All Cracked Up Mosaics

Fun 3D skull in honor of Dia de los Muertos.  See more details on the Gallery page.

Latest home installation!  See more details on the Gallery page.

This has been one of my most favorite projects.  I had always dreamed of doing a large scale version of the original painting by Gustav Klimt “The Tree of Life” and as my last client and I were consulting on what to put above her bathtub we both came to the same idea at the same time.  It was meant to be.  My dream would come true and it would be large!  The whole piece is approximately 22′ sq. ft and is above a bathtub in a beautiful home in Santa Barbara.

Here is a small glimpse into how the process unfolded! About 150 hours, pounds of stained glass and many creative glass fusions!

The cartoon drawn out of Wedi board.

Starting to lay out the glass, Wedi board cut into 3 manageable panels.

Glass fusions being added to give this piece it’s timeless whimsical effect.

close up of some fusions

more fusions

installation day 1.  hang the piece with special washers and screws to the wall.  leaving the seams to fill in at the client’s home.

more installation with the famous bird!

COMPLETE!

My next commission will be a 25 square foot half circle shape with the Tree of Life image done in stained glass.  The substrate will be on Wedi board then screwed into the wall.  The colors will be primarily irridized cream with different shades of brown for the tree.  I am really looking forward to adding some millefiori and fused glass to this piece as well to give it some unique colors and shapes.  Stay tuned for progress pictures as I get started!!

I have decided with this project to tell a little story behind it.  Everyone says how important it is to blog so here I go.  This commission was a great experience from beginning to end.  I learned so much and created my first 3D fountain.  I had so many ideas about how to create this fountain and how it would be structurally sound.

I started with a rebar base.    I hired a welder to make this part of the base.  Then I had to add metal mesh all around the base.  After the mesh was wired on I added newspaper inside.  This would help catch the concrete when it was applied.

After the newspaper was added the concrete had to be mixed.  Using premade concrete I added acrylic polymer for strength, I then applied 3 layers of concrete over 3 days.  I also took this time to make sure the basin would fit properly on top of the base.

  


Once the concrete layers were complete I began to draw the design on the base.     

After deciding what the design would be I began to pick what colors of glass for each part of the fountain.  Meanwhile the ball had to be constructed with the proper size PVC pipe inside to house the fountain pipe.

After creating the ball and base for the ball the real fun began by starting to mosaic the base and basin.

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Once the mosaic process was started there was no stopping.  I really enjoyed creating this piece and find looking at it exciting and soothing at the same time.  I used predominantly irridized stained glass, so when the light hits it there are so many color possibilities on each piece of glass.

Now with all the parts ready to come together it was time for installation.  The base and basin were brought separately to the location then thinset together for more stability.  Finally it was time to install the pump and let the water flow.  This piece happily resides in the front yard of a wonderful family’s home in Santa Barbara, Ca.

please feel free to leave any questions or comments and thanks for reading!!

Stay tuned for a completed fountain installation this week!

Next pictures will be a grouted mosaic fountain…stay tuned

My friend and I saw this fun and whimsical painting in a store the other day….I thought it was a happy fun piece.  The artist is James Paul Brown….check him out very cool guy!

As you well know I love to be a mosaic artist.  If it can be covered in tile, glass or any other found object I am there to do it, but never before had I designed or made a fountain.  Now I can say I have.  Not only did I design it and build it from scratch (ok almost scratch) but then I designed the mosaic and created that too.  What a great experience and to work with such incredible clients as well.  Here is just a taste of what is to come as this project is coming to an end and will be finished and installed next week!