Grouting Mosaics

Grout, grout, grout. I was so tired of grouting that I didn't take any good close up shots. Plus my husband took my boys and my good camera camping so I am left with a few cruddy iPhone pics.

I was working on a big scale so I laid out a tarp and got busy. In a coolwhip container I mixed up my SANDED tile grout. I used white but you can buy a variety of colors. Follow directions but usually I just add water a mix a batch at a time until it is like frosting. Let it sit for a few minutes to activate.



I wear GLOVES. It is a dirty business and if you are doing a lot it dries your hands terribly.



So, smoosh grout all over your piece. It will cover but that is okay. You want it to get in all the nooks and crannys.

I have a big bucket filled with water. You DO NOT want to do this in your sink!!! I get my sponge wet and squeeze most of the water out. I rub the top of the piece to remove excess grout and the majority of grout off the pieces. A white film will remain. You can keep wiping but it will remain until it is dry and cleaned off with windex. This bucket is a dump bucket. NEVER DUMP DOWN DRAIN! I have a nasty spot in my backyard I dump in. The big bits of dried grout get thrown away when it dries. All of your tools need to be cleaned in that same bucket.



When everything is wiped clean, set to dry for about 4 hours. Then you can lightly rub with an old tshirt to remove haze and use tools to remove any other unwanted grout. Now wait 24 hours! Then hit the tiles, beads etc with windex that is sprayed on paper towels to add shine. DO NOT spray your mosaic! These instructions are meant for small indoor pieces. If you want outdoor pieces that is another ballgame. Enjoy!

1st Grade Mosaics in Progress

Along with the 1st grade class projects, I was asked to do the 1st grade individual projects. Yes, I have been very busy! We are making mosaic tile frames. Easy enough.

I admit, I am a bit of an arts and crafts hoarder. I had all of these china and glass pieces for the kids to use since I used to dapple in mosaic. I chose china pieces that were not real sharp. I also did not include any pieces of the stained glass tiles I have. I did use the vitreous glass tiles. They have blunt edges.



I put a variety of pieces in a cardboard lid on each table. (the artroom tables each seat 4 kids) The frames I bought at Michael's for 1.50 each. I wiped a thick layer of glue on the frames so the students just had to pick and lay the pieces on the glue. I use WELDBOND.
It is fume free and non-toxic. It will hold china and glass etc. to wood. I also found some neat little animal beads among my goods. I threw those in too along with some letter beads. I will take some close up shots this weekend.



I have 39 frames to grout this weekend! Will keep you posted! :)











You will need:
-substrate to tile, ie: frame
-WELDBOND
-mosaic tiles, china, beads, etc.

I will cover grouting next post! :)

It takes a Village

For my son's school auction I lead the 1st grade art project I titled "It takes a Village." Thinking of how true that statement is for the auction alone. All the parents, teachers, businesses that donated items and more to put this fund-raising shindig together. My small part was a few man hours to complete two class projects that happily sold for quite a bit of money! (Both projects went for over $2,000 dollars!) This is money the school will use for new computers and classroom upgrades. So wonderful.

I wish I had taken better pictures of these pieces. They really did turn out so beautiful.





You can do this on your own!
You will need:
-colored card stock
-oil pastels
-scissors
-acid free glue dots
-framing optional

This is a collaboration piece. I pre-cut different shaped buildings from card stock. Children were instructed to use oil pastels to decorate their building as a home, store, apartment, etc. They were told to think about details like doors, windows, landscaping, shingles, etc.

I collected all the buildings and created a childlike background. The background was done on two pieces of pastel paper and colored on top of with oil pastel. I cut and colored trees and shrubs. All of the pieces were put down with acid free glue dots. The finished piece was 30x24 matted and framed. I think this would be cute on a small scale as well!

Spooky Spiders

Halloween is almost here! For this fun class filled with toddlers we took a look at spiders. We read a Halloween book and jumped right in.





First we used white oil pastel to draw, draw, draw all over our papers! We press hard and don't worry about making a perfect web shape. We just want lots of lines! Now the magic happens. We use purple watercolors to fill our paper. Surprise! Our webs appear.



At this point we let our paper dry and visit the gallery. We found pattern in Jonathan Hils work and joined together for a round of "Itsy Bitsy Spider."

Back in the classroom parents painted their childrens hand with black tempera paint. We used our hand as a stamp and finished with google eyes and some purple glitter. We had a lot of fun!

You will need:
-student grade watercolor paper
-white oil pastel
-purple watercolor paint and brushes
-google eyes and glue
-glitter optional

Wire Sculpture Cars

I did an entire semester on wire in college. Back then I worked for weeks to create a wire hairdryer. This brought back a lot of memories for me. There are really so many things you can create simply by bending wire!

Using the Jonathan Hils exhibition at the OKCMOA as inspiration, children of all ages used wire and beads to create their own car creations.



First I had the children draw their template on paper. Then using a heavy gauge of steel wire (which is actually quite pliable with hands) they began to bend the steel to create the outline for their car.





At this point small gauge wire of different colors is woven and wrapped around to create a grid pattern. Beads were added for fun if the artist wanted to use them.



Here are a few of our creations:













CAUTION: wire can be sharp. Also, be wary of where the end of your wire is.

You will need:
-heavy gauge steel wire
-decorative color wire
-beads
-wire cutters
-pliers can also be used

Toddlers build Venice

So, I had a pretty neat idea that I shared with the Museum and it is now a realization thanks to someone that could share the vision and find the funding. Tiny Tuesdays at the OKCMOA was born. It's open ended art making for little ones ages 2-5 once a month from 10-12pm.

I know how hard it can be to get to a class on time and I hope this will give Moms some flexibility with their schedule. I hope some of you will share this new adventure and visit me at the Museum.

Today we had Venice on our mind using, La Serenissima: Eighteenth-Century Venetian Art from North American Collections as an inspiration.

I had some books to look at:


I set up our shapes in assembly line fashion for the little ones to choose from.







We used shapes to build our city, grounding the piece with a bridge. Above the bridge are buildings and below are our boats ready to set sail.

Here are some of our pieces. I hope you enjoy!

You will need:
-14x11 black poster board
-pre-cut shapes (squares, rectangles, semi-circles, triangles and more)
-glue stick
-scissors