Monday, December 21, 2009

King George Square - heated discussion


http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/square-could-have-been-done-better-lord-mayor-20091221-l9y1.html

Art in King George Square - new coffee shop opened - Dancing Ladies - 12 Days of Christmas

Nine Ladies Dancing - King George Square - Artist Dozen - Brisbane city council























Monday Morning, alarm goes off at 4.45am! Dave and I leap out of bed and prepare to pack the trailer with the nine ladies dancing - mosaic murals I have created for the King George Square, Artist Dozen, 12 Days of Christmas Carol project - Brisbane City Council - 2009.


Rain and storms were forecast - anxious eyes watched the heavens over Brisbane City Hall and the King George Square. I thought it was a good line " we are thinking outside the mosaic square" at King George Square. I wished to show visitors and residents of Brisbane that mosaics are not all "flat" so my take on the Christmas Carol, was Ladies at BrisVegas, dancing in the Square and outside of the square. No square dancing here...Pole dancers, go-go dancers, can-can, show girl dancer, water ballet (the costume on this dancer was made from a gold kitchen scourer, so it was waterproof!!!!!)....two girls from the Moulin Rouge (legs are the stems of the cocktail glasses)....a belly dancer and a 2 metre tall mosaic dancer.....

Three of the dancers are in the "bird cate" the can-can, go-go and belly dancer!

The tall dancer on the reverse side of the huge polystyrene Number 9 has her dancing arms outstretched to the glittering mirror mosaic disco ball which is epoxied to the top of the number 9!

Lots of people danced around the number 9 and hundreds of photos were being taken. Children with parents were filling the Square on such a beautiful evening. It was good to see the Square being used. The artwork pulled people back to the Square.
Full story coming on OzMosaics website. If you get the chance, visit King George Square, Brisbane Queensland Australia to see the Christmas Carol, Twelve Days of Christmas with a new slant! The Artist Dozen presented by Brisbane City Council. Thanks to Tian for the opportunity to be part of this fun and exciting public art project.

















Thursday, December 17, 2009

Birds of a Feather MAANZ - Ronald McDonald House


Sandy Robertson made a bird called "hope" and Veronica Schubert made a bird called "pink healing light".

Sandy added finishing touches to both birds and photographed them before they took flight and left the nest...headed to be installed at Ronald McDonald House by the MAANZ Brisbane project team.

We enjoyed making these birds. Sandy's bird has a mosaic bird, the soul mate...and is a symbol of hope and encourgment...take wings and fly....on a wing and a prayer....

To all guests at Ronald McDonald House, may your dreams come true, hold on to hope and we send Pink Healing Light.....









Sunday, December 13, 2009

Partridge in a Pear Tree - Number 1 Day 1

Day One - I love this artwork. The artist has done Partridge in a Pear Tree - a combination of laminated timber, wool/string and nails has resulted in an imaginative and extremely detailed artwork. This number 1 is in King George Square, Brisbane, Queensland Australia.



Day One of the Twelve Days of Christmas:








.... the Artist Dozen - A fabulous project running until December 24th (Christmas Eve)!
Sandy will be in King George Square Monday 21st December - 9 Ladies Dancing!




We wish all the artists perfect weather whilst making their "numbers".












The solar powered Christmas Tree looks beautiful at night!





I think I will make a mosaic out of the photo that is blurred, I love it!























Working on my BrisVegas!

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Artists Dozen - Brisbane City Council - King George Square




Fabulous Tree! Solar Powered! Have you posted your letter to Santa yet, Brisbane has this gorgeous mail box in King George Square - I love it!

Even has a big slot for large letters to Santa. I have some very special wishes for Santa - for some very special people who deserve some extra happiness in their lives! I know they have been nice and not naughty! Please Santa deliver something to you know who!!!
Exciting news!

I have been selected as one of the Artist Dozen - 12 artists will work on a 2 metre high number - the Twelve Days of Christmas Carol -
is being depicted in artwork (but think outside the square!). King George Square?

Each day, 12 days before Christmas (December 24th) an artist will be in KGS from 7am till afternoon, painting or in my case, covering the tall number in mosaic art.

My theme "9 ladies dancing". I am working on the design in OzMosaics Studio and I will share the making of it on the OzMosaics website.

It's very interesting and I am in mosaic madness mode, but mosaic magic will prevail! Lots of mosaic addicts are keen to take part.

So if you get the opportunity, visit Brisbane City and check out King George Square and give the artists a cheer on.
Join MANA to follow the making of the "9 ladies dancing"

Much of the mosaic will be fabricated at my studio and glued to the main number on the day, with fill in. It's a true mosaic marathon!
Keep checking in, sign up for the free newsletter on the home page and for MANA!
More soon, flat out - happy mosaic making.


Cheers for Christmas and the Holiday Season,

Sandy Robertson
Studio OzMosaics
Mosaic Wine Bottles and Gifts!
When you need a mosaic marathon, come to OzMosaics Studio in Brisbane!

Everything for mosaics check out our mosaic online store!
Orders online in December, over $100 receive a $10 gift voucher!
CLUB mOzOz members 10% off workshops and online shop orders!
Professional advice when you need it!
When you purchase your mosaic products, do you get professional advice and assistance?

Last Minute Mosaic Christmas Gift - Offer from Sandy

Create your own wine bottle gifts and personalized labels!

Want to know how?
What glue to use? (This is HOT INFORMATION!!!!!!)

What can you do with it afterwards (this is fantastic!!!!!) - You will not have heard of this idea before! You have to come and find out! You know you can trust me when I say, you won't be disappointed~!

Come to a mini workshop at OzMosaics! Are you interested? - Make these gifts before Christmas, contact Sandy for info! 38474873 sandy@ozmosaics.com

Just phone and fit yourself in, work around Sandy in the studio!

Buy tiles as you need them from the OzMosaics Shop!

No grouting!

Workshop -come for the day or evening to suit you, between now and Christmas (ring and discuss it with Sandy!)

$55 tuition and coffee/tea!
Labels supplied - we print while you are here!
Buy and bring your wine bottles (get clean skins!) (as many as you like, it's addictive). Adorn in Christmas or other floral mosaics.

So the idea is $55 for as long as you are here one day or evening!
Instruction and use of Studio! Bring a friend!

Listen to music as you make your Christmas gifts.
Sandy is working on big mural for King George Square so you can watch while you work!

Buy the tiles and glue/materials as you go. It works out quite inexpensive! You pick out your own tiles and just pay for what you use.

Eg bring your full, clean skin wine bottles, as many as you want.
Make fabulous personalized gifts.
Tools supplied.
More info, contact Sandy! I guarantee you will love making these, once you know the tips and tricks you are on your way!!!!!! Lots of fabulous ideas are waiting for you!

You will not have made these in this MANA of mosaics before! It's a special technique and it's so good!

The glue is amazing, I am not telling any more until MANA is launched! So if you want amazing Chrismas gifts at incredibly low cost - it's you talent that make them marvellous, come and join us! (c) OzMosaics

copyright (OzMosaics Sandy Robertson) 2000-2009

This is another original mosaic project from OzMosaics!
Updated from earlier wine bottle making fact sheets!

Constantly thinking outside the mosaic square.
Wait till you try this glue!
TRUST ME - THIS IS A PERFECT GIFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

bird in our garden

http://birdsinbackyards.net/feature/top-40-bird-songs.cfm
Listen to the bird call No1 on list (the sound file)
This gorgeous thing comes every year at this time and keeps us all awake, but it is amazing.
I have photos of the female - only time I have seen it "live" from a few years ago.
Awesome bird, can be noisy!
Cheers
Sandy
mosaic artist, Brisbane.
www.ozmosaics.com
Everything you need to make mosaics & workshops!

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Australian Mosaic Series Sandy Robertson OzMosaics




Great Article!
It inspired me and I made a mosaic tribute in My Australian Mosaic Series.










Friday, December 4, 2009

The secret is out - How does Sandy get so much done? The Handy Sandy! Hands free phone headband!

The Handy Sandy (c) Hands Free Phone Headband!
Think pink!
Sandy has been showing her mosaic students, friends and colleagues how she invented the HandySandy phone SavYa to allow hands free phone chat, whilst making mosaics....

Well the secret it out and thousands are loving the idea! Check it out on You-Tube:
the HandySandy by OzMosaics!

Follow Sandy and mosaic fans on Sandy's facebook page.
Let Sandy know how you use the HandySandy.
Register at OzMosaics now so you are on the mailing list for more exciting tips and tricks in MANA - coming in 2010!

Have a happy mosaic weekend or collect china!
cheers
Sandy Robertson
www.ozmosaics.com
Everything for mosaics:
workshops, classes, supplies, materials, great advice, fun and of course commission!

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Sandy Robertson, mosaic artist and mosaic instructor at OzMosaics mosaic studio, shares her mosaic tips and tricks:
Instructions on how to remove brown paper and fibreglass mesh from the back of mosaic glass tile sheets!

If you have any questions about this mosaic method, please contact OzMosaics.
Cheers
Sandy

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Mosaic weekend


Saturday = Mosaic making direct and direct mesh method. Fabulous workshop and such fun!
Sunday = advanced "taking mosaics to a higher level" workshop - amazing students and fabulous 3-D mosaic project completed by all students. Well done!

Dave and I attended the opening of the Numbellie Seat project last Thursday. I am working on the story for the website today and it was a wonderful ceremony. I was so proud to have been involved in this project.

The big tAball looks great in the Nature Centre of Queen's Park and everyone should visit to see the mosaics. The Japanese Gardens are exquisite and so tranquil, restful and inviting. Ipswich Council have done an outstanding job at Queen's Park...you need a day or two to explore it!

more soon....happy mosaic making!
Sandy Robertson
Artist/instructor in mosaic arts
www.ozmosaics.com/artist
...the mosaic grids are coming in handy in the planning of an unusual mural!

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Fun in the mosaic studio











Workshop A on Saturday and Workshop B on Sunday was full and fun! Roberto from Canberra stayed with us in the Diva Room and did so well to do the back to back workshops. She couldn't get on the plane fast enough on Sunday night to start making mosaics with thinset and paint in thinset!

I am sure she is working away now as she was so keen.

Thanks to Cat who ran back to the studio with a bottle of wine as a thank you, it made me quite emotional and very appreciative of her comments on the wonderful day of mosaic making.

Cat makes mosaics in Brisbane and I was proud to have inspired her for her future commissions and artworks, of which she has been very profuse.

It's so good to have a mosaic connection with another professional mosaic artist and a great bond in more ways than one. So Cat, thank you!!!!

The other students had previously done the first mosaic class and were ready to work in thinset and china and lots more interesting materials. We hit the mosaic studio floor running and their artworks are excellent. I wonder how many wheelbarrows full of flowers with incredible cement trees are hanging in gardens.....perhaps it's a "mosaic sign".....and hundreds of gOzundas with the matching gift wine bottles LOL....I must get and make mine for Christmas gifts. It's quite addictive.

I am working on a mosaic Christmas Tree with a mosaic "difference" and will share the process with my CLUB Diva members, my students and members of MANA. We will set up a donation box for the fact sheets for a worthy Christmas Charity. I will advise when the sample and fact sheets are ready, very soon. I am sure everyone will love this mosaic project.

Polystyrene is the current word around here and it was my pleasure to guide so many people down this track for their mosaic sculptures;; I have been using polystyrene since I started making mosaics and just keep find more wonderful things to do do with it.

I am starting on the gigantic ball this week for Queen's Park, Ipswich and a design for a law firm and the mosaic for Australia Zoo Steve Irwin Day auction. All to be done in about 2 weeks.

Life is never dull. I am so grateful I have Dave behind me all the mosaic way. He is a wonderful partner in mosaics and I could never do it without him.

Mum is coming to work on some mosaics soon and I have a trip to Ipswich on Thursday for a mosaic afternoon lecture and hands on mosaic making with school teachers. Lots of prep work for that meeting to be done tomorrow.
It's a little windy here in Brisbane today and I am praying for rain this afteroon. I might have to do the vegemite rain dance again......

Shaq seems to be back on his feet and I am so happy as I was worried about our cat over the last couple of weeks. Everyday is very special with Shaq.

So, off to get busy, just had a lovely cuppa with a mosaic student from 2 years ago at the Grafton Arts Fest mosaic workshops. She and her hubby are wonderful people and it was just to share some fun memories and have a roam about the studio.

I wish I did not have a pile of novels on my bedside table, they are calling out to me....reading is my reward after long days and nights in the studio. I am still trying to work out my weird dream last night - a woman had a pair of shoes that looked like a wax orange and I was trying to wear them, broke the "heel" and was soldering the wax when I woke up; a nightmare repair job. LOL! I was so glad to wake up. I think it has to do with something about epoxy and what I want to do to the epoxy Laticrete adhesive .......Dr Des, you make me laugh so much with your last email....don't worry thinset is still your best option. See you when you are down here this week.

So come on, please rain, but don't flood anyone! Rain, rain, rain.....my trees need you! My mosaic pelican is back in the studio and perhaps he will step out of the mosaic and bring some rain poolside.

Back to work, take care.

Sandy Robertson
ps I have been getting feedback from "what my mosaic students want next in workshops" and wow it's going to be fun in 2010!

Mosaic Artist Mosaic teacher
OzMosaics mosaic studio, Brisbane Queensland Australia

Friday, October 23, 2009

weldbond adhesive for mosaics

OzMosaics supplies Weldbond adhesive at our Studio Shop and in our online mosaic shop.
Please contact us if you wish to purchase Weldbond for your mosaic making.

If you are not sure what glue to use for indoor/oudoor/submersed mosaics attend a workshop or contact us before you order your adhesive.
Cheers
Sandy Robertson
Mosaic Artist, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Numbellie Seat - Queens Park Ipswich Queensland Australia - OzMosaics



















The Numbellie Seat (Everybody Seat) Lighthouse Project 2009.




Friday, October 16, 2009

Symposium MAANZ







I attended the MAANZ 2009 Mosaic Symposium, Groundswell at the Mercure Hotel in Brisbane last weekend, with several mosaic artists and students from OzMosaics Studio.

We enjoyed the presentations and workshops. On Sunday we had a mosaic "pink" event in the form of an afternoon tea on the Diva Deck and a sausage sizzle dinner. Of course we made mosaics and watched snippets of videos and slide shows from the making of the Steve Irwin Mosaic Mural Tribute. It was great fun to be together with mosaic mates from as far as Tasmania, Cairns, New Zealand and in between.


We worked on the mural for MANA called Euphoria and it's looking FANTASTIC. Photos coming soon of her glorious tresses. WebKat was here and it was great for everyone to meet up.

We visited Australia Zoo on the Monday after the Symposium and the murals look fabulous on the outer walls of the crocoseum building/food hall. I loved the elephants and tigers and will make a mural of a tiger before Steve Irwin Day 2009.

The train trip to Australia Zoo is fun and the courtesy Australia Zoo bus makes the whole trip simple and relaxing.

Lots of photos coming...busy getting ready for beginner workshops here at the studio tomorrow. The mural panels for Queens Park are being installed next week!

Join MANA if you haven't already, some great fact sheets coming for a Christmas mosaic project very soon!

Keep on creating....enjoy the moment!
Cheers Sandy
creative moments = happiness

Sunday, October 4, 2009

wedding bells

























































It was a great day for a wedding...my nephew Jayce Hinkley married his sweetheart Marianne, on Saturday 3rd October 2009 - and we had a wonderful time at the wedding and the reception.
Brad and Lauren, Mark and Shelley looked gorgeous and it was wonderful having them with us to celebrate.
Can you dance too much? It was so much fun and the Victoria Park Golf Club was a beautiful setting.

mOzaic Bug at Studio OzMosaics

mOzaic Bug at Studio OzMosaics
Beware - mosaic art is addictive! Workshops Australia