News....

Oh my....after months and months (and months)....this blog will finally be moving to my gorgeous brand new site in the next few days so watch this space (literally!)

In the meantime, look what Isabella has been doing! A work in progress...

Little mosaic lovelies appearing in new Stampington mag!

This weekend has seen me doing the Wandsworth Artists Open House whilst the capital basked in this most bizarre but lovely 30 degree heat.

 

Lots of people came, 'oohed' and 'ahhed' at the gleaming glass art of Sally Dunnet combined with the shimmering mosaics of yours truly. It has been lovely meeting so many people who are always so happy to discover the artists 'hidden' in their midst! Same again next weekend so do come and say hello if you are around (we are number 61 on the map which can be downloaded here).

I'm still playing catch up after summer holidays and I have not had time to make more art. Mosaics being a slow art, I am discovering some things that I can make that don't take ages. One of these is mosaic stones as paperweights or mementos. I do love these little beauties that will be making an appearance...

 

...in the new magazine by Stampington Press no less (who publish titles such as Artful Blogging).  A tutorial for my mosaic stones will be appearing in the January 2012 issue of Create With Me magazine - a stylish publication showcasing art by all ages and projects for adults to do with children. This time last year one of my mosaic projects with children was showcased in Disney's Family Fun magazine too.  I see a little trend appearing!

Mosaic scatter paintings for you to try!

I read in Elaine Goodwin's Encyclopedia of Mosaics about a mosaic technique that involves freely scattering mosaic tiles over a substrate prepared with mortar - it intrigued me for two reasons, firstly that it is much more random than normal mosaic making processes and secondly that it provides for a way of using up left over little pieces of tile (as a mosaic magpie, I find it hard to throw those shiny little lovelies away).

I am keen to try this myself and thought that it would be an excellent activity to do with children - consider it free painting with tiles!

 Doing this activity is of course slightly easier if you are already into mosaics as you will have plenty of left over bits of tile, but if you don't, fear not. Here as some options:

- make friends with a local mosaic artist and offer to take their leftover tile bits from them (and make a friend in the process - we are a friendly bunch us mosaic makers!)

or

- gather lots of small, colourful, sparkling bits - beads, tiny mosaic tiles, spray paint some beans, sweeties - even throw in some things from nature - seed pods, acorns etc... (have a look at this post for readily available things to  use for mosaic making with children). Consider this a good way of sweeping up all those bits and bobs in the depths of your child's bedroom!

or

- buy some mosaic tiles and chop them up with a pair of tile nippers like this. Alternatively you can use ordinary leftover ceramic tiles (colour is important here) and put them in a tea towel, well covered, and bosh with a hammer then pull out the pieces leaving the shards behind in the tea towel. All glass / tile breaking activities should of course be done with care, protecting eyes and little fingers from sharp bits.

So, to the tutorial:

You will need:

- a pile of small shiny objects, either leftover offcuts of mosaic tiles or other bits and pieces as described above

- a blank canvas. I buy them from the pound (dollar) store.

- PVA / craft glue (white gloopy glue that dries clear)

- glitter


What to do:

1. Get everything ready and to hand

2. Squirt the gloopy glue on the canvas freely - making shapes and patterns. Use lots - the glue needs to be deep enough for the bits to really very stuck in. The kids absolutely loved doing this!

3. Take the mosaic / shiny / colourful bits and liberally sprinkle them all over the canvas making sure you get them all over where the glue has landed. We used a spoon and a also poured from a pot (rather than using hands). It really is like splodge painting with tiles.

4. Press the pieces down to make sure they have made contact.

5. If you want, spend some time moving pieces around so that those pieces that have landed on a bit of canvas without glue are moved into the glue. My daughter spent several minutes in deep concentration doing this.

6. Pick a glitter colour that you think will enhance the piece and sprinkle it all over

7. When the piece has dried, turn it upside down and shake loose pieces off.

8. Step back and admire your masterpiece!

 

Let me know if you try this - I would love to see pictures of your children's mosaic scatter paintings :)

How to become a mosaic artist...

I was walking my daughter to school yesterday and she asked me about what work I was doing this week. I told her  I was preparing to do a mosaic project with some children and her ears pricked up. "How old are they mummy?" she asked. "Between 8 and 16 years old" I replied.

"But mummy, do you have to be 8 years old to make mosaics?"

"Well, you have been making mosaics since you were 2 1/2 Isabella" I replied. Her chest filled with pride and a big smile broke out on her face....

And its true, that since they were very little, both of my children have sat with me in my studio, merrily sticking tesserae (nuggets, tiles, sweets, beads) to substrate (in my case, a huge batch of plain white tiles). They are prolific and have produced quite a body of work!

The beauty of having started so young, is that you can see the evolution of their work. A couple of weeks ago, it was their daddy's birthday and they both secretly and excitedly worked away in the studio creating a mosaic each for him. I was quite amazed at how they have gone from just plonking any tile onto the base to now actually choosing how to place things in a very considered way. They are relaxed and at home with the medium of mosaic. Isabella even helped me to grout a commission I was finishing on Monday!

So, here we have the evolution of  mosaic artists in pictures, from age 2 1/2! If you want to have a go with your children, most of these masterpieces have been turned into tutorials (see top and left menu's).

Isabella's first mosaic age 2 1/2

Toby's present for daddy March 2011

Isabella's present for daddy March 2011