Unless you stupidly hit ‘Publish’ when you meant to hit ‘Save Draft’ of course. So after a 3 hour panic where I was forced to finish it at speed, here it is:
Read my diary of a watercolour commission here
This is the painting I did, and the article tells the story of how it came to be.
In addition to the usual trying to paint, arguing with teenagers, and in vain efforts to keep on top of the paperwork… I did a mosaic workshop on Saturday for a private birthday party.
Initially I had not been keen to do it, as it was a Saturday I should have been running my usual class, also it was some distance away, and there is an awful lot of stuff to cart about for mosaics, not to mention the health and safety implications when working with broken crockery, the stuff is lethal, and easily as sharp as glass. However, mistaking my lack of enthusiasm for skilful bargaining the gallery owner offered me more money, and in the end it was arranged. The mosaic technique I practice is called Pique Assiette, which means ‘picked plate’ in French, and refers to the idea of making mosaics from found materials and broken crockery etc, and it is becoming more popular, as people take more interest in recycling. And to be honest it’s a whole lot more interesting than those little ready made glass tesserae you get.
My friend and Saturday student Sarah had volunteered to come and help me, which was very kind of her. She was keen to learn the technique, and I picked her up at 8am (ouch!) Saturday morning. On arrival we learned that the workshop was for a lady who didn’t know what she was coming too, just that it was something crafty. A group of 10 friends came in, men and women about equal numbers, and they were all in high spirits. I provided them with wooden bases, and we set about making plaques. There was not time to grout the work but they produced some super stuff, and I left them with instructions on how to finish off at home. We shared some of the buffet lunch and another artist arrived to do mixed media painting with them in the afternoon. By this time wine had begun to flow and they were all very happy when we left them. Apparently every time someone in the group has a birthday they do a different activity, what a fabulous idea! Unfortunately the group made it clear I was not to put their photos on the internet, but I am sure they will not mind me posting a photo of the delightful plaques they made, all ready to grout. The most unusual one was the chap who made a rugby ball and some red roses for England! Sarah’s is the pretty red heart with white background, here is a close up of it:
These are absolutely beautiful. I have access to some broken plates and cups and have just been wondering what to do with it.
ReplyDeleteMichele, I'm sure most of us have clicked on the wrong button at some point - my most embarrassing was when Yoodoo.com emailed me asking if I'd like to have my pastel paintings made into cards for their new website. I wrote an email to a friend about it, wondering whether it was a scam as it seemed too good to be true..........and sent the email to Yoodoo!!!
ReplyDeleteCountry mouse studio, yes they are nice and look even better when grouted, I will try to post some photos. I had to write so much literature about the technique that I may turn it into a squidoo lens sometime. I am adept at breaking stuff. Its nice to look at my coffee table (mosaicked) and see old mugs I broke!
ReplyDeleteJudy, what can I say, that one is worthy of me...