Archive for Current projects

news : mosaics and other art projects

// October 15th, 2017 // Comments Off on news : mosaics and other art projects // Current projects, News

Here’s the latest news from me…

Back at the farm (15 October 2017)

After about a year at the Recreation Hall, members of the Russell Island Community Mosaic Group (RiCMG) voted to merge with Russell Island Community Arts (RICArts), who had won the tender to lease Kennedy Farm. The recreation hall had proven to be a difficult venue for both RiCMG and RICArts to host their classes and other events, so in early 2017 we were happy to return to our old home which has now be renamed to The Farm Arthouse & Gallery. As part of RICArts the mosaic group has reversed its shrinking membership, and along with the rest of RICArts, has continued to grow. The Farm Arthouse & Gallery now hosts regular exhibitions, and market days which have provided much needed events for the local community – more information at ricarts.org.au

Russell Island Community Mosaic Group relocation completed (26 June 2015)

With the assistance of volunteers, we’ve finished moving the mosaic group to its new home at the Russell Island Recreation Hall (the big building overlooking the jetty carpark). Thank you to all who helped make the move possible on such short notice.

Community mosaic mirror frame presented to BICS (6 November 2014)

Volunteer members of the Russell Island Community Mosaic Group (RiCMG) have presented the completed community mosaic mirror frame to Bay Island Community Services (BICS) Russell Island branch.  Photos of this and other completed RiCMG mosaics can be viewed on the in the RiCMG Gallery.

New workbench (8 September 2014)

Recently I was given a large workbench from my friend Dianne, so have been making the most of it by customising as a multi-function work station with reused parts. With heavy duty castors added, the bench is just the right height to help minimise the back pain I often get using a standard height work area as I can use it either while standing, or while sitting on a drafting stool. It also has a large work surface with room enough for a decent size project and tools, materials are kept nearby on a mobile trolley which I converted from an old TV cabinet. The addition of a storage pod made from PVC pipe under one end of the workbench, allows for a quick role change to an anti-static workstation for repairing electronics and computers if the need arises.

Current project on the bench is  ‘Night Watch’, on which the mosaic tree has been growing noticeably. I have also recently purchased a beveller/straight-edge disc grinder upgrade for my glass grinder, so I am eager to start some stained glass projects.

Back to creating (19 July 2014)

I’ve been slowly reclaiming some workspace in my studio and finally getting to do some creating thanks (not) to my insurance, who are still dragging their feet, heels, tails, butts… or whatever it is they’re dragging.

I’m currently attempting to complete a mosaic wall hanging ‘Night Watch‘.
For now I’ll just be posting updates on my Twitter profile when I can, and will do a major site update here when I have my own functioning computer again.

Studio re-update (14 June 2014)

Several months after my house flooded and despite assurances from my insurance company that it would be treated as urgent, I am still waiting for them to process my insurance claim. So for those of you who have been asking me why I haven’t done much art lately, that’s why.

Thankfully I have been able to continue working on some mosaics at the weekly RiCMG meetings at the Kennedy Farm Community Centre, which has been a great help in keeping my sanity enough to fit in at the “funny farm” (my nickname for the Kennedy Farmhouse). The group’s mosaic on mesh project is nearing completion… I’ll post details and links to photos of it here soon.

Studio update (22 April 2014)

Links page updated; added Russell Island Community Mosaic Group (RiCMG) website and social network/s – 21 April 2013

The repairs to my home (re flood in January) have been completed at least enough for me to be able to access my studio again and get stuck into creating art.

Thankfully the flood avoided most of my studio, with only damage to my glass working desk, computer and cabling. The rest of the house was not so lucky, with damage to many items. Throughout the repairs I’ve kept attending the Russell Island Community Mosaic Group (RiCMG) each week, so that has kept me in touch with the mosaic world and friends etc, and over the Easter long weekend I’ve been staying (while paint dries at home) with a mosaicist friend whose chooks have laid lots of fresh Easter eggs. At the mosaic group, we’ve started a project to teach mosaicing on mesh… more on that soon.

Upcoming events (21 February 2014)

The Russell Island Community Mosaic Group (RiCMG) will be holding a stall at the Russell Island Supa IGA Community Day, Saturday 1st March 2014. I will be there with other members selling unique mosaics hand crafted by RICMG member volunteers.

Mini disaster zone – house flooded by burst pipe (27 January 2014)

Communications will be limited for a while due to house flooding on 24 January 2014 – site updates may be sporadic via borrowed laptop with mobile internet stick… very slow!

RiCMG comittee election results (18 December 2013)

Results from recent member election for RiCMG 2014 Committee are available to members and authorised third parties by contacting me via this website.

Site updates (16 December 2013)

La casa de Pepe (15 August 2013)

Completed  ‘La casa de Pepe‘ (Pepe’s house) house number mosaic.

Night Watch (3 August 2013)

Currently working on ‘Night Watch’ mosaic wall hanging for upcoming exhibition. Also doing bits here & there as time permits, to complete birdbath and fountain mosaics.

New Studio (13 July 2013)

My long awaited move went relatively smooth a few weeks ago. I am now settling into my new home and have began setting up my mosaic studio and wood workshop.  It’s now organised enough to start getting stuck into some larger projects… updates with pics soon!

Expansion and World Domination Plans (27 April 2013)

I am preparing to move to new premises within the next few weeks, where I will have a much larger space to setup my studio rather than battling with a spare bedroom. The new studio will be customised to better facilitate accessibility, thereby helping to minimise working limitations of my current studio imposed by pre-existing injuries. I will also have a large double garage which has already been setup by the owners as a workshop… so I will be able to complete the cabinetry projects which I have drawn up and saved reusable timber for.

I have some large projects which I’ve not been able to unpack due to insufficient room, which I am looking forward to completing in the new studio & workshop! These include a 60cm x 50cm framed mosaic wall hanging, depicting cats perched in a tree, a mosaic bird bath, a mosaic wall fountain (with solar powered pump), and two Moroccan style bedside cabinets from reused timber. I will also post pics of several recently completed mosaic projects over the next few weeks… after each of their recipients receive them.

The following is a brief list of my current and recently completed projects (I alternate between some larger projects while adhesives cure, etc), which I will post pictures of soon.

mosaics:

 

recycle art:

  • 2 x bedside cabinets: tongue and groove floor boards, cedar skirting board: re-used timber decking off-cuts
  • garden bench: re-used timber decking off-cuts (completed)
  • Moroccan style dining room buffet cabinet: (re-used timber recently sourced)
  • bird feeder: ceramic urn lid, turbo oven cover, metal dish, steel mesh (includes nesting box: re-used coffee tin mounted on dead tree branch) – completed
  • planter markers: old spoons and forks with custom letter stamping – completed
  • wind chimes: old fork & spoons, beads – glass &  wood, brass bead caps – completed

what’s goin’ on : general stuff

// December 12th, 2013 // 6 Comments » // Current projects, News

 

I’ve been keeping busy assisting with my local community mosaic group for a few hours each week… working on my smaller projects at the mosaic group when I can as well as mosaic projects for the group, although most of the time I end up helping out with this or that and putting my almost 8 years experience of making mosaics (and many more years experience with computers & other techie stuff) to good use, answering questions and helping where I can. I enjoy my time there, not only for the interaction with other mosaic artists of various skill levels ranging from beginner to experienced, but also the friendship that the group has been very good at nurturing… so kudos to the mosaic group’s founder, Dianne Little for succeeding in creating a group where people on the Southern Moreton Bay Islands (SMBI) can come to learn how to make mosaics for the community and also create new friendships.

My larger mosaic projects stay in my studio throughout construction, which is much easier than moving them around, and I am gradually setting up and adapting my workspace to accommodate my not entirely unique requirements. That’s not an easy feat, as just the changing variables of my injuries have taken time to learn and understand how to work with, but I am making headway, sometimes by trial & error and sometimes by good research/planning or just using my brain for one of the purposes it was intended… commonsense! I figure that if I can fix mobile phones and computers (which I did for previous jobs), I can do almost anything as long as the physical requirements aren’t beyond my limits!

So there has been plenty to do to set up my studio, and lots of gardening too which I also enjoy, albeit in small doses to keep my pain levels to a minimum. The one thing I can do most of the time, is sit and cut tesserae for future mosaic project, using mosaic glass cutters or tile cutters depending on the material. All in all, the last few months have been an interesting part of my life’s journey, and so it continues…

Currently I have 2 mosaic projects in my studio:
“Night watch” – a pictorial with cats in a tree. I have emphasised the eyes of the cats, to give the impression they are watching something, and also to the stars to convey night time. I’ve had this project packed away between moves, but now have the space to work on it.

The other mosaic is for a wall fountain (no title yet). This project has evolved since the glass background panel was broken both times I have moved since beginning the fountain. I was recently given a small fibreglass pond, which I wasn’t sure if I’d incorporate with the fountain as I had planned to use a half kerosene type drum as the water reservoir. Then, shortly after I began looking for a suitably sized wediboard panel, the husband of a friend from the mosaic group found two panels large enough to incorporate the pond and delivered them to my door… what a surprise that was, and I am so thankful! Not only has it saved me the hassle of getting the material transported from the mainland, it has also allowed me to radically change the background substrate to a torsion box type, double skinned structure (think “hollow core door”) which will be much stronger and will also allow me to hide the plumbing inside the structure.