Progress

Had some technical difficulties with glue— what kind, mix ratio, how much—but finally settled on the centuries-old recipe of boiled water + flour and a bit of salt.  Still having issues with how to “face” the front side, with several spectacular failures which I neglected to photograph.

 

New mosaic project finally underway!

Exploded view of 6’ x 5’ template for the first of four mosaic panels to be installed between the windows of the golden dome of Our Lady of Victory Chapel in Bismarck, ND.  The mosaics will be fabricated using the ”reverse” method historically utilized by Italian masters.  Thousands of pieces of glass tessera called “smalti”, will be temporarily attached right side down to sections of the template (image reversed) for eventual cementing into a frame.  This means creating it upside down and backwards —and not being able to see the right side of the piece until it is completed…..!  The photos below shows beginning with Mary’s red dress in the lower left and her blue cloak in the lower right.

 

Pre and post grout

This is a quick and dirty posting; I'm using less than perfect pictures taken at different times of day in different lighting conditions.


Both of these panels were driven down to Sioux Falls and installed on the 2nd floor of the Sanford Heart Hospital, between the cath lab and the atrium walkway. The drive home was much more eventful, involving a marathon phone call with one of my children, Ipod running out of charge, high winds, running out of gas, a temperature drop of over 30 degrees, and hitting a bird.

BUT-- the mosaic is done, after months of 16 hour days, thanks to efforts from Gin, Bobbi, Cathi and Liz.

Many mosaic artists working with this kind of tile do not grout, but I like both the visual unity and the structural strength that grout gives a mosaic.

Can you find the ("hidden") heart?

Happy New Year

In an effort to resume the habit be posting (and producing artwork) I will be posting pics of the mosaic in progress. Above is the Gardener Lady with hat and watering can completed, compliments of Gin Templeton. We are further along than this, but it seemed best to post in a progressive manner. The whole shebang is due in a couple of weeks, so we are really trying to clip along.