buzzville

mud pies and more weekend goodness

We had a busy weekend, full of fun. Saturday morning started with the last of my mosaic classes, and the class was devoted to grouting our finished projects. The grouting process was probably the most fun, and was a lot like making mud pies as a kid! Although we haven't had great sunshine for a couple of days, I attempted a photo of the grouted mosaic:

and here's a close-up of the letters:

I don't know how well you'll be able to tell in the photo, but there is quite a bit of irridescent glass that gives it a luminous quality. My only complaint about the mosaic is that there isn't enough contrast between the pink background and the yellow and white leaves. I couldn't find any "bubble gum" pink glass locally, and had to settle for relatively pastel pinks. Like quilting, contrast and value are pretty important for mosaics. But, despite my criticisms, I'm still pretty happy with it as my first mosaic.

After class, we went to a birthday party for Grace, and friend of Brynne's. They had rented a jumper for the kids, and Brynne had a blast:

Grace's grandmother is quite an amazing cake decorater, and she made this great lion cake (also see cupcakes to the left):

We got home after the party and I was thrilled to have a package from Fiona in my mailbox! She sent this lovely assortment of fabrics, vintage buttons, yummy Swiss chocolate, and the latest Donna Hay magazine!

Thanks Fiona! I love it all!

Mosaic Progress Report

I mentioned last week that I was going to be taking a short mosaic class. The class is taught through the community education program at our local community college. The class is just three nights, and I had the second class last night. I decided to do a project based on an illustration from one of my all-time favorite childrens' books, Mary Blair's "I Can Fly". I know I've raved about her artwork before, but if you aren't familiar, you definitely need to check out her work - she's amazing!

Anyway, here is a close-up of the tree I'm using for my mosaic:

and here's my mosaic with the trunk and tree branches complete:

The instructor for the class remarked that my mosaic looked like a quilt, which I found interesting considering that she had no idea that I'm a quilter... makes me wonder about my own style and voice in my work - maybe something is emerging after all... I'll continue to post updates as the mosaic progresses. All in all, I can report that thus far it's been really fun to do, but is a little hard on the hands (all the glass cutting!).