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Before

After

English Transferware

I had my clever handyman make more shelves for my tiles. And then I was extremely lucky to stop by a thrift store and find three boxes of canning jars. One box had never been opened! What a score! I've filled up many of the jars today with Opio tiles and will take another picture tomorrow.



And I have some new mosaics in the works. Above is a piece made entirely with English transferware.Or will be when it's finished. Can't decide whether to put a mirror in the middle. I hadn't heard the term until someone at the thrift store mentioned that the plates I was buying were transferware. Here is what Wikipedia has to say about transferware:

Transferware is a style of ceramics including pottery, dinnerware, and other delicate items. It uses transfer printing, a decorative technique which was developed in England in the mid-18th century, particularly around the Stafforshire region.

The process starts with an engraved copper plate similar to those used for making paper engravings. The plate is used to print the pattern on tissue paper, then the tissue paper transfers the wet ink to the ceramic surface. The ceramic is then fired in a low temperature kiln to fix the pattern. This can be done over or under the glaze, but the underprinting method is more durable. The process produces fine lines similar to the engraved prints in old books. Before transfer printing ceramics were hand painted, a laborious and costly process.

Mosaic Begonias and Gazebo Begonia and Flower Show

My friend Mike Flaherty is having his annual Begonia and Plant Show at his Gazebo store in Montecito  August.19th and 20th. I thought I'd make some Begonia-related mosaics since there will be a lot of Begonia people attending. There is even a bus coming up from Los Angeles with about 50 people. These are pictures from previous years. Seems like a lot of orange. I'm not a big fan of orange but an awful lot of people are so I am forcing myself to do some mosaics with shades of orange.

 
This is my friend Gary's beautiful terrarium with Begonias inside. Gary does stained glass lamps, terrariums, bowls, etc. This last weekend we went to Hollander's Glass in Irvine and bought a lot of glass. The colors, patterns, styles and prices are excellent. I've had to buy more storage containers to store my glass.

Below is the beginning of my mosaic. It's even too early to get a sense of what it will look like through the camera. I will hope for the best.

Rex Begonia Mosaic