piece out of Hardibacker. When she said beads I immediately thought bubbles, so I thought of an underwater scene. Then I happened across some stones and shells on one of my many, many supply shelves so I was off and running. I decided to do an underwater seascape with seaweed for movement and bubbles coming from some sea creatures. All I could find was a seahorse and the tiny fish.

Picture 2

Picture 3

So here we have the progression of the piece. My client lives in Hawaii and is leaving town on Friday so I have to finish up all the gluing today. Then tomorrow I can grout and be ready to seal it by Wednesday. I've decided to change the seaweed at the top of the piece because it's too light and doesn't stand out. The light colors denoting the sun shining through the water on the top right wash out the light colored kelp. And it is very heavy! The stones added quite a bit of weight to the piece. I hope she will like it but if not, I won't mind taking it back to sell another day!

Current state

Platter is grouted

Platter grouted with gray

Where did the fish go? Now it looks like orange and yellow blobs circling the drain! I liked it better when the red of the platter showed through!

But I still think it will make a nice tray to hold fruit or hang on the wall.

Platter ungrouted

Platter with a school of orange and yellow fish!

Can you tell there are fish on this platter? I bought this bowl a long, long time ago, and every time I looked it, I wanted to do something with it. Then I saw a design in a mosaic book that I thought could work.

I will try to grout it today, and I hope it becomes a little clearer that there are fish circling.