Grab Bag Sea Turtle

So, normally I just start one of my mosaic projects with a sketch and purchase the tiles required to complete the picture.  This time I did things a little differently.  One of my mosaic tile suppliers, Mosaic Mercantile, was having a clearance sale.  They had a grab bag special that contained a large number of tiles at a fraction of the price I usually pay.  So I decided to go for it.

What I got was a bunch of crazy shimmery colors that I had no idea what to do with.  My first step was to sort the tiles into general color categories and types.  I found that after I had done this that there were lots of blues and browns in the grab bag.  I started figuring out what might fit this color combination and what I came up with was a sea turtle.  So next I did my rough sketch.

And then I did a better grid drawing.

And then I transferred the drawing onto my already prepared frame and started cutting and gluing.  I cut the pieces for his shell into hexagon shapes.  It gives him a nice turtley look.

Pretty soon my buddy mr. grab bag started to look like a sea turtle.

Now he just needs a proper habitat.

And once the gluing is done, it is time for the grout.

And at last he is finished.  I give you the Grab Bag Sea Turtle.

Check out some of my other mosaic art pieces in my Gallery.