The Butterfly Effect

Ok, I was hanging out in the backyard and saw a bunch of cool looking butterflies. "Hey", I said to myself, a butterfly would make a cool mosaic.

Backyard Butterfly Model

 So after a bit of doodling, this is the drawing I came up with.

Butterfly Sketch

Next I transferred the drawing to an already prepared frame.

Butterfly on Frame

And then I started cutting and gluing the glass tiles.  The colors I used are:

Butterfly - D93 Mandarin (Hakatai)
Butterfly - D41 Lava (Hakatai)
Butterfly - A20 China (Hakatai)
Butterfly - C39 Night Black (Hakatai)
Leaves - B82 Ficus (Hakatai)
Background - A59 Meadow (Hakatai)

Here are some time lapse photographs of the cutting and gluing process.

Time Lapse #1

Time Lapse #2

Time Lapse #3

Time Lapse #4

And here is what the project looks like after all of the cutting and gluing is complete.

Butterfly Cutting and Gluing Complete

And if one butterfly is good, two butterflies must be even better.

Making another Butterfly

And here is the artist with the final product.

Artist with Butterfly

And here is the final of the "Butterfly Effect".

The Butterfly Effect

Moon Tree

Today's project is another that I have done previously. I last visited this subject about a year ago. This one has a simple but a powerful theme: A tree standing alone in the darkness, back lit by a full moon.  After completing this project, I can tell you that my technique has really improved in the last year.  I started with the same sketch that I used for the original but the end result is very different.  I should do the same piece a year from now and see if I am still improving.

Moon Tree Sketch

In keeping with my recent practice, I decided to build two moon trees at the same time.

The next step is a bunch of cutting and gluing.

Here are the colors that I am using for this project.

Tree - C39 Night Black (Hakatai)
Moon - A20 China (Hakatai)
Sky - A17 Grape (Hakatai)
Ground - B32 Teak (Hakatai)
Shadow - B39 Basalt (Hakatai)

On down and one to go.

After the cutting and gluing, it is time to grout.

And here is the artist with the final product.

And here is the final product of "Moon Tree" the next generation.

Mary's Baubles

I just never know what is going to inspire me to create a mosaic.  This week as I was rooting around in my wife's craft cabinet, I discovered some wonderful glass baubles.  I instantly knew that I wanted to used them in a mosaic.

The Baubles

So I just started sketching on some blank paper and this is the design that I came up with.

The Sketch

And then I transferred the sketch to an already prepared frame.

The frame with transferred sketch and baubles

And then I filled in some tile around the baubles.  It is a lot of work cutting straight lines to fit around circles.

Gluing

And finally I finished cutting and gluing.  This was actually a fairly challenging piece considering it is a picture of nothing.  And it is time to grout.  For this piece, I am using a black grout to make the lines really pop out.

Grouting

And finally the piece is done.

The artist with "Mary's Baubles"

And a closeup of the final "Mary's Baubles".

Mary's Baubles

Frog Bog

For today's project, I decided to make a couple more frogs.  This is the first time that I've tried to reproduce one of my previous creations.  I kind of had mixed emotions about doing this, but I've had several people request frogs.  So, if it is frogs they want, it is frogs they will get.  Luckily I keep a file with my previous art work and renderings. It really does make it easier to do the same piece again.

Frog Bog Grid Drawing

After transferring the drawing to my already prepared frame, I then began gluing.  I usually start with the central subject of the piece and then move to the background.  That way if I mess something up, I haven't wasted a lot of time.

Gluing the Frog

And after I completed frog number one I started immediately on frog number two.

Starting frog number two

And after gluing the glass tiles, I prepared the project for grouting using masking tape.

Preparing to Grout

And here we have the artist holding both frogs.

Two frog in hand are worth more than one in the pond

And here is the final of "Frog Bog"

Frog Bog Final

Sunset Beach

I'm working on a new mosaic design.  This one I am calling Sunset Beach.  This has some similar elements to a large mosaic that I made last year called "Some Beach".  This one is much smaller and fits on a one foot square frame.

As always, I start with a rough sketch of my mosaic on a grid.

Sunset Beach Sketch

Next, I transfer the drawing to a already prepared frame.

And then I start gluing on the tiles.

In addition to the glass tiles, I also added a few sea shells from the Gulf of Mexico.

I didn't realize how many different colors I used on this project until I started writing them down at the end.

• Sea Shells from Panama City Beach, Florida
• Sand - Sand A15 (Hakatai) 3/4
• Tree - Ficus B82 (Hakatai) 3/4
• Tree - Night Black C39 (Hakatai) 3/4
• Tree - Tan A42 (Maryland Mosaics) 3/8
• Tree - Terra Cota C57 (Maryland Mosaics) 3/8
• Water - Deep Blue C81 (Hakatai) 3/4
• Sun - Canary D2205 (Maryland Mosaics) 3/8
• Sun - Chili Pepper D111 (Maryland Mosaics) 3/8
• Sky - Lake Blue A01 (Hakatai) 3/4
• Sky - Iris A31 (Maryland Mosaics) 3/4
• Sky - Fig (Mosaic Mercantile) 3/4

And if one mosaic beach is good, two must be better.

Two Beaches

And here is the final "Sunset Beach" after grouting.

Final Sunset Beach

Crazy Tile Shipment

So, I'm trying out a new mosaic tile vendor this week.  I put in an order for 12 pounds of tiles from a company called Hakatai. The price of the tiles is very reasonable, so I am willing to wait a week for the ground shipment via UPS.  Just for giggles, I looked up the shipment tracking information on the UPS site today.  I was amazed at all of the stops these tiles have taken since they left the vendor in Oregon on Monday, 7 July.  So far these tiles have stopped in 13 different cities.  I couldn't even put all of the cities into Google Maps since they limit you to 10 stops on a single route.

I received the shipment one week after I placed the order.  The tiles were packaged in 1 pound plastic bags and the bags were placed in a large box with lots of packing peanuts.

Stuff I Use

The whole purpose of this blog post is just to keep a consolidated list of all the things I use to make mosaics. These things are listed here in order to make my reorders easier.  You are welcome to ask questions or make suggestions.

Frames - For more details checkout my frames post.

Frame Lumber

• 2x2 - Lowes
• 1/4 inch birch plywood - Lowes
• Wood Glue - various 

Mosaic Tiles - This is probably the single biggest expense for each mosaic project other than the labor.  I generally make either 1'x1' mosaics or 2'x1' mosaics.  Mosaic of this size require approximately 1.5 lbs or 3 lbs of tiles respectively.  I use the chart below to determine how many tiles to order.

Tile Quantity Cheat Sheet

Note: There are about 140 3/4" tiles in 1 pound.  There are about 600 3/8" tiles in 1 pound.

Tile Vendors

Hakatai - 

6 Jul 2014 - I am trying out a Hakatai as a new vendor since Opus Mosaics apparently went out of business. I purchased 12 lbs of Venetian tile at cost of $31.32 + $25.08 shipping via UPS.  The total cost was $56.40 or $4.70 per lbs.  That works out to approximately $0.034 per tile including shipping.

Jennifer Mosaics - Nice tiles, but Jennifer does not distribute directly. I've purchased tiles from Jennifer Mosaics from Amazon.  The price is about $10 per pound.  Luckily shipping is free if you have amazon prime.  That works out to $0.071 per tile.

Maryland Mosaics - Only sells vitreous tiles on sheets. (No loose tiles).  Current price is between $7.50 and $14.95 per sheet of 225 tiles.  That works out to $0.033 to $0.064 per tile not including shipping.

Monster Mosaics - I haven't tried them.  2 lbs (280 Tiles) would cost $11.50 + $13.59 (UPS ground) shipping for a total of $25.09.  This works out to $0.09 per tile.

Mosaic Mercantile - I've purchased several order of tiles from them.  Lately, they always seem to be out of the tile colors that I need.  Shipping is a flat $9.00. Buying two pounds would cost 17.00 + 9.00 = $26.00. This works out to $0.09 per tile including shipping. The cost would go down slightly on bulk orders.

Tessera Glass - I haven't tried them.  The also sell tiles on sheets of 225.  2 lb of tile is $7.00 + $12.35 flat rate shipping for total of $19.25.  This works out to $0.043 per tile including shipping.

Other various supplies

Mosaic Tile Glue - I mostly use Weldbond.