Let me give you a tour of my tiny portfolio:
Monkey mama linked to my first project, done in class. I loved it, but I don't think of it as sellable and the grout is now starting to crack on it. I learned two lessons - 1. don't get fancy with the edge (fancy edges have to be babied), and 2. grout has to "cure" slower than 3-4 days ... I wrap my pieces with a bathtowel I hate, spritz the towel to dampen it and wrap that in a plastic kitchen garbage bag and leave it alone for a full 7 days.
This is the finished garden tray. I found a wire tray at the thrift store and fit the piece to the bottom. Wearing like iron!
This is the piece I gave to the Duvall friends. Its a homage to their
I asked a coffeeshop (Green Bean) to hold their chipped and broken mugs, plates, and other ceramic stuff. I used a fair amount of black coffee mug for the rooster tail above. I made this piece for them. Word has it that they will be hanging it soon. I'll let you all know if that comes to pass!
I still have to grout this for lawyer friend and partner. They love poker and throwing dinner parties. What should happen (fingers crossed) is that the clear glass should protect the card face underneath from the grout. I learned also that a much better source for interesting ceramics is not the thrift store, but a high end ceramics shop because the high end shop can only sell the chipped and cracked pieces to me for a quarter or fifty cents. (a Vernon plate provided the curtain-y middle top).
January 2nd, 2012 at 01:22 pm 1325510545
January 2nd, 2012 at 05:44 pm 1325526252
January 3rd, 2012 at 02:35 am 1325558116
(I see that Bedrock Industries also has mosaic classes, but I haven't taken any.)
The rest of it was like the Star Trek episode with the Gorn...the one where Kirk saw all the bits to make a mock gunpowder cannon. I walked past the free wood dump and saw pallet wood with wood around that looked pre-framed; Fred Meyer had a good deal on wood stain and paint; Home Depot had the tools, thinset mortar, grout because mosaics are the artsy cousin of bathroom tiling; Bedrock had a good deal on vitrious glass, along with a 25 cent tile and glass plate; Laguna Pottery has the scratch and dent pottery in the back; Green Bean uses donated coffee mugs and ceramics ...and you know that accidents happen and they are more than happy to give me breakage for free. The only thing that spent retail on is Weldbond white glue. That stuff is fantastic.
I stopped by Art on the Ridge today and showed the owner (who took the class with me) what I have. I can grout at their big art table in the back in the winter!