A mosaic Christmas!

Hello blogger friends,

What a busy time of year this is!  I have to write lists and just do one thing at a time - very satisfying crossing things off!

My mosaic work consists mainly of small mosaics at this time of the year, and they often take as long as the bigger ones - grouting can be especially challenging.  The mosaic standing Christmas tree is a case in point!

It is often a challenge too to price these mosaics as, although they are small they take hours to make, grout, paint and finish - then there is packaging and postage - but hey, it's great to be busy and I feel very lucky,

My round of mosaic robins always go down well at this time of year - I try to make each one with his own character - see below - what do you think?

Of course, there are always lots of stars to make - though they are a little heavy for a medium sized tree ..

...and then there are trees, holly, stockings and all sorts!

I hope you have enjoyed seeing some of my seasonal mosaics - all can be ordered directly from me felicityball@justmosaics.co.uk or for more details about my work, do take a look at my website - www.felicityballmosaics.com

Many thanks for reading and all your support - have a good one!

Felicity x

October - mosaic progress ...

Hello blogger friends,

I feel very lucky to spend my days doing such a varied and creative occupation.  Since I last wrote, I have finished the Narnia mosaic, run two day mosaic workshops, put in a quote for my biggest commission so far and nearly finished making a rose mosaic bistro table!

Firstly the Narnia mosaic - it was originally going to be a table, but my customer liked it so much, she decided to put it up on her wall!  I have to say, I am delighted with how it turned out, especially the lion.

Then, the mosaic day workshops, where people come and say that haven't an artistic bone in their body, and leave, thrilled, with a lovely mosaic!

Didn't they do well ...?!

I dont want to jinx the commission quote, so will let you know when I know ... ;-)

And finally the rose table, which I have loved making.  I tried to create lots of different roses in the ring, so have had a lovely time looking at roses, for research purposes, of course!

Work in progress on the rose table

Christmas orders are now coming in thick and fast, which is great - so do look at my website www.felicityballmosaics.com - and see if anything catches your eye for the festive season.  I ship my mosaics all over the world - don't forget to leave enough time for me to make them for you, and to find out what any overseas postage costs will be.

Many thanks for all your support,
Felicity x

A Narnia themed mosaic table - work in progress ...

Hello, blogger friends!

A while ago I made a Narnia story mosaic for a client's garden - see below

Thankfully, she liked to it so much, she has commissioned me to make a table to complement it.  The table top is quite a big area - 70cm x 70cm square. I make the mosaic on weather proof cement board, and use porcelain tiles, so it can either go inside or outside.  I have sourced a table frame of that size onto which the mosaic top will be attached and sealed.

My client and I are collaborating closely on the design, deciding to have a large head of Aslan, the lion in the middle, surrounded by various iconic Narnia images.

I have to say the lion was a real challenge - I have a limited range of porcelain tile colours to blend - here are work in progress pictures, as I built his face up ...

... and here is Aslan, with all his snipping done!

...rather a handsome chap, I think!

Then onto to some other Narnia images, my client wanted, the lamppost ...

.... a squirrel ....

...and a deer, so far ...

It has been very enjoyable creating all these animals, and I look forward to making more, along with the spring woodland scene.  I will update you in a few weeks - these things take time!

Many thanks for reading, and it would be great if you could share my work with your friends and followers.

Felicity x

Mosaic sun bowl love!

Hello blogger, friends!

I hope you have all had a lovely summer.  I am lucky enough to have a big family so the summer is filled with holidays and children, and I try to take the time with them, working on my mosaics when I can.
School starts all too soon and then it will be back to snipping in earnest.  I have managed to update my mosaics-ready-to-post- shop for the upcoming months, so do take a look and see if anything catches your eye - http://justmosaics.miiduu.com  My mosaics do make lovely and unusual presents.
In the meantime, here is some late summer sun for you - a large mosaic bowl inspired by Antonio Gaudi.

Until the next time ...
Felicity x

See the latest film about my mosaic work!

Hello blogger friends!

Do take a look at this short video explaining a bit about my mosaic work - if you like it, I would be really appreciate if  you could share it with your friends and followers!

Many thanks for watching!
Felicity x

The making of a mosaic bistro table

Hello blogger friends!
I hope this finds you well.
I have been very busy recently making some bespoke bistro mosaic tables - must be the onset of summer!
I really enjoy making them, as not only are they a mosaic work of art, but they are also very practical.  I make the tables using porcelain tiles which are tough and frost resistant, using weatherproof cement board as my base, and waterproof glue and grout.  They are all ready then for whatever the weather might throw at them!
I start off by drawing the basic design on the cement board.  Cement board is tricky to cut, and we have a special blade for the saw - this size is 60cm in diameter.
I then choose the porcelain tile colours and get snipping.  I make the initial cuts with my porcelain cutters, then use my ordinary snippers to shape the pieces more carefully.
See the mosaic table progress below -

Finally, I grouted the table with a beige grout which brings all the colours out beautifully.

I hope you like it - my client says it makes her smile every time she looks at it!

Until next time,
Felicity x

From a pile of given tiles to a mosaic!

Hello blogger friends,

From time to time, I am given old left over tiles by friends - you know, the ones that have been in the garage for ages, but you don't quite want to throw them away, and can't be bothered to try to sell them on eBay!

Well, the other day, a friend who was coming to one of my mosaic workshops- http://www.felicityballmosaics.com/workshops.php - bought some along with her in a box and asked if I could use them.  Of course,  I never turn down tiles, and the opportunity to recycle! I didn't get a chance (with the workshop being so busy) to have a look at them until the next day , and look what I found ....!  YUM!

So, changing my work plan in the blink of an eye, I started working with them straight away.  First, I snipped them in to petal shapes - not an easy task, as they were very thick!

Then, I arranged them on a board.  I just wanted a great mass of lovely vibrant flower heads!

I decided to use the pale green tile for the background, and a spotted textured tile I use for seed heads, with brown grout setting it all off nicely!

I hope you like it - so satisfying to make something from a simple kind act of giving!

Until next time ....

Felicity x

The making of a sea-themed mosaic floor - part 6

The mosaic floor panels are finished, blogger friends, and are with me no more!

The grouting was a long job, going over and over it with a spatula and fingers to make sure the grout was thoroughly worked in.  I used quite a deep grey tint to the grout, which meant it dried very quickly so we methodically did small sections at a time, and kept coming back to it to fill and wipe until we were happy that every last hole was filled and every tile wiped clean!

I managed to take a decent photo of it for you, but when it has been installed in the new build in Dorset, I will share better ones with you.

The men came to collect the panels this week.  They wrapped them up carefully in cardboard and blankets, and off they went.  It was like saying goodbye to a child - ... drive carefully!

It feels a big moment for my original mosaic business, as I have been assured that this mosaic will be seen by lots of people, and hopefully, if they like it, similar work might come my way!

Many thanks for following me on this mosaic commission - I hope you approve of the finished article - do let me know!
Felicity x

The making of a sea-themed mosaic floor - part 5

Hello blogger friends!

Much has happened to my mosaic floor since my last post - in fact, I have finished snipping!
On the second panel, I designed two John Dory, a shoal of sea bass and two skate - along with continuing the rope border, with the crabs and mussels.  I already had all my tiles out for the John Dory so I started with them ...

 Then finished off the rope border and the crabs - every one different!

 The shoal of sea bass were tricky - I wanted it to feel as if they were swimming in and out of the panel, and I was rather pleased with the effect.

 Then the yellow background needed to be filled in, followed by the two skate - I love their shapes, and the contrasting dark brown.

 I am lucky enough to have found a supplier of porcelain tiles with a wide range of colours -  www.mosaictrader.co.uk - so I had lots of shades of blue to choose from, and could gradually make the shades lighter as the top of the second panel was reached.  I also could do the same with the shades of green for the weed.

 

I wanted the two panels to join as seamlessly as possible so cut the tiles extra carefully near the edges.

 As you can imagine, it is very difficult to photograph, and this was the best we can do for the moment.  When it is installed in Dorset, I will have much better images to share with you.

Now all that needs to be done by me, is the grouting. My client and I decided on a mid grey grout which would bring all the colours out and blend the whole mosaic together.

That is next week's job!

Many thanks for reading and I would love to hear what you think of progress so far!
Felicity x

The making of a sea-themed mosaic floor - part four

Hello blogger friends!

Thanks for all your support for my latest commission of a sea-themed mosaic floor.  I am so enjoying making it!

The next panel is now well on its way.  The two panels have to join seamlessly when they are installed in the house, so the tiles have to match effortlessly.  I will cut them them when the second panel is nearly finished when I can have the two panels next to each other.  On the border, there is half a crab on each panel, so I have to get that absolutely right!



After, I had drawn a rough design of the fish and weeds on the second panel, the first part was relatively straight forward, as I made two more John Dorys. I had all the colours and shapes already out on my work table and in my mind.

Then came the sea bass.  I wanted a little shoal of them, looking as if they were swimming across the panel.  I loved the pinks and greys of the scales so really picked those out, contrasting with the John Dory colours.  Now these sea bass were tricky - getting the line, shape and expression just right.  I wanted them all to be different and have their own character - I think I got there in the end!



I then finished off the whole crabs and mussels around the border, along with the rope, and things are really taking shape!

What do you think?

Until next time , and thanks for reading,
Felicity x

The making of a sea-themed mosaic floor - part 3

Happy New Year, blogger friends!

My mosaic floor panels are coming on nicely - the first is practically finished!  I have enjoyed making it so much - you have probably gathered that - and now that I embark on the the second panel, I don't want it to end!  There is a deadline for this project though... so onwards and upwards!

In my last post, we had lobster pots, scallops, squid and lobsters.  Next, I had a John Dory to mosaic. Now I have made a John Dory before, so I had a good starting point - see below.



As I am using the porcelain tiles, I didn't quite have this range of colours available to me, but enjoyed using this slightly limited palette to make him - really pleased with the result below.



I needed to continue the background of the sea and the weeds now.  I have eight shades of blues to use, gradating from dark to light - approximately four for each panel.  I want to mosaic them in waves of colour so they do not distract the eye from the main events.



Then moving up the panel ..



I am starting to get excited now as it is all taking shape.

Many thanks for reading, and any sharing of my work you can do, is always greatly appreciated.
Until part 4 ...

Felicity x