Studio Visit: Visual Update on Pool House Mosaic Mural
cat with Birds of Paradise flowers just cut in wet clay
Hello fellow Steemians, to finish out the week I’d like to give you a visual update on my pool house mosaic mural project.
This past week has been all about cutting, cutting, cutting. I’m intent on finishing the wet clay phase (cutting) which entails about 25-30 more hours of work. I hope by the end of Sunday to achieve this so you know what I’m doing all weekend!
Lots of carving, here are a few sea turtles, a frog, lovebirds, a cat (above)and lots of flora:
The drawing and carved wise old sea turtle:
this palm trunk may look familiar to some of you!
One of the two frogs that will be in this mural, this one on a coconut.
And today I'm cutting the palm tree branches which is driving me nuts which says a lot because I love cutting detailed imagery in clay. It seems so simple - and quite honestly I thought it would be an easy area to cut ! I quickly discovered that it takes forever to cut, is confusing and far too easy to lose my place as I go along. Basically, is completely frustrating. It will be over soon ;-].
[]
I’ve been considering what this piece should be titled. It’s a Hawaiian landscape and hopefully once finished it will a poetic one, so I’ve looked up a few Hawaiian words for inspiration:
ALOHA:
Aloha is a value, one of unconditional love.
Aloha is the outpouring and receiving of the spirit.
LŌKAHI:
The value of teamwork: Collaboration and cooperation. Harmony and unity.
People who work together can achieve more.
The Kaona of LOKAHI, Is Inherent ONENESS, Connectedness to the Heaven, to the Earth, and All Life and All Relations.
MAHALO:
“Thank you”, as a way of living.
Live in thankfulness for the richness that makes life so precious.
I’ll marinate on these words/concepts while I work in these next few weeks, and as the mosaic comes together as a whole I think the title will become clear. And I’ll ask you for your suggestions ;-)).
Previous posts about this project to give you context:
https://steemit.com/art/@natureofbeing/studio-visit-remaking-to-get-it-right
https://steemit.com/art/@natureofbeing/studio-visit-glazing-the-hawaiian-landscape-mosaic
https://steemit.com/art/@natureofbeing/news-from-my-studio-revisions-and-beginning-to-cut-the-pool-house-mosaic
https://steemit.com/art/@natureofbeing/it-s-all-in-the-plan
https://steemit.com/art/@natureofbeing/2-inside-the-drawing-phase-of-a-mosaic-commission
Thank you for supporting my blog, together we are doing something revolutionary on Steemit by supporting each other! Have a beautiful, happy, healthy weekend everyone.
The look great Ruth! I cant wait to see how they turn out!
thanks so much @calaber24p :-)
btw, I don't know if you know that I'm moving to the NYC area this summer, CT actually, so I hope to meet you at some point!
That palm tree looks like a real 'breathe-in-breathe-out' kind of puzzle! Wow. I admire your patience :-) It will look SO FREAKING AMAZING though, I can already see the colours in my mind <3
You are so right, lol, it IS a good place to practice a bit of breathing!
Hope it does look FREAKING AMAZING :-)))))
thank you!
sorry, I just opened your latest post, I am inspired by the clay art you do. it turns out you are very mastering the field. I am impressed with your beautiful works @natureofbeing
nothing to be sorry about and thank you!
Looks like it's coming along nicely. Do you ever get back ache @natureofbeing, cutting so many pieces at once.
I can see why all those leaves would be difficult.
I love the palm tree!
And at the moment my favourite for a name is MAHALO. I love the idea of
Yes back aches everyday that require a bit of both yoga and qigong to neutralize!
Mahalo is really beautiful, isn't it!
thank you!
I see that you've been working hard, Ruth :D. You created so many animals for this project, I wonder if there will be a dog as well? ^^
I like the feline that you created, I think it's wonderful that you can imply a cat shape with only a few lines. That's a great talent to have :).
-upvoted-
thank you @scrawly, no dog here and these animals are mostly at the client's request. In fact I rolled my eyes as they asked for more and more, but they are fun to make.
Wow, look at all these pieces! 😄 I'm so excited to see them all together @natureofbeing! I know it's going to look spectacular. I LOVE that little frog on the coconut by the way! So good 😍
:-)) thank you, I SO need to hear this right now when I can't tell if the piece is working or not!
I would be having nightmares of palm leaves! LOL Looks sweet though!
Thankfully I don't dream about work (SO grateful about this!), but I do wake up with a start each morning worried I won't finish on time ;-}
And I have to admit that I"m in the phase where I really don't know if this piece will be good or crap, but I'll see very soon!!
I admire your precise work and patience!
thank you @jecminek!
I can imagine why the palm tree branches could be overwhelming, but even without the glaze, I could see that it's beautiful. I'm excited to see another awesome finished product. You are incredible, Ruth!
~ The Hawaiian word LŌKAHI really struck me and I think we have the Filipino word Bayanihan as a counterpart.
I can't wait for this to come together, thanks for your encouragement! I looked up Bayanihan and yes, it really does embody the same beautiful concept, great to learn this, thank you!
So! This is how to do it! Amazing imagination...
thanks @kennyroy :-))