Mosaic Workshop at OzMosaics Mosaic Studio - :Little mosaic houses

A busy weekend mosaic workshop! The students made mosaic houses or windows or both! 3-D mixed media mosaics, started from scratch, on pre-sealed pre-wired boards (MDF) which Dave prepared.

Students were inspired by Sandy over a morning cuppa on Saturday and coaxed into thinking about a mosaic picture of their own creation based around a possible house, tree, window treatment and mosaic wheelbarrow (a piece of prepared mozboard). The tile slicers and scorers, Leponitts and hammers were working over time this weekend. Luckily every student has their own full set of tools to use.

A big selection of ceramic tiles, china, tortured willow, mugs, cups, saucers, plates, bling and boing, wire, mosaic mesh, beads, bucket loads of thinset, tools and spinning the mosaic bottle kept us all very busy. Pre-wiring on mesh, how to attach beads, pre-mask and double mask glass and bottles, glitter, clear liquid nails applications, how to mix thinset "thin and thick"; shove the shard, cut flowers 3-D from magnolia to daisy, using sticky tape holding methods and more.....phew!

How to store china snips for later and find them easily, how to paint with thinset and texture, add glass highlights to windows, add fabric possibilities, attach tortured willow or bark or mix it up with china etc, how to get wine bottle curved glass to become palm branches, creepers or jacaranda foliage or perhaps grass or cacti.......

How to make window louvers stand up and how to get the sharp edges off - or not. Tumbling, rattling and rolling glass and china and ceramic......what causes the thinset mask to come off or stay on....how long to tumble, 5,10,15,20!!!!! We worked it out today.

Cushioning mosaics when cleaning or adjusting....how to make sure the 3-D will look great when vertical.......getting the grout in the grooves or etching it out.....gold under glass effects...painting the sides of "things" with nail polish or gold or your 'arts delight!

Knowing that chocolate is great and licorice and snakes and chiko babies....yummy. Sharing jokes, knowledge and cake.

Knowing Dave's coffee is awesome; especially as he doesn't drink coffee.....he is now king of coffee as Sandy never gets the coffee scoops right!

Having mum and Maureen in the backroom slaving away to help for Karalee on Monday (gosh that's tomorrow - early 5am get out of bed to pack the trailer with tons of mosaic...) I am out of here!!!!!!!!

Cutting china and lots more tips with getting that shape!

A good look down inside the balcony. Sandy does not know the meaning of "too much" and this student was ready to mosaic rock and roll!

Priscilla is Queen of the Bottlers! LOL! Not all are green hanging on Sandy's wall!

Sandy reveals some great mosaic tips for flowers for later on.

Bottle smashers in training~!

The mosaic fairies came in on Sat night and cleaned up the work areas...

Just love the bark in the garden - one of my precious pieces I parted with! Wine bottle cacti and greenery and willow tree starting. Little pots, rocks, and a lovely wheelbarrow treatment under all the thinset! You need to wait at day before cleaning off the thinset. The flowers in the bark garden are on the wire. The boards were all pre-rendered with black thinset over the waterproof membrane to give depth as we worked.The ground can be painted, covered in mosaic or more thinset render. So much can be done.

This house is so cute - I want to move in. The orange and grey colours are scrumptious! The path is textured with pebbles and the door is textured tile. The shingle roof is really clever and is three layers. So much more coming!









The barrow is starting to be treated with mosaic tile, gorgeous gold and browns. The tree is really wonderful if you could see it "live". Note the blue textured sky again. The barrow is uplifted with thinset and shards and in all the mosaic pictures the barrows will be full of pique assiette blooms, and other fanciful stuff!!!! The barrow will be the main feature in each picture when completed.
Tree greenery is starting now.

The tree bark is old and from my huge old white gum in the front garden. stuck on with cln. The little window has piped white thinset cross bars! I love this idea and use it so much for wrought iron effects, squiggles and signatures etc etc etc. The tile here is very 3-D (photos don't show it) and the sky is rendered. The roof line extends out off the board. The window and door have metal 3-D weather protectors. Pauline became adept with tin snips. The wheelbarrow has fabulous red flowers to come and I didn't get a final pic of this one; as it left the studio it had palm trees coming from left hand side of building and lots of greenery in the tree (jacaranda) and the barrow was filling up.

adding pots to the balcony- the shutters are upraised.

In the raw.....getting the wall down with thinset squished in to give an old wall effect later, the balcony on, louvres on the got, extended window treatment at top of roof line and more....let's clean this level up. Thinset comes off easily with water and scourer after setting overnight.



The window box is getting there.....the barrow in on and under the black thinset is red and hot pink tesserae. The barrow will have flowers, greenery and pots and bling and boing added later. The white flower at the top of the window is going to be fabulous when cleaned up.

Thanks girls for a fabulous weekend, I know you are worn out, but that's a good mosaic thing. Have fun putting the adorning touches on your mosaic masterpieces at home and I will see you soon.
hugs
cheers
Sandy Robertson
Mosaic Artist, addict, diva, tired person! Brisbane Queensland Australia OzMosaics

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