on the hunt - 216
Pete and I spent Sunday afternoon at daughter, Laurie’s new apartment installing the mosaic and also hanging up some of her other artwork and things on the walls. She is still in the midst of unpacking and putting things away, but she has got a real good start on it all.
Here is her mosaic mounted on the wall . . .
Behind the cut I tell how I made it and more pictures
I got this idea for a mirrored mosaic about 10 years ago. I wanted to make something that would have its own built-in backlighting that you could hang on a wall. Instead of hanging it in a window, you hang it across from a window or other light source. I had never seen anything like it done before and I’ve never seen anything like it since either, so I’m claiming it as my own invention/creation.
It measures 4 feet x 2 feet and is built on a piece of plywood. Finished weight is about 50 pounds. I made the frame out of heavy duty yardsticks that I painted black, then cut to size and mounted around the perimeter and then divided it two more times to make it like a triptych. That gave me a nice border to work within close to the same height as the glass would be.
I used three different types of glass: actual colored mirrored glass of a few different textures, the background is a BE gold and silver matt iridized glass, and textured cathedral glasses. Since you could see through the cathedral glass, I got the idea to cut a piece of mirror the exact size as each piece of glass in the design and attach the two together, making little separate reflective tiles and giving the cathedral glass its own backlighting. I also used some hand painted glass, glass jewels and an agate, which became a trademark piece in every one of these I made.
I knew the design should be simple with mostly straight lines or easy curves, because I didn’t want to use the grinder on any glass because it might chip the edges and be visible when I grouted it. When it came time to grout, I mixed black paint in with the grout and it turned out a nice dark grayish color.
To mount it I cut a 4 foot long piece of trim and attached it to the wall with four screws and anchors, then we lifted the mosaic up onto the trim, then put a screw in the two vertical center pieces of wood. A little more time with putty and some black paint and it was done.
I made one for our house first as kind of a prototype, then one for Tracy and finally this one for Laurie.
I debated for a while on what to title this one. It was down to two names, “Escape,” and “The Doorway.” I settled on The Doorway, but now when I look at it, I think Escape would have been a better name.
These pictures don’t really do it justice. It is much easier to photograph glass backlit in a window and get a true look than this. It is intensely more bright and colorful than you can imagine. And as glass and textured mirrors do, it is constantly changing.
Here are some close-up pictures in different lighting.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
One of these days, I’ll post about the others I made.
Here is her mosaic mounted on the wall . . .
Behind the cut I tell how I made it and more pictures
I got this idea for a mirrored mosaic about 10 years ago. I wanted to make something that would have its own built-in backlighting that you could hang on a wall. Instead of hanging it in a window, you hang it across from a window or other light source. I had never seen anything like it done before and I’ve never seen anything like it since either, so I’m claiming it as my own invention/creation.
It measures 4 feet x 2 feet and is built on a piece of plywood. Finished weight is about 50 pounds. I made the frame out of heavy duty yardsticks that I painted black, then cut to size and mounted around the perimeter and then divided it two more times to make it like a triptych. That gave me a nice border to work within close to the same height as the glass would be.
I used three different types of glass: actual colored mirrored glass of a few different textures, the background is a BE gold and silver matt iridized glass, and textured cathedral glasses. Since you could see through the cathedral glass, I got the idea to cut a piece of mirror the exact size as each piece of glass in the design and attach the two together, making little separate reflective tiles and giving the cathedral glass its own backlighting. I also used some hand painted glass, glass jewels and an agate, which became a trademark piece in every one of these I made.
I knew the design should be simple with mostly straight lines or easy curves, because I didn’t want to use the grinder on any glass because it might chip the edges and be visible when I grouted it. When it came time to grout, I mixed black paint in with the grout and it turned out a nice dark grayish color.
To mount it I cut a 4 foot long piece of trim and attached it to the wall with four screws and anchors, then we lifted the mosaic up onto the trim, then put a screw in the two vertical center pieces of wood. A little more time with putty and some black paint and it was done.
I made one for our house first as kind of a prototype, then one for Tracy and finally this one for Laurie.
I debated for a while on what to title this one. It was down to two names, “Escape,” and “The Doorway.” I settled on The Doorway, but now when I look at it, I think Escape would have been a better name.
These pictures don’t really do it justice. It is much easier to photograph glass backlit in a window and get a true look than this. It is intensely more bright and colorful than you can imagine. And as glass and textured mirrors do, it is constantly changing.
Here are some close-up pictures in different lighting.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
One of these days, I’ll post about the others I made.