“Nina Simone” – Greg Sipp

This is the last week to catch the stunning exhibit of mosaics by Mosaic Artists of Michigan at the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center. 25 artists contributed a total of 71 mosaics for “The Cutting Edge”, running through July 6. If you haven’t seen the show yet, stop by the BBAC to take in the diverse array of mosaic styles. From abstract to realism, portraiture, sculptural, and pique assiette, studies in smalti, stained glass, ceramic, and even button mosaics – there’s a lot to see!

“Orbs” – Joan Schwartz

The Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center is located at 1516 S. Cranbrook Rd., Birmingham MI 48009. Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday, 9am-6pm; Friday & Saturday, 9am-5pm; 2nd Sundays, 1-4pm.

Click on the pictures below to see larger images. These are only a few of the great mosaics you can see at the BBAC before the show ends on July 6th!

“Flowing Beneath” – Ski

“Vavoom!” – Sue Majewski

“Sunrise at Angkor Watt” – Susan Buchan

“Water Girl”, Ruth Tyszka

“FASTENating” – Sue Majewski

“Venetian View” – Renee Spears

• Fancy:  For a swanky night out on the town, get dolled up and head over to the Ann Arbor Art Center from 6pm to 10pm for artist demos, tours, live music, hors d’oeuvres from some of the best restaurants in town, beer, wine, & cocktails, and a beautiful party under a giant tent behind the Center skillfully decorated by masterful volunteer artists (wink, wink). There will be silent and live auctions and raffles of prizes including four 8-week studio art courses and a week vacation in Paris. Tickets are still available and can be bought online for $100 each or $200 to include the ultra-exclusive Patron Reception beforehand. Woo woo!
• Free:  Party during the day for free this Saturday at Maker Works’s Grand Opening from 12pm-4pm. See tool and class demos, snack on food from San Street (of Mark’s Carts), help build stuff, & enter raffles to win memberships to Maker Works. Maker Works offers classes and use of loads of tools for wood, metal, electronic, and craft for its members and students. Come see what this new prototyping and tool studio is all about. (Did I mention it’s free? And that there’s food involved? It’s FREE!)

So if you’re feeling EXTRA saucy, go to the free thing, go home & get cleaned up, & go to the fancy thing – and remember that your dollars are going to a fabulous cause – supporting the Ann Arbor Art Center. Have a fun weekend, y’all.

Join me at Maker Works in Ann Arbor this May 5 (Saturday) from 1-3pm for a creative workshop in which you learn the basics of cutting and shaping colored glass. You’ll then create two beautiful pendants of your own design from stained glass, Italian millefiori, and found objects. Feel free to bring your own special tiny mementos to embed in your pendant if you like.

Workshop fee is $45 and includes all materials – pendant backings, glass, adhesive, and chain – to make 2 beautiful pieces of jewelry. Register online by visiting Maker Works’s class calendar, or by calling Maker Works at 734-222-4911. But hurry – spots are limited to 10 participants to ensure a fabulous experience!

The quick details:

What: Mosaic Jewelry for Mom Workshop – make 2 mosaic necklaces!

Where: Maker Works, 3765 Plaza Dr., Ann Arbor, MI 48108

When: Saturday, May 5, 1-3pm

How Much: $45, includes materials

Who: adults and kids 10+

How to Sign Up: Online or call Maker Works at 734-222-4911

Feel free to email me at shannon@mosaicgeek.com with any questions about the workshop. I hope to see you there!

Without fail, every time I run a workshop I’m amazed to see people trying new things with their projects that I’ve never seen anyone do before – using glass in creative new ways, building incredibly inspired designs and color combinations, making bold choices that I’d never think of. This is one of the reasons I love teaching these workshops – it gets me out of my head and gives me a tiny peek into everyone else’s. It’s so much fun. So I have to thank everyone who shared their creativity with me during these two workshops. Yes, I know it sounds cheesy, but it must be said! It’s not easy, learning an unfamiliar new technical craft while simultaneously trying to express yourself artistically amidst a bunch of strangers. And yet these ladies and gentlemen really shone, AND seemed to have a good time while doing it. My hat’s off to both of my amazing Sunday groups!

And I cannot thank the great staff at the A2 library enough for their amazing support before, during, and after these workshops, which are both always high-energy and full capacity. The library staff are the ones who make it possible to bring the “small workshop” format to the bigger group we can expect at the Ann Arbor Library. Erin, Colleen, and Patty – you ladies are awesome! Thank you, thank you, thank you!! And Al, you are the man! An extra big thanks, too, to whomever vacuumed all that glass up off the floor after we left (I didn’t meet you, stranger, but I have a special place in my heart just for you). I know that’s no easy (or fun) task, but certainly a critical one.

I can’t believe March is almost half over already. I’ve still got workshops at the Franklin Library and Highland Township Library this month if anyone’s interested in catching another one. Or if you’d like to see a bunch of great art and maybe do some shopping, come to the Ann Arbor Art Center’s 30×30 Art Sale & Fundraiser, Sat. Mar. 24 & Sun. Mar. 25th. I’ll have art there along with 29 other artists to support youth scholarships for the A2AC’s Kid’s Program. I hope to see you there.

Outdoor mosaic sunset in smalti, gold & pearl on porcelain tile with epoxy grout.

Last we left off, I had adhered my mosaic (smalti & pearl) to the porcelain tile with thinset mortar adhesive and was waiting for it to cure so that I could grout. Now on to that final, messy step.

I chose a medium gray epoxy grout suitable for outdoor use so the tile will be able to withstand the icky Michigan weather & freeze-thaw cycle. Since I was worried the epoxy might do funky things to the finish on the pearl, I tested it on a spare one first and found it to be no problem. Great! So I grouted according to the directions, and the tile came out swimmingly.

I had toyed with the idea of doing a final resin coat over the whole surface of the tile to further protect it, but ultimately decided against it. Reading about resins taught me that some of them tend to discolor or dull over time, and I didn’t want to risk that with this tile, especially since this will be outdoors permanently, which may speed up the discoloration. As it turned out, the pearl ended up being recessed enough in the tile that I anticipate the surrounding smalti will protect it nicely from any possible erosion.

What’s Next?

I’m really happy with how this project turned out and how it got me thinking of some new things I’d like to do. Someone left a comment on the Part 1 post that I should start including pearls in my mosaic jewelry, and I think that’s a great idea. I’ve already started using pearls in some other mosaic projects (will post pics soon!), and I think they look so beautiful and are just wonderful to work with.

The indirect method is something I’ve also not given a lot of time to in the past, but I think it needs to see some more love from me. I love how these past two outdoor projects of mine have been so textural, but the pendulum’s gotta swing. Now I want to do something ultra flat. Perhaps a stepping stone is in order to coax back the sun and (eventually) welcome the spring.

Some guys at the studio reminded me that epoxy grout was nothing more than epoxy with sand in it, and were encouraging me to make my own, tempting me with notions of sparkly, glow-in-the-dark grouty goodness. Hmm… should I give it a go? Definitely. But what to make which best shows off the awesomeness of glow-in-the-dark grout? We can save that for a different post.

You may have noticed that I haven’t posted in ages (it’s been about a month, I think?). I’ll confess – I’ve been in a rut. My muse seems to have been on winter break. Well then, Here’s my resolution. January brings with it optimism and the notion of a clean start, so I vow to give the blog more love in 2012 – even if that means having to get up earlier to write posts. (…okay, that’s unlikely to happen. Fine, I’ll just stay up later. Problem solved.)

I’m starting this new year off with a new project – a glass and porcelain memorial tile for a friend. MG readers may remember a similar tile I did last year. Both tiles will be installed on a tombstone and thus permanently exposed to the elements. All materials, adhesives, and construction need to withstand the freeze-thaw cycle of Michigan’s climate. But this new tile presents some unique challenges that are keeping me on my toes, all pretty much stemming from the fact that it includes a real pearl.

I’ve never mosaicked with pearls before, and certainly not in any pieces destined for permanent lives outdoors. My three primary concerns: How to embed the pearl absolutely securely in the adhesive, without fear that it will be pried out or pop out over time? Will the icky chemicals and colorant in the epoxy grout damage the surface of the pearl during the grouting process? Pearls are pretty soft – will the pearl be damaged by exposure or erode over time?

To address the first issue, I ultimately decided to use a single pearl earring so I could embed the post in the mortar adhesive underneath the surrounding mosaic pieces for added stability. Another option that had crossed my mind: drilling into the pearl and then drilling through the tile, back-mounting it through the tile before assembling the mosaic around it. This seemed more complicated than necessary, but who’s to say which is the best way?

I’ll have to save concerns #2 & #3 (how to protect the pearl during grouting & from erosion over time) for Part 2 of this post series because, er… I haven’t quite settled on the specifics yet. But without further ado, here’s how I’ve completed this project so far:

1.) I measured the correct tile size and sketched the design onto a rigid cardboard surface, then wrapped the cardboard in clear contact paper, sticky side up.

2.) I cut the mosaic pieces from smalti using wheel cutters and built the mosaic onto the sticky surface of the contact paper.

3.) Before adhering the mosaic to the tile, I cleaned the tile (high-fired porcelain) in a dilution of muriatic acid.

4.) With the entire mosaic complete & the tile clean, I then mixed a small batch of thinset mortar adhesive for exterior use (I used Laticrete MegaBond with MegaBond Additive) and transferred the mosaic piece by piece from the contact paper to the tile, making sure to stay within the fresh working time of my mortar.

I had to make a few adjustments and recuts here & there, but for the most part the mosaic transferred well.

 Now I just need to let the mortar set and then I’ll be ready to grout. Will the pearl survive? What solution will present itself for protecting this delicate treasure of the sea from the cruel fists of winter and time? Such drama! Check back soon and find out.

Don’t forget to visit Mosaic Geek and check out some fine mosaic wares. Mention this blog post and I’ll give you $5 off something lovely to put in someone’s stocking or under your Festivus pole. Here are the details:

Detroit Urban Craft Fair 2011

Where: Masonic Temple, 500 Temple Street, Detroit MI 48201

When: Saturday Dec. 3rd, 10am – 7pm  &  Sunday Dec. 4th, 11am – 6pm

Who: Hosted by Handmade Detroit & featuring over 80 vendors, including Mosaic Geek!

What: Amazing handmade art and crafts of all kinds – screen printed t-shirts, jewelry, photography, ceramics, shadow puppets, fabric art, smelly stuff, metal work… and MORE!

For those of you who have been to some of my previous shows, I have some new items you can look forward to this time around – key chains, ear rings, new sterling jewelry, bracelets, fancy-pants wine bottle stoppers, and by popular demand, some new Zelda art (Link is just so darned cute). So mark your calendars right now, if you please, to come to the Masonic Temple this weekend for a spectacularly tasteful affair.

Play with colors, textures, materials, and found objects – and lest it sound too girly for you, keep in mind we’re cutting glass, using cement-based adhesive, and making a general mess that you get to leave behind for someone else (me) to clean up. No experience is necessary, no need to sign up, nothing you need to bring to class other than your fine self. What’s not to like? Here are the details:

Where: Ann Arbor District Library, Pittsfield Branch

When: Saturday, Nov. 5th, 2011. Session A: 11am to 1pm;  Session B: 3pm to 5pm (please choose only one)

Who: Teens & Adults

This is a great chance to get started on your holiday gift list, folks! Surely someone you know would love some snazzy bling hand-made by YOU. So meet me at the A2 Library Pittsfield branch on Saturday!

Find fun stuff like quirky shadow puppets, crazy-awesome origami creations, robot attire, smelly stuff,  tons of artsy jewelry, textile & crochet goodies, paintings, art prints, photography, and it seems like there’s something else I’m forgetting… oh yeah – mosaics! Don’t forget to come and find me at the Mosaic Geek table. Please stop by and say hello!

There will also be food & drink for sale at the Center from some of your favorite local restaurants – so come hungry. And if you have any suggestions in the meantime for mosaic creations you’d like to see at the show, it’s not too late to put a request in. See y’all soon.

When they open, you’ll be able to sign up for membership by the day, month, or year to use all of their fun toys. They’ll also have classes teaching you how to use everything so that you can make great stuff. (Since I don’t even know what half these machines are, the classes are what I’m really drooling over, hehe.)

Find out more about Maker Works at their website, read their latest blog post, and Like them on Facebook. You can also sign up for email updates on their site.