The Making of Moontree

Here is a photo log of the process of making one of my mosaics, a commission called Moontree. It is 48 x 71 cm piece made of vitreous tiles and stained glass. I have been wanting to do a mosaic of the moon and trees for a while so this piece fulfilled both - though I will attempt another tree soon! It is hard to capture on photo the beauty of the iridescent glass that makes the moon - as you walk past the mosaic it changes colour and really does look like the surface of the moon.

The process of making it was interesting for me - I was really excited about it at its design and making stage but as I go towards the end, I began to feel quite ambivalent about the piece. But now I love it again. I explored this idea on the Contemporary Mosaic Art online community and discovered that I am not alone in going through phases of ambivalence when a piece is finished. Other mosaic artists describe going from the intensity of concentrating on a piece to stopping and how it impacts therir feelings negatively towards a piece - like a 'mini-death'. But then it comes back to life in you.I am not quite sure the what's and why's of such feelings but certainly can relate to this description. Then of course there is good old perfectionism at work of which I suffer in huge doses!

The recipient of Moontree, Julie, was very happy and overwhelmed by her mosaic when she received it. Several people on Contemporary Mosaic Art have commented on the feelings of peace and serenity the piece conveys - I am happy to have created a piece of art that does that for people.