Dragon Tongue part II

Now that the headboard is done I'm back to Dragon Tongue. I'm still waiting for the glue to dry behind some of the translucent pieces so I can't grout yet. But, I've decided to create a companion piece. I have an identical window and am going to make a tongue out of the amber glass that I used for the herringbone pattern with a background of blues and greens.

The tongue will come out of the side of the window instead of the bottom, but I think I'm going to stick with the pieces being smaller at the bottom and gradually getting larger. Here is the plan and the color palette.

Snow day...Slow progress

I felt like I should post some sort of update since I spent the day at home. Unfortunately, I don't really have much to show for it. I just never completely settled into a rhythm. A successful mosaic day has a sense of zen - despite the winter wonderland today wasn't zen-like.

I am making a promise that I will post something to wow you with this weekend. Really.


9:15 UPDATE:
An hour and a half of straight work means I just finished gluing the pieces of the gift mosaic. It is shaping up to be super-cute. I'm feeling much better now.

Break time

I'm taking a break from dragon tongue and have started working on two new projects. One is a present so I'm not going to show progress, the other one is a wonderfully mindless project that I think will turn out beautiful.

I'm using the 15 pane window that was a dud of a project a few months ago and am going to make a headboard for my bed. I'm only using one color of glass and will be using a herringbone pattern; so all the pieces are essentially the same size.

It's like I'm still mosaicing but am on a vacation at the same time because there is no thinking about design. Here is a taste of what it will look like.

I fell out of love last week

I spent a lot of time staring instead of mosaicing last week. Glue wasn’t drying right, colors weren’t blending right. I wasn’t having fun. An episode of Craft in America depressed me instead of inspiring me.

I mosaic because I like it. If I’m not having fun, what’s the point? I tried to fake enthusiasm - gluing on a few pieces of glass every day after work, but I wasn’t bouncing back.

Ira Glass pulled me out of my funk. I don’t think I fell out of love with mosiacing; I just need to listen to myself more. If I’m struggling with a project it’s because my taste is protesting – and according to Ira, my taste is “killer”.

I’ve scrapped the 15-pane door. It wasn’t working for me, so I wasn’t working on it.

My new BFF Chris

So, I'm making a mosaic for Chris. Now, I know a lot of you are saying, "What, who is this guy, I've been asking for a mosaic for years."

Chris's pathetically empty cube at work has made me pity him, and the key of persuading anyone to act is to tap into emotion. As a result, Chris is getting a small mosaic using these four colors. Design of the mosaic is similar to Grandma's piece with what I would describe as a slightly alien/Martian twist.

I've got a design

Started to mosaic my Grandma's picture. It's a tree with some leaves and is only using four colors. I finished the stem and the leaves are up next. I'm not feeling that motivated, which is why I don't have a picture to share. I'm at a, "it will be okay" stage but who wants to make something that is "okay."

I'm really not a gold frame kind of girl

My Grandma gave me a gold frame from an old picture that she used to have hanging in her living room. She asked me to put a mosaic in it for her. So you appreciate this task, let me tell you about my Grandma:

• It takes her at least six hours to adjust a vase of flowers on the table so they are angled perfectly.

• If she doesn't like something she lets you know - repeatedly.

• Her living room is all pastel and floral.

I asked Grandma what kind of colors or design she would like and she said, "I'll like anything you make." My Grandma is an 87 year-old liar. This is a high pressure situation people! I've been thinking about designs for a few weeks now and have yet to settle on anything. I really don't want to end up with a mosaic that neither of us like.

Moving on from Big Guy

With Big Guy complete I have two projects on the docket.

1. A four pane window that I'm going to attempt to save from a really bad initial design by adding a second layer of glass.

2. My Grandma asked for a mosaic. I love my Grandma but man, I don't want to make her a mosaic to match her pink floral living room. It will take some thought to figure out a design that we can both live with.