In November I attended a wonderful and wonderfully creative class taught by the master mosaicist Laurel Skye. The class was in the Los Angeles area, and the teaching was great but the venue was not very conducive to working. We were in a cluttered garage with too many people, and it was almost impossible to skirt the other artists and get to the table with supplies and things to buy for our creations. Of course, I elbowed my way through and bought some lovely lavender jeweled ribbons and tiles for my rug. Here we are with our mosaics at the end of the two-day class. I didn't quite finish but I have done so now. Below is the finished piece.
We used a technique I'd read about but never tried. We took mastic and colored it black. Then we used that as our adhesive and "grout" since it would be pretty hard to grout these pieces after they were finished.
Here is my piece on the first day. The hand was made in polymer clay in Laurie Mika's class in Santa Barbara. And you can see the beautiful purple and lavender ribbons that were for sale. Below is the finished piece. I think it turned out really well.
I sat next to a really funny person named Robin and promised her I'd let her know when I put this on my blog. Well, it took four months. She isn't in the picture unfortunately but she really added to the happy atmosphere of the workshop.
I should also mention that I have started doing fused glass, bought another kiln and have been having a wonderful time trying to make things. The two things I have found relatively easy to make (although I have many stories of those that didn't for one reason or another) are swizzle sticks and slumped bottles. The swizzles on the left all have cat designs, and the one below is a set I made for a friend's birthday. She has always loved swizzle sticks and has a large collection. I made it in colors she loves and put the "O" on for her last name.
See you all again very soon!
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