Pique Assiette Mosaic Wall

My husband challenged me to cover a 12 x 8’ wall in our dining room, to turn it into art of some sort. Mosaic, painting, whatever. So I just created a whole bunch of panels of Pique Assiette mosaic Using old items that I snagged on eBay. It’s a different style, these are not grouted. I will just be showing them a few at a time, you are welcome to hop over to my Facebook page if you want to see the whole wall album. I’ll add a link to that in a minute.

Working as an Artist

My last art show, long-ago Artfest Midwest

It's interesting how much better-off financially I am than when I was selling my art work.  I have a lot of thoughts about working as an artist, some of it pretty opinionated.  I am not so sure that I would have just kept mosaic as a hobby while continuing to  work for the government full-time, but I sure would have gone about things differently. 

I've read that people who grew up with and were involved with self-employed parents, perfect example would be a family-owned restaurant, do better when they take the leap. I've seen this first-hand and believe it 100%. 

A truism spoken by a woman at the Small Business Association that I should have paid more attention to:  Banks don't loan money to chefs for a new restaurant, and they don't loan money to artists to open a gallery.  In fact, a long-time dishwasher at a restaurant has a better chance at that loan than the chef. 

And good luck finding time to create as you follow guidelines from "experts" to join, post and "share" in a billion different social media platforms. It was hard when I started in 2004, but damned near impossible now, unless you don't require much sleep. 

Art shows -- WHOA, don't even get me started.  But of course I won't be able to resist telling you ALL about those types of events. 

It always feels good to vent, as long as I don't get into the habit of doing it all of the time.  Stay tuned for more musings, and thanks for reading! 

A New Day

German Candy Boxes Early 1900’s

Recently, confounding medical problems led me to a state of disability, not only for my part-time government job, but also for my mosaic work. I DO still have plenty of work for sale, and I hope to be able to share a little of my experience as a fine-craft artist. (Not for the faint-hearted🌝)

I hope that you can continue to follow me through this new leg of my journey, but if you are not interested, (after all – you’re here for the mosaics, right?!)  I’ll understand if you drop off my mailing list.

 I’ll be exploring all kinds of artistry --  ones that don’t require QUITE as much dexterity, and strength to cut shards.  This month’s (February 2018) decorated bottles are first up.  If you want to exercise your creativity in an non-labor intensive way, decorating bottles are the perfect project.  (Some artists use words such as "refurbished", "up-cycled", etc.  I'm sticking with "decorated") I'm using some mosaic techniques, or altering them, such as my grouted paint texture surfaces. 
If you stay, feel free to chime in. I have gotten such good (and, well, puzzling 🤔 and humorous !) feedback from my mosaic customers,  friends and fellow enthusiasts.

Update 2018

New 2018 Posts on the way!  

Subjects:  Retirement, artist life,disability, elderly parents including dementia, cute dogs and cats, and other subjects that come to mind. 



Testing voice transcription for blogger January 2018.

Many Paths to Creativity

There's a fun, easy way to enhance your creativity, so that you can easily access that tool for any area of your life:  Make one thing, each day.  It doesn't have to be a craft:  a made-up batch of chili using your whims instead of a recipe, an artfully arranged display of your favorite scarves in your closet, a cardboard box decorated with gift wrap for a snazzy wastebasket, or something as simple as a paper airplane!  It does not have to be great, or even good...it's all about the making.  

Pique Assiette Mosaic Mirrors -- Vintage Poodle Pups

Poodle Love:  Vintage damaged poodle figurines, blended with other figurines from the same 1950's era, along with Capodimonte flower and textured shards from damaged McCoy pottery.

Valentine's Day: Love it or hate it?

Lusterware shards and a little Bavaria, English bone china flower

It can be kind of tough for some of us....seems the whole world is giving and receiving diamond jewelry, flowers, and candy.  But not all of us!  If you know someone who SHOULD be getting a valentine, but probably won't, consider one of my floral mosaic heart pendants or wall-hangings. 

I am on Amazon Handmade now, along with a bunch of other really talented artists, so check it out:

http://www.amazon.com/handmade/mosaic

In Des Moines, find my work at Cottage by the Creek, 4330 N.W. 6th Avenue.
http://cottagebythecreek.com/

I also have kits and my e-book, Mosaic Lifestyle, available on my website.

MelissasMotif.com

Mosaic Hanging Wall Heart with Flower, jewels and pearls.

Shabby Chic Mosaic Wall Hanging