I spent last weekend in San Diego with some close friends, Deborah and Graham, that I haven't seen in a while. Deborah is a fellow artist and runs her own business creating unique and fabulously beautiful tiles. Whenever we get together, the sum of our collective creativity exceeds each of us individually...if that makes sense. We both have some great ideas and it was gratifying to be able to express and talk about them with another Creative.
While there, I noticed a very intriguing book that was laying on her dining table. It is called 'Mixed Media Mosaics' by Laurie Mika and I was attracted to the image on the cover like a crow to a shiny thing. Inside was page after page of yummy techniques for making luminous tiles from polymer clay, using stamps to create textures and images on the tiles, and using metallic paint, mica powders and metal leaf to create shine and bling. These tiles are then arranged into a unique artwork. I was transfixed. Deborah decided that I needed the book more than she did, so she gave it to me.
After arriving back in Orange County after the weekend, I felt compelled to try out this new art form (as if I need another one, sheesh!), so I bought all the stuff and rearranged a nook in my Mom's house to work.
Here's some photos from my learning process. As with anything new, there is a learning curve and one has to be patient with oneself during this time.
Cutting out a frame.
A bunch of tiles ready to bake.
Using rubber stamps to make words and patterns in the clay. I rubbed mica powder directly into the unbaked clay to get the metallic look.
I spent this evening painting my 'tiles' and experimenting with different paint and finish applications. At the end of the evening, I had a nice collection of tiles, albiet quite a random selection of colors. But I wondered what they would look like in a layout, so I created this spontaneous gathering which, even with all the random tiles, looks quite nice!
It is an exiting medium because it combines so many things: color, texture, images, sparkle and mosaic in a very expressive way. You can embed crystals and other metal trinkets into the clay...even do image transfers (so you can take a color picture and transfer it onto a tile). I haven't even scratched the surface.
The funny thing is, working with polymer clay was the LAST thing I thought I would be interested in.
Parting Shots
This is the magic time of year when all the Jacaranda trees are blooming. They are an amazing site. You never know how many there are until they bloom -- the same with Hydrangea and Rhododenron plants in New Zealand.
Speaking of New Zealand, I ran across this intersection while on a walk around a Kensington, San Diego neighborhood.
Kia Ora!
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