13th mosaic grouted for children's book

 Here's a couple of details from the 13th mosaic for my book.  I mentioned before I have put many things in the book to personalize it to my family.  All of the above are Christmas decorations we have collected over the years.  The penguin is a stuffed penguin given to my son, who has always loved penguins.  The snowman my son made in 4th grade.  And the cat is an ornament my mother gave to me after my childhood cat, Spotty, died.

  

 

Two more grouted for children's book

 I was able to grout two mosaics yesterday so only three more to go!  I still have edges and the backs to finish, but I think I will go ahead and get them photographed first, so I can pass the images onto Barb to get going on the book.  I can do all of the finishing touches afterwards.  I recently found a photographer I am happy with, and hopefully we can get the photos taken next week.  So excited to put it all together!

10th mosaic grouted for children's book

Grouted 10th mosaic for book - this one might be my favorite, especially the part of the mosaic I'm not showing (sorry!)

9th mosaic grouted for children's book

I should be done grouting the last six mosaics by the end of the week.  I still have the edges to finish, as well as paint the backs, and then I will get them photographed!

8th mosaic for book grouted

Detail shot.  Love these colors.

7th mosaic for children's book grouted

Nearly half way there!  Here's a detail.

6th mosaic grouted for children's book

Here's a detail shot.  Only 9 more mosaics to go!

Grouted fifth mosaic for children's book

 

I've been busy prepping the wedi board for the book mosaics, so haven't grouted in several days, but finally got to grout another one!  I love the process of grouting and seeing how the mosaic changes, becomes cohesive and complete, and even softens the mosaic.  Here is a detail from this mosaic, before and after grouting.

Another mosaic grouted for children's book

This detail is from the mosaic on pages 17 and 18 (I went out of order).  You can see here how I used the photos of my mosaics under clear glass, for the art on the walls.  I like it.  It personalizes the book even more.  Today I will be cutting more wedi and attaching the hangers, as well as putting thinset on their edges, in preparation for grouting some more next week!

Third page of children's book grouted

Here is a detail shot of the third mosaic of my book.

Second page of children's book grouted!

Here is a detail shot of it.  Raymi's first appearance of many!

First page of children's book is grouted!

If it wasn't apparent before, it is obvious now that this is a Christmas story!  I'm so excited to have started the grouting.  I've been looking forward to this moment for four years now.  I should be done with the book by the end of the month.  Can't wait to share it!!

All Changes Made on Book!

Last week I finished all of the changes I wanted to make on the book.  Most were small, but I did have to make some big ones, too, but the book is going to be so much better because of them.

One more detail I needed to take care of was gluing photos of my mosaics to clear glass.  These will be the artwork hanging on the walls in the mosaics.  I had never done this before so I had to do many, many tests to find the right kind of adhesive and paper that would not show dried glue or smear the image on the paper.  For anyone interested in doing this, out of mod podge, Weldbond, Elmer's and wallpaper paste, the Weldbond dried clearest, and using matte photo paper worked far better than glossy paper.  (5-15-13 add on:  I started wondering and worrying about the photos fading over time, which could be disastrous!  So I just went and collected some UV museum glass from my local frame shop.  I have to redo all of these, but now I will have peace of mind.)

So I have now begun the process of getting the mosaics, which are currently on fiberglass mesh, onto wedi board.  Since they are 15x24", they are quite flexible and floppy as I didn't use a lot of glue originally.  I wanted to be able to make changes easily so only applied one or two dots of glue onto each piece.  In the past, I would cut the mesh in the middle and separate the mosaic into two pieces for easier handling.  However, there is some very odd cutting of glass, including long horizontal pieces, so it was impossible to cut the mesh without it being weirdly shaped and even more difficult to handle, not to mention dislodging glass in the process.

So I decided to "paint" the back of the mosaic with a thick coat of Weldbond.  It dried stiff and is now much easier to place on the board without collapsing.

I have 15 mosaics to prep before grouting:  trimming the mesh and painting the backs with glue, and then measuring and cutting the wedi, adding the hangers, and then thinsetting the edges of the board.  Whew!  A lot of work just to be ready to grout.  There needs to be drying time, too, so while some are in various stages of drying, I am prepping others.  I will probably start grouting tomorrow, can't wait!!