Ginny Lindzey
  • Home
  • Res Scholasticae
  • Blog
  • Gallery
  • Tutoring

Blog

Wren & Chickadee

11/30/2020

0 Comments

 
With Christmas around the corner I am madly trying to make ornaments, trying to see what works and what doesn't.  While I want to get back to doing the little quarter size ornaments, I wanted to see what a couple of the 2 inch square ornaments would look like with open spaces (not completely tiled) and without grout. The cardinal and even the dove look a little dark on the tree. 

I also wanted to practice on simple border patterns. There's not much room for a proper mosaic border (Roman style, in my mind) on something this small, but I could manage a little something.
Picture
(This was a picture from when the glue was still drying.) If the pieces weren't all hand cut, it might be easier to fit them in. Even still, I am pleased with this frame. 
Picture
As you can see, I had sketched out the wren and then started choosing or cutting glass to fit.
Picture
 I also had made a blue frame with a perhaps odd pattern going around. 
Picture
Because this frame was so colorful, I thought I would contrast it with a black and white chickadee. 
Picture
I sketched out the chickadee in an upside down perch, which I thought looked fun, and began to cut glass.
Picture
I think the end result is fun. He may be my best bird yet. It's a shame you cannot see that his eye is actually made from purple glass. It is surrounded by the black and doesn't show. 
Picture
0 Comments

Peacock feather, Earrings, & Tiny ornaments

11/24/2020

0 Comments

 
After the cardinal, I had planned to do a peacock, tail down, Roman style. You can find peacocks all over frescos in Pompeii, often near household shrines. So I thought, yes, a peacock, that's next. And then I thought about the impossibility of recreating it effectively in a 2 inch square. Thus I settled on maybe just doing an "eye" from the tale feather. 

​I needed to cut some glass, which I enjoy doing, and I think I'm getting better at consistency. 
Picture
I have an aquamarine blue, which I thought would be green enough (it wasn't but oh well), which I first cut into centimeter strips, then snipped into centimeter squares, then cut in half, and cut in half again to make little .5 centimeter squares. Then I cut some of those in half too.
Picture
 sI decided I needed to cut more of the other colors too, plus I like how pretty the cut glass looks just sitting on a mirror. But I digress. 

Even though I had drawn the peacock eye on the mirror, it ended up off center (too far up), plus the aquamarine wasn't very green. I really looked more like just some weird pattern. So while I was waiting for the glue to dry (and to avoid my disappointment), I turned my attention to this little one inch circles I had. I thought that perhaps I could make some tiny little ornaments for my own small Christmas tree. 
Picture
I decided to because these are so small that I would not try to fill in the little mirrors completely but just do the edges and some sort of design in the middle. But then I had this idea about making earrings... I had found this little blanks at Michael's (bottom of the picture) and thought I could glue tesserae to them. ​
Picture
I had also splurged on a jewelry kit with earring loops that I could attach.  Because the little rectangular blanks are so small, I could only think of a couple of patterns. I haven't used the square ones yet; waiting for inspiration. It will come. 
Picture
So I went back to the tiny ornaments, trying out various designs. I thought these would be quick and easy to make, but because they are so small they are a little fiddly. Also, you have to have a lot of glass cut to make sure you have the right shapes/sizes available. But here are the first dozen. I'm sure I will make more, but  I have an idea for a wren in the 2X 2 inch size which I want to tackle next....
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
0 Comments

A Cardinal Ornament

11/24/2020

0 Comments

 
After the Dove and the Chi Rho ornaments, I decided to do another Christmas bird, this time a cardinal. I found a picture of a snowy scene with a cardinal framed by icy branches to use for inspiration. 
Picture
I thought my cardinal turned out well for this little 2X2 inch ornament. I began the branches with grey glass for the branch itself, white for the snow on top, clear for the ice below, in imitation of the picture. I made the mistake of starting the background in green--like the picture--but soon realized that it wasn't a strong enough contrast. (When will I learn?!) You can see the discarded green glass at the top of the picture. I switched to the light blue (in the cup).
Picture

I didn't realize until after I was done that I had accidentally moved one of the cardinal's legs when replacing with the blue glass. It does make him look a little awkward here, but oh well. You can see the dotted lines I wrote on the mirror with an overhead marker for where I wanted the other branches. I also began adding dark blue glass in the corners to sort of frame the picture.
Picture
It didn't turn out quite as beautiful as the photo I was working from. The branches do not come across clearly as branches. I should have simplified or perhaps used opaque glass for the branches. However, I was pleased enough.
Picture
I think the grouting went ok and the glass polished up nicely once I cleaned off all the excess glue.  Here are the three ornaments I had made up to this point: 
Picture
I decided that I really liked having a border and wish I had put one on this cardinal. I really like the border on the Chi Rho, but it takes up space. But it does make it look cleaner and more professional. 
0 Comments

    Author

    Ramblings of a retired Latin teacher,  creative creature, and general person rediscovering life after teaching.

    Archives

    October 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Res Scholasticae
  • Blog
  • Gallery
  • Tutoring