Tag: mosaic

Sunset and water

I needed to cut some more dichroic squares to fill in the rest of the background on the sunset window, and I got some time this afternoon, so I worked on that.

Cutting squares of light blue / red metallic dichroic glass.

I filled in as I cut, leaving the smaller pieces I will need to cut to fill in the very edges for later. I have been having second thoughts about the overall look of this the past several days, so I haven’t glued anything in place yet. I also worked on the water / waves underneath the sun. So far I’m pretty pleased with the look of the waves. Now the challenge will be gluing the waves in place without jostling the rest of the pieces around too much.

Filling in the edges using a light table.

The colors of this glass when the light table is underneath the window are surprisingly bright. I love working with this dichro glass. I am hoping the look of the blue squares I added on the edges today will have the effect I’m going for, as the reflecting color of the dichroic coating is metallic red on these pieces as opposed to silver / gold on the rest of the sunset’s rays.

Closeup of the area above the light table

I tried to get some photos with the light table off and a bit more reflective light, but it’s pretty challenging to do with my phone in this lighting. Later on I’ll get my husband to help with the photos, as he’s got better equipment and a lot more experience taking photos.

Ambient light in the room.
More reflective angle.

I still need to glue down these pieces, then start cutting smaller pieces to fill in the gaps, especially around the edges and between the waves. I might try using some decorative flakes in the resin when I pour it, but I’m several days away from getting to that point right now. At least my confidence is up quite a bit now that I have most of the window filled in. I was procrastinating because I was afraid it would look too simplistic, but the progress I made today has made me more satisfied with the overall look. I will probably layer the waves to give them more texture, so they will have more depth (no pun intended).

Appreciating the Sunset

My Rainbow Row panels are waiting for warmer weather to get their resin coating, so in the mean time I revisited my dichroic sunset window project. I’d been stumped on what glass to use for the main sun in the center of the window, but today I made a commitment (well, at least cut out the shape even if I haven’t yet glued it in place). It was also time to sort the dichroic pieces I cut for the background by color. The sheets of dichro glass I am using are gradients of colors varying from yellow – pink – purple – blue. The pieces look like they are the same color when the light is reflecting off of the surface, so I have to use a light tray underneath to sort them out.

Sorting the background pieces.
My high tech sorting system.

Once the background pieces were sorted, I laid them out in concentric rings around the sun. I still haven’t decided on how I am going to make the water beneath the sun. I started making wave shapes, but I’m starting to think I would like to use triangles, so I am putting that off for now.

Sun with rays laid out, reflective light.

I laid the concentric background pieces for the rays of the sunset out in general in yellow – pink – purple – blue order with some variation for interest. In the next three photos, I’m moving the light tray from left to right underneath the window.

I will need to fill in the top rows with some pieces cut to fit the window later on. For now I’m just getting a feel for whether this is the look I wanted. My next decision is what color dichro or otherwise glass to use to fill out the edges. I have a neat piece of dichro that is very light blue when on the light table, but has a deep red metallic tint on the reflective view.

  • Reflective view is red.
  • Not the best photo, but it’s light blue.
This is actually two views of the same piece of glass – one with light reflecting and one with the light behind the sheet of glass.

I used some resin spray on this sheet of dichroic as the coating is unstable and could flake off when I’m cutting it. Now my work area smells like resin spray, so I called it a night. I will revisit cutting the background sheet into squares once the resin spray dries and the fumes dissipate.

I’m also still not sure I like the center of the sun being a different type of glass (non-dichroic). I want to look at it for awhile before I glue it in place.

End of Show!

Today is the last day of the Charleston Holiday Market, and it was a busy day. My Mermaid mosaic, Starfish Trio, and Here Comes the Sun mosaic windows all found loving new homes, along with numerous smaller pieces. I’ve made a *little* bit of room to make some new things, so hopefully I will have time to revisit the sunset mosaic I started a few weeks ago with dichroic glass.

Charleston Holiday Market!

I had a busy first day at the Charleston Holiday Market today (you can get a coupon for a dollar off admission if you visit their website). I will be there from 10am to 6pm tomorrow (Saturday) and 11am to 5pm on Sunday. I don’t think I will have a single coaster left by this time Sunday. My Beach Window went to a loving home, and several ornaments did, as well. Since this is my first time participating in such a large show, it is a great learning experience!

My booth at the Charleston Holiday Market.

The best part is that I will have a whole year to prepare for next time; I will know what items resonate with people most and be able to work on similar projects. The date for this creeped up on my quickly because I signed up late in the game, but I will have plenty of time to prepare for next year. Since all of my projects (coasters, ornaments) take at a minimum 2 days to make (windows much longer), I can’t quickly make more. That is part of what makes them special, though! I still have some coasters, plenty of ornaments (both glass and resin) and several window mosaics for the rest of the weekend, though. Come on out to the Convention Center and visit – it’s a great time! Another bonus is that my booth is right next to Mountain Mist – I love their products (especially anything in Orange Blossom scent). My family thinks I will spend all of my earnings in their booth, though.

If I sell out of anything you really like, I can make more – just send me a message. My items are all one of a kind, but I can make something pretty close to what I made before (especially in glass – the coasters are more difficult to reproduce).

N. Charleston Harvest Festival

I will have a booth at the North Charleston Harvest Festival on Saturday, October 19th from 4-7pm. Come check it out!

The City of North Charleston announces the 7th Annual Harvest Festival featuring live musical performances, an artist market, costume contests, trick-or-treat on the street, a pop-up pumpkin patch, children’s activities, and more.  The fall festivities will take place in the Olde Village of North Charleston, located on East Montague Avenue near Park Circle, on Saturday, October 19, 2019, from 4:00-7:00pm.  Admission and parking are free. East Montague Avenue will close to vehicular traffic from Jenkins Avenue to Virginia Avenue at 2:00pm and remain closed for the duration of the event.

The celebration includes live music by the delightfully eclectic V-Tones of Charleston and singer-songwriter Rene Russell. The Kid’s Zone offers a craft activity led by the City’s artist-in-residence Katherine Hester, carnival games, face painting, drumming with RBM African Drum and Dance, and a variety of inflatables. An artist market featuring local artists, crafters, and makers will line two blocks of East Montague Avenue, along with a few festive treat vendors. In addition, many of the restaurants in the Olde Village will offer food and drink specials.

Other highlights include trick-or-treating on the street with free treat bags for kids age 12 and under (4:00-6:00pm, while supplies last); a pop-up pumpkin patch with on-site decorating stations (cash only – prices of pumpkins vary); a mechanical bull, photo booths, and costume contests with categories for youth, groups, and pets. The contests are free to enter and prizes will be furnished by the City of North Charleston Recreation Department, merchants of the North Charleston Olde Village, and Park Pets. Participants for all contests should be prepared to line up for judging at 5:45pm for the contests to begin at 6:00pm.

The annual Harvest Festival is a rain or shine event produced by the City of North Charleston in collaboration with the North Charleston Olde Village merchants. For information on additional programs and events, visit the Arts & Culture section of the City’s website at www.northcharleston.org. 

Evergreen trees

I just started a dichroic window project, but yesterday my eldest child suggested that I make some evergreen trees, so I set that aside for a few days. I decided to start with just a small suncatcher and then see if I could expand it a bit in future projects. First I looked at some photos of trees online to decide what “look” I liked, then I grabbed a Sharpie marker and made a rough sketch. After that, I cut some clear background glass. Then I pulled out some green glass and cut it into strips. The strips were cut with mosaic nippers into pieces that would become the branches.

A sketch and the raw materials

Now it was time to start laying out the branches. I liked the way the first layer looked, so I went ahead and glued it down using Mac glue.

The first layer

I might make some later on with just one layer, but for this tree I decided to fill in the gaps with a second layer, giving the tree more dimension. I also added a whimsical little cardinal bird to it. I have to wait for the glue to dry before I pour the resin layer, but for now, this is how it looks.

The second layer

I also added a hanger that will be held in place by the resin. I won’t use hangers if I make a larger version of this later on.

Everything glued in place

Tomorrow I can pour the resin and decorate it with some glass chips for snow and sparkle.

Sorting the dichro

My light tray (small, inexpensive one) arrived today, so I decided to try it out. I wanted to be able to see the colors of the square pieces of dichroic glass I cut from a larger sheet when I lay them out on the window. The light tray is a huge help with this, but it is still a bit of a challenge, as the color perception changes based on the viewing angle. When I am directly over the window (perpendicular to it), this is how the colors look:

Perpendicular view

However, at a slight angle, the colors change significantly:

Colors look different at an angle
Short video of the angle changing.

With the light tray off, the glass is metallic. This is due to the dichroic coating, and in very dim light the colors disappear and are replaced with a metallic shine. This photo doesn’t really capture it, but it’s the best I could do at the moment.

Reflective light

This Art Deco Sun / Moon mosaic is a good example of this type of glass:

A new dichroic project

I prepped two more half windows and am trying to figure out what to put in the first one. I have a lot of beach / sea themed mosaics on hand, so I think I will do something different with this one. I love this dichroic glass, so I think I will start with it and see where it takes me – sort of a Ribbon of Light.

Cutting the large sheet of dichroic glass into strips.
Cutting the strips into squares.

I like the idea of having all uniform square pieces for the “ribbon” part of the mosaic, but when I lay them out, I have the urge to make a lot of them trapezoidal so the curves are smoother. We’ll see if the urge wins out or not. I also broke down and ordered a light box, as I can’t tell what color the dichro pieces will be without one (well, not without holding each individual piece up to the light source, which is too tedious with a 30″ window).

First draft of the “ribbon”.

This is just the first, very rough draft for this project. Still lots of adjustments to make and planning to do before any glue is involved!

Park Circle Farmers Market

I’ll be at the N. Charleston Farmers Market every Thursday in September and October (weather permitting). Come check out my booth!

A few things completed

Here is some of the fruit of the labor of prior days. The sun mosaic is complete, and I have 8 coasters and some beads ready, as well.

Here comes the sun!

I had a new request for some memory beads, but I’m not yet sure what type she will want. Since I had some resin handy, I just made a selection of beads. They turned out pretty well!

Rondelle (6 mm hole), rondelle (5 mm hole), ball beads.

The coasters I made with the quick layering technique turned out OK. I think next time I will swirl the water pigmented layers a bit. I was hesitant to do that because the layer underneath wasn’t cured, but I think the pigments need to be moved around a bit more. I also think the look of the bubbles at the edge of the water are improved with this technique.

Quick layered coasters.