gritty grout, cold hands

Yesterday was my deadline for starting to get some of the growing stack of mosaics items grouted. Because of my lack of real work space, any grouting must be done outside. But as luck would have it, a much needed (yet poorly timed) cold front and rain were also on the schedule for the entire weekend. However, I'd made a vow and was determined to stick to it. So, coffee cup in hand, I set up my grouting station on the patio and got to work. Two items in and I was desperate for more hot liquids to warm my insides. Coffee downed and feeling like a living hot water bottle exuding my own heat, I got to work on the last of my trivets. Once those were done, I packed up shop because the afternoon was waning and the cold was beginnning to turn my hands into stiff icicles. But as I walked into the house to wash my hands, guilt and a feeling of having given up came over me. What was I? An artist or a wimp? A resolve set in. The cold would not get the better of me! Then I turned around, dug my heels in and set to work. I was not coming in the house until I was done. Well, in the interest of honest reporting, I admit that several cups of coffee were consumed for warmth. Plus the trips into the house to prepare said java provided the opportunity - albeit shortly lived - to allow my fingers to defrost. But hey, I was on a mission and nothing was deterring me from reaching my goals. The jewelry boxes (the first I've done) proved to be less complicated than I'd anticipated, yet nevertheless required a lot of time and care to keep them pristine. You have to understand that grouting and pristine just aren't ready bedfellows. The patio spotlights were quite useful when the blasted sunlight gave up on me. At one point, my beloved eldest daughter decided her mother needed a drink after all her hours of work. So she brought me a lovely giant glass of iced lemonade! It was too adorable and funny that I couldn't help but laugh.
In the end, I still had one jewelry box and a bowl that didn't make it through to the grouting frenzy before the rain started, but I'll get to those on the first sunny day that comes our way. I'm glad I persevered and have more goodies to put on the shop. But there's only one problem: I can't make photos of the last of the items because of the stormy weather. Not to worry, the jewelry boxes will be up on the shop in another day or two. More anticipation for you to enjoy!

Be careful when going out on a limb

The last time I posted, I was so excited about branching out...being more fearless in my choices of color and design. With the upcoming smoochie-moochie Valentine's Day holiday approaching - not to mention the full page of red, pink and white featured on Etsy recently - I decided to make a Valentine inspired trivet. The design is gorgeous. But the color palette just isn't 'me'. I dunno, maybe I'm just not the smoochie-moochie type.  My daughters all think "it's LOVELY". And I think it's lovely too. I know several women who would adore this in their kitchens. But an eye-popping vibrant pink would have suited my own style more. As artists, I think it's important to stay true to our own style. Our followers need to know what to expect from us as well. So, be bold. Be daring. But don't lose sight of who you are as an artist in the process.

Brown can be fun too

 
I kind of get caught up in using lots of bold sun-inspired designs and often overlook the lovely earthy browns in my tile collection. Now, don't get me wrong. I adore my sunny colors and designs and I'm not about to ditch them for a fresh start. But yesterday evening as I was sitting down to start a new piece after making dinner for the kids, I decided to go with a completely different color palate than my usual comfort zone would encompass. It was liberating! I'm looking forward to creating a few new pieces today with a more varied color selection.

Speaking of new creations, I know I've been promising to get the new pieces on my Etsy shop for days. Juggling mosaics, a 4-year old home with flu for a week and the usual homework and carpooling with the bigger kids means the grouting keeps getting pushed off. I've made a resolution to get at least half of the things grouted on the weekend though (please let it rain at night and be sunny during the day so I can grout outside on the patio!!). As soon as they're done, I'll get them on the shop for you to see.

Squares, squares, squares

This past week, I've been busy on so many different projects that I honestly do need to start organizing my time so that I can focus on one thing at a time. Square jewelery boxes, square trivets, square tiles. Nevertheless it's been a fun and productive week and that's just inspiration to do even more! I was going to add each item to the shop as I got it done, but then I decided that grouting in the dining room every day probably wasn't the best idea, so I'm saving the grouting process until I get at least half a dozen things ready. So I suspect this weekend's forecast calls for lots of sand and dust! I can't wait for everyone to see what I've been doing though, so keep your eyes peeled for new items on the shop!

Two hot mamas, some wheels and a lot of reclaimed 'junk'

On Wednesday of last week, my friend who-shall-not-be-named and I took a drive to Petach Tikvah (a suburb of Tel Aviv) to do some relic scavenging. There are older neighborhoods there than in the new little city where we live, so a much better shot at unearthing some real treasures. She navigated while I steered and we found so much loot we could have filled up a small moving truck with the good stuff alone. Sadly, my minivan just wasn't massive enough for many of the items we found, but we both ended up coming home with several grin inducing pieces. She-who-shall-not-be-named got more drawers than her daughters would ever be able to enjoy having stacked in their living room. Not to mention how many chairs she brought home for her crafters challenge. Both of us managed to find a few window frames as well as several other smaller odds and ends. My favorite find though was an old heavy glass light fixture. I haven't got a clue what I'm going to do with it yet, but it just called out to be reincarnated into something extraordinary. How could I ignore it's pleas? The way the glaze has crackled over the years has given it the effect that it has practically mosaiced itself. I wonder how I'll be able to preserve it's awesomeness and still create something new from it. Time will tell...

Let's start at the beginning...

Now that my mosaics shop is up and running and I'm going full force creating new pieces every day, I wanted to have a place to write about the process, inspiration I find along the way and adventures I stumble upon. I hope you'll enjoy reading about my mosaics as much as I enjoy making them.  I'll also be blogging about my various and sundry felt projects that I've added to my "I Felt Like It" subcategory of my Etsy shop.


So, hello and welcome to my new blog!