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| First sketch |
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| Final mosaic |
I
thought some might find it interesting to see how I go about creating a
mosaic. This is my most recent one, Reverie, which is 5x10" and made
with stained glass and millefiori. First I choose my mosaic subject: one of my
son's favorite animals is the fennec fox (mine, too!) and so I begin with an
image search online for the position I want him to be in.
Once
I find something I like, I use it as reference for my sketch (often
times using many photos as reference for markings, body proportions, etc.). I
then scan the drawing and place 6-10 copies of the image on an 8x10"
page. I use them to play with several things: color, pattern,
value, and andamento (the flow and direction of glass cuts and
lines). I like having the sketches small so I can get many ideas down quickly
or color the design many times without taking hours to do so! I usually
go through three or four pages of these. Here is one of my pages
from this process:
Once I am happy with the direction I want to
go, I trace the design onto wedi board and attach the hanging system (a d-ring
with washers on either side). I pick out the materials I will be using with a
range of values. I had planned to use beads in this mosaic, but every time I
tried to incorporate them, it wasn't working how I liked, so skipped them in
the end.
I
begin cutting glass for the eyes, to first establish personality and mood. As
you can see, I often make changes on the design as I go along, as well as make
markings for color and lines for andamento. I like to lay the glass down
without cutting it to see how it works overall. I take pictures of
different combinations which allows me to compare them side by side and choose
the best option before I commit to a very time consuming process of shaping the
glass.
I
pay very close attention to the head and body values to ensure that the head is
seen clearly. For example, the dark at the end of the tail rather than
continuing the same brown throughout, helps make it clear that it is separate
from the brown on his face. Also, the glass chosen above his head is darker
at the top and gets lighter as it gets closer to his head and ear. The tail is
further differentiated from the body by outlining it with the rolled edges of
the stained glass, giving it a bit of a 3D effect and some waviness,
too!
Finally,
there are often spontaneous choices and "happy
accidents" if you are open to them. The center of the body was
supposed to be cut pieces like the rest of the fox, but none of what I tried,
color-wise and andamento-wise was working. I happened to look up and see a
whole sheet of stained glass that had this wonderful brown
curve that I knew would fit just right! I had one chance to get the
piece cut perfectly. Well, I was off by a teensy bit at the top, so I filled in
the gap with the blue millefiori which ended up being more interesting and
harmonious because of it.
The
next step is grouting, followed by finishing the edges and painting and signing
the back. One of my favorite mosaics, it now lives happily in Phoenix, Arizona.
I hope you enjoyed reading about my process, thanks for stopping by!
Several months ago I was asked by the editor of Glass Patterns Quarterly Magazine to create a mosaic tutorial for their winter edition and I just received my copy! There are four pages of step by step instructions to create this 10" stained glass mosaic titled "It's Cold Out!" It includes a list of all of the materials you will need, plus many, many color photos illustrating the process. Also included is a full size pattern. 
Once I was nearly done, I drilled a hole in the backside, created 15-20 beaded strings and then (after grouting the horse) attached the beads for the tail. It took nearly 100 hours to make, but I will definitely be doing this again!
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