Monday, March 12, 2007

Basking in the Warmth of the Sun









The next stool in our group was Kathy's. She had recently added to her real estate collection a home in the desert complete with cactus warm dry air low maintenance in the yard work department and time and space to create and dream and explore mama earth and all of her wonders. So the theme was set and it was my first project. Keep in mind it was January cold and dreary and here came this brightly painted stool warm red and brilliant blue. and a copper circle etched to read basking in the warmth of the sun.
Well I had recently been teaching mosaic classes to small kids and discovered recycled glass as a material. And Kathy had mentioned snakes and that she liked them so........ One thing lead to another and I decided to create a snake winding it's way up the stool. I found a yummy piece of glass which looked like a desert sunset and I had some red Glass which matched the red of the stool leg. them began the cutting process tiny triangles formed my diamond back snake ans of course I picked one of the coldest weeks to get creative also I had waited until there was no more time to fiddle around and when the clock was ticking down the final few daylight hours I was working at breakneck speed. It was so cold my fingers would refuse to bend until I returned to the house for hot coffee and warmth. It is dangerous to loose the feeling in your hands when working with the sharp edges of freshly cut glass. But triangle by triangle the snake inched it's way up the leg of the stool. then I applied the red glass and finally the grout. I was doing the happy dance when at last the snake glowed to life.
Another snake was added and created whimsically out of an argyle sock complete with stone fangs Janice created a cactus garden in copper complete with thorns ouch!!!!
and signed them with her signature dragonfly. Sandra added a delightful little kachina and studied to make him as authentic as possible. His detail is world class and invites you in to wonder if perhaps he will dance a bit for you??? The desert is a mysterious place with hidden delights which must be discovered with patience and observation. Things are not always what they appear to be. Soft earth tones are a backdrop to jewel tone skies and rainstorms are events complete with the drama of thunder and lighting. And at night the stars appear so close you can begin to understand thoughts of other worlds and the connection between us all.

1 comment:

  1. I love the way you posted these photos. They wind you down to your post the same way you wound the mosaic snake down the leg of Kathy's stool.

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