Mosaic Parrot Round 2

OK, so the first parrot above I made for my friend Eva wasn't exactly a success. He looked good until the grouting and then I broke off his foot! Learned a good lesson there about Wedi board. It can be fragile. Don't make any tight cuts!

So I decided to go a different way and began Parrot 2 on Hardibacker. Then she can hang it outdoors if she chooses. He looks much better. Yesterday I finished gluing him. I plan to grout in charcoal which I think will really help make him stand out. The difference in the two bottom pictures is that the one on the left was taken in the house with a flash and the one on the right was taken this morning on a very overcast day here in Santa Barbara.

More Mosaic Lessons Learned

The lesson I learned with the parrot is that you can't make tricky, thin cuts when using Wedi board. As I was grouting him, I broke the bottom piece that is his feet and the branch he's sitting on. The piece didn't fall off because of the stained glass pieces attached, but I can no longer give it as a gift. So now he's watching the yard from the Sequoia in my front yard. Not a bad home.

Next time I'll cut him out of Hardibacker. I have until the middle of August before I see my friend, so I think I'll be able to get it done. Maybe I'll make him a little bigger this time.

And since I love cat adventures also, here is Prancer just taking off to chase some creature on the roof. He's out of focus because he's a very fast cat but look at those whiskers!!!