This latest commission is for a house name plate. The last photo shows the sign that the client wished me to use as the inspiration. I tried to get a good colour match, looking at this photo though, looks so different to the original. I think I’ll add a little yellow to the flowers before I grout.
Please take a look at my Etsy shop as I’m having a jewellery sale this week. Lots of lovely necklaces.
http://www.etsyonsale.com/shop/ElaineFarmerMosaics
Today I enjoyed a change of craft from Mosaics to Painting in order to decorate a plain pine Treasure chest for a friend’s daughter. She has a lovely plan to give her daughter 18 presents, one a day, for 18 days, up until her actual birthday, with all the presents beginning with her daughter’s initial M.
The Lucky girl has M and M’s, Maltesers, a Manicure, an M Pandora charm, tickets to Michael McIntyre etc etc.
It’s such a lovely idea I might have to pinch it for when my three sons turn 18…. trouble is my eldest sons name begins with Z. How am I going to manage that? 😳💡💡💡😬 Arhh….only three years left better start thinking of some Z gifts….please feel free to give me some ideas…and don’t say Zebra….we have not got the room!!! He he!!!
My latest mirror is complete and ready to deliver to Rebecca and the girls, unfortunately my girls….. Snowy and Jinx wanted in on the photo…or at least, wanted me to stop taking photos and throw their ball instead! 
Well it’s all finished now and awaiting delivery. I used iridescent tiles throughout and I’m pleased as they really add a touch of sparkle when a light shines on it.
I have spent far longer than I initially thought I would have to on the little things. It’s a good job I don’t charge by the hour. Looking back the actual mosaic seems like it was the quickest part. I used two different colour grouts to enhance the tiles in the different sections but it was the making and hanging of the plaque that was a mission.
I made three plaque tiles in order to test the glazes and tried out three different methods for the glazing. I wasn’t happy with the colours of glaze on the first two, sometimes glazing can be a little hit and miss but the third and final outcome is just right and seems to blend in perfectly with the colours in the tiles. Then I chose to hang the plaque on simple hooks but after firing they didn’t fit so I used a metal rod and had to file certain areas down to ensure it fitted. I actually prefer this way of hanging than my initial idea. It reminds me of a hanging bar sign or a sign from a cowboy western.
Let’s hope my client is pleased too……….if not I’ll have to ask “The Ice Hotel” if they would like it.
The icy mural is sliding along quickly now. Today I finished the sides and flipped everything over to glue into place. At this stage I get really impatient and just want to grout to see it finished. Nearly there just the name plate to do now.
So, one week and a few cut fingers later, I have completed the front of the Ice Hotel, bedroom mural. I have tried to replicate the clients photo as best I can with a few changes to the circular section of ice behind the bed. I have used iridescent whites and blues for the majority of areas and mirror for the snowflake motif. The photo below shows the back of the mural which will be flipped over to grout to reveal the ‘shiny’ side. This is called the indirect method for those interested.
In between cooking and eating our Easter Sunday roast, entertaining my close family with games of scrabble, devouring hot cross buns and cups of tea, I have managed to squeeze in a little tile cutting…in fact my fingers need a rest now. I was up with the birds this morning recycling tiles from a display board. It’s quite a laborious process but if it’s for free and not filling a landfill it can only be good. I chipped them off the board with a screwdriver and hammer ( couldn’t find my chisel) and then had to chip off all the remaining grout off each tile before I could start cutting them. So nice to have them all sorted and ready to use in colour coded sections. A very satisfying feeling comes over me when I’ve colour sorted something….simple pleasures he he!! The pics below show the process..eventually I might start this piece.
I have recently been commissioned to create a mural for a couple who were married in the Ice Hotel in Sweden. I am creating a mosaic panel based on the wedding bedroom and am waiting for the shimmery iridescent tiles that I ordered to arrive so I can begin the icy scene. I’ve just got to remember to spell Jukkasjärvi correctly on the real mosaic. I’m going to have a ceramic name plate underneath. I think I had a photoshop text gremlin on my design work. To keep me busy whist waiting for the tile to arrive I have been recycling some preused blue tiles and scraping off the grout. I probably won’t use these in the mural but it’s keeping me occupied until I can start. Hopefully they’ll come after Easter and I can get on with it. Happy Easter..enjoy those eggs and I’ll post my developments soon.
Elaine Farmer Mosaics 