Currently on the Work Bench

As a size comparison here I am holding up my fully assembled poster/sketch on top of which I am currently assembling my new mosaic landscape depicting Wyoming's Teton Mountains.  This mosaic will be 24" x 48" in size (2ft x 4ft) and it will be the 6th mosaic of my new landscape series.  You can follow the full process on my facebook art page "Kasia Mosaics" https://www.facebook.com/KasiaMosaics

This is a photo I took on a back packing trip last summer.  It shows the incredible view from our secluded back country campsite on a 20 mile hike through the Teton Mountains in Wyoming. When we arrived at this magical spot, my mosaic mind began racing and I knew that I would eventually plan a composition inspired by our trip =)

Below are some of the other mosaics from my new, growing landscape series which will soon include more spectacular scenery from the Rocky Mountain Region.

"Impression of a Colorado Fall", stained glass mosaic, 36" x 36" (3ft by 3ft), 2013 by Kasia Polkowska  
Available for Purchase: http://kasiamosaicsstore.blogspot.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Vermont Autumn", stained glass mosaic, 36" x 36" (3ft by 3ft), 2013 by Kasia Polkowska  
Available for Purchase: http://kasiamosaicsstore.blogspot.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Mountain Spring", stained glass mosaic, 36" x 36" (3ft by 3ft), 2012 by Kasia Polkowska  
Sold

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Green Mountains", stained glass mosaic, 36" x 36" (3ft by 3ft), 2012 by Kasia Polkowska  
Available for Purchase: http://kasiamosaicsstore.blogspot.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Vermont Spring", stained glass mosaic, 18" x 36" (1.5ft by 3ft), 2012 by Kasia Polkowska  
Available for Purchase: http://kasiamosaicsstore.blogspot.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mosaic Flashback

Demon Alcohol, stained glass mosaic, 30" x 24", 2009  Available for Purchase

Recently a fan asked me for a more detailed explanation of one of my mosaics "Demon Alcohol" - it is actually one of my most special pieces so I created a special diagram with a basic explanation of the symbolism behind the imagery. 

Here you can see the mosaic next to the original painting I created when I was a kid =)

Pink Lotus, stained glass mosaic, 12" x 12", 2013   NFS

I created this mosaic as a present for my niece's best buddy.  For my niece I created the rose below as her middle name is "Rose".  As long as its dry out on Easter Sunday I will hide each flower in the grass so the girls can find them, hopefully each girl will find her own flower and I hope that they will each like the one I made for them and not vice/verse =)

I have previously used the lotus flower as a design element as well as a symbol of purity and divine life on the bellies of both the Matryoshka Dolls I've created. 

On the Left: Matryoshka Doll (front view), mosaic by Kasia Polkowska, sculpture by Kyle Cunniff, 24" high, 2011   available for purchase: http://kasiamosaicsstore.blogspot.com/ :

 

On the Right: Matryoshka ,stained glass mosaic on plywood, 30" x 23", 2011 ~ SOLD

Adriana's Red Rose

Red Rose, stained glass mosaic, 12" x 12", 2013   NFS

I created this mosaic as an Easter Egg Hunt present for my niece who's middle name is Rose.  Easter is early on the calendar this year so this may be one of the few flowers hidden in the grass for her to discover while we play.  Below are a few process shot.

Wilderness Volunteers Auction

For the second year I am participating in the Wilderness Volunteers Action.  "Wilderness Volunteers is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization created in 1997 to organize and promote volunteer service to America's wild lands. We work with public land agencies including the National Park Service, the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management and the US Fish and Wildlife Service"  You can learn more about this organization by visiting their website: http://wildernessvolunteers.auctionanything.com/Home.taf

This year I am donating the above mosaic titled "Mountain View III". The mosaic depicts an abstract mountain scene in neutral colors with subtle purple accents. It is inset in a custom floating frame made with raw pine with a satin finish.  With the frame the mosaic is 12" high, 9" wide and 1.5" deep. The mosaic is singed b on the back where it also has a hook for hanging.

 The auction ends on the 24th of March at 8pm.  Click the link to see the listing for my mosaic where you can place you bid: http://wildernessvolunteers.auctionanything.com/Bidding.taf?_function=detail&Auction_uid1=2878120

Nautic Spiral

Nautic Spiral, stained glass mosaic, 18" x 18", 2013   available for purchase

Here is a shot of me figuring out my color palette alongside of the sketch I build the mosaic on.  Initially I was going to use the purple for accents but as I began to work I decided that I wanted a purely aquatic feeling. 

some of the process ... here you can also see the tools I use to create all my mosaics with

Here is a fun screen shot from Kyle editing the latest video of me creating the spiral mosaic The video is going to start with me cutting the first piece of glass up to the grouting so it should be pretty fun =)  I'll post a link once its completed.

a detail of the taped mosaics almost ready for gluing

Impressions of a Colorado Fall

Impression of a Colorado Fall, stained glass mosaic, 36" x 36", 2013  available for purchase

This landscape has been inspired by my impression of the changing, vibrant aspen trees in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado where I live. Aspens live in large colonies and many share one root system so they change colors within their group and that's one of the reasons the fall foliage is so incredible in the mountainous Colorado landscape. While the colors transition from green to yellow, the barren rocky peaks begin getting snow peaked which creates a wonderful accent to the golden landscape.
  

Here is my rough concept sketch for the mosaic.  It is done in charcoal and colored pencil and is 11" x 11".

 

Yummy ingredients for the green aspens turning yellow and for the the sunny Colorado Mountains =)

Here I am arranging my hand cut circles into a little hill. In my mosaic this hill is in the foreground and will represent a sunlit slope covered in dried grass and plants. In the photo on the left I am making sure that my pieces are positioned as I want them before putting a little piece of tape over them. On the right you can already see a taped section and I am just dropping one of my circles into its proper spot before reevaluating the composition and colors and figuring out what my next circle should be =)

In this photo sequence, I am cutting out one of the trees for the tree covered mountains in my mosaic. When I create a deciduous trees, I first draw an outline of the crown with a sharpie. If there is already a tree next two it, I also trace the shape underneath it. Then I score my lines with my glass scoring tool. Then I break the glass along the scored lines with my running pliers. If there are any irregular edges left, I clean them up with my nippers. Then I fit my tree into its desired place. If its a good fit, then I tape it to its neighbor. If its not a good fit, then I shape it some more until it fits into place. The trees in this photo are in the foreground so they are pretty large and will gradually get smaller in size as they go back in space and up the mountain. I repeat this process for every single tree, some of them are a lot more complicated with more concave cuts which require a lot more scoring, breaking, nipping and shaping.

Late night in the studio ... I was making good progress on the project with the help of a local brew - this Colorado Ale could not have been a better color match for this Colorado inspired landscape =) I often subconsciously match my work clothes to the projects on my work bench ... but matching my beverage choice is a first :-)

progress shot from the studio

glass shards taking over the studio floor - its fun to watch the little glass mountain grow at my feet =)

Here I am ready for gluing! This is one of my mosaic puzzle pieces I cut up for my gluing process. I've held it up to the view out my studio window though I went outside to have Kyle take the picture.

Due to the large size of this mosaic (3ft by 3ft), I cut up my finished and fully taped mosaic into smaller more manageable sections for easier gluing - its like a very simple puzzle. After cutting out each piece, I carefully lift up the edges before fully lifting it up to see that all the glass is still adhering to the tape, if there are some loose pieces then I place the edges back down pat down the piece in the trouble sections. Then I transfer each puzzle piece, one by one onto my free side table. After each puzzle piece is lifted off, I trace it with a pencil to make sure it goes back into its proper spot so the mosaic won't overlap the board - that would be a bit of a boo boo =) I glue each section one by one onto its corresponding shape on my sealed substrate. (Currently I am using Weldbond as my glue and as my sealer - diluted 5 to 1 water to Weldbond)

Here I am gluing my mosaic puzzle pieces one by one onto my custom lightweight plywood substrates reinforced with structural frames on the back. The substrate is sealed with a 5 to 1 part water to Weldbond. I spread a thin layer of Weldbond onto both the board and the back of the mosaic, wait a couple minutes for the glue to get a bit tacky, carefully position a mosaic section onto its corresponding section on the board, shift it around a bit and gently but firmly I pat down all the glass pieces to make sure they all make good contact with the glue and board.

Here is another gluing process collage. Sometimes I try to squeeze the glue out in nice and even lines but this only happens when Kyle is looking over my shoulder. When he is not around I frantically squeeze the glue bottle and make abstract paintings with my Weldbond =) I apply the glue in thin layers to the back of the mosaic as well as to the board. I wait a couple minutes for the glue to get a bit tacky and join the two sections, press down on every piece of glass to make sure they make good contact and then leave it to dry before pulling off the tape.

Here is one last shot of the gluing process of this latest mosaic ... we took a bunch of pics this time around so it was hard to choose just one to share =) I like this little sequence of photos because the bottom right shows most of the mosaic glued but without the black grout lines (yet) which will really make the whole composition pop and look a lot more contrasty! Again you can see how I apply the glue to both the sealed substrate as well as the back of the mosaic. Then I carefully place the mosaic section onto the glued substrate section and then press down on each individual glass circle with my hand and a little cloth.

Here I am starting to peel of some of the tape from the sections that appeared mostly dried.  I pulled of the tape from the sky first as you can see in this photo.

Here are some shots from the grouting process. I used my favorite charcoal black sanded grout. (the perspective of the photo in the upper left makes the mosaic look smaller than it really is which is 3ft by 3ft)

Kasia Mosaics on Facebook

A couple years ago, I noticed that many artists were utilizing public facebook fan pages to share and to promote their work.  I decided to give it a go, not knowing what to expect.  In February 2011 I launched Kasia Mosaics on Facebook. To my surprise, my page has turned into something wonderful that keeps growing and evolving. Today I really enjoy keeping up with my page by posting photos of my projects, inspirations, travel photos and current work in progress photos as well as sharing other mosaic art I discover through other facebook pages I follow. Through my page, I've connected with wonderful people from all over the world, I've sold a lot of my artwork and have even connected with other artists!

You can visit my page here: Kasia Mosaics Thank You for stopping my blog - I hope you enjoyed a little glimpse into my creative journey!  

Tuff Guy Commission

Tuff Guy, stained glass mosaic, 16" x 11", 2013

Above you can see my latest commission. A collage friend of mine commissioned me to create a portrait of her and her husband's Hahns Macow as a present for his birthday. The mosaic is inset in a black, floating frame.

On the left you can see my color concept sketch for the Tuff Guy mosaic.  On the right you can see the beginning stage of my mosaic in progress. The eye and the feathers around it were created with very small pieces of glass, which were impossible to move around with my stubby fingers so I maneuvered them with a thin razor blade.

 On the left you can see me holding out of the stained glass flowers I've cut out for the jungle floor. Since Tuff Guy is a girl, I thought that she would like to be surrounded by flowers, I created four of these and fitted them around her tail. The flower petals are created with considerably larger pieces of glass - these larger shapes show of some of the color neat color transitions that often occur in stained glass.  On the right you can see that I've veered away from some of the original composition in my sketch. Sometimes the glass just takes over ... after I created the first set of flowers, it seemed that there should be more flowers than I originally imagined.

 On the left you can see me spreading the charcoal grout into all the crevices and on the right you can see the grout setting after the first layer of film has been wiped away.

 On the left you can see the grout starts to set and I begin to slowly wipe away the excess.  On the right I am wiping away another later of hazy grout as it keeps on drying.

Vermont Autumn

Vermont Autumn, stained glass mosaic, 36" x 36", 2013

available for purchase: http://kasiamosaicsstore.blogspot.com/

As you can see from the title above, my first landscape of 2013 has been inspired by Vermont's legendary and magical fall foliage. This past September when Kyle and I were driving up to our friends' farm, the reds stood out to me as particularly vibrant and shiny (the green conifers and half the red trees are created with iridescent glass which you can't see in this photo but I will post more pictures which show the shimmering glass). On our drive, there is a particular spot where you can catch a quick but a very expansive view of the mountains disappearing in all directions into the distant sky or clouds - depending on what kind of a day it is. On this particular occasion it was the latter, the sky was covered in semi dark clouds but there was still enough light to illuminate the the brilliant carpet of trees covering the mountains below. That particular view which I've never been able to photograph because there is nowhere to stop on the highway is what inspired this latest composition.

Here I am holding up the mosaic (still unframed) as a size comparison =)

Below are a few process shots I've taken over the 2 months that I've pondered over this piece and created it one small piece at a time.  I hope you enjoy!

Here is a shot of my my studio.  You can see one of the color sketches I've created prior to starting.  Besides working out my composition in the sketch, I've also used it as a basis for creating my color palette.

In this photo you can see the progress on the first layer of the forest in the foreground.  Even though I've had a color sketch for reference - it was just that - a reference.  The whole process was very spontaneous.  It took me a long time to look at what I've created thus far and to decide what my next move was, to figure what kind of tree and what color was needed to create a balanced composition.   

Here you can see me shaping a conifer tree with my very good friend the flat tip nippers =)  Each tree was carefully cut, shaped by hand and fitted into its appropriate space as the forest grew upward and into the distance. Each new tree inspired the next. 

While creating this landscape I've also creating an unbelievable amount of trash aka glass shards.  Here is a snap shot of maybe 1/100 of the shards that flew all across my studio as I snipped away at each tree.  I would often look down at the floor and think to myself 'Those little shards down there are pretty fun to look at ... so many different shapes and textures in the chaotic composition' =)

After completing cutting out all of the glass, arranging it into my composition and taping it all together, I cut the whole thing into smaller section for a more manageable gluing process.  Here you can see me holding up of my mosaic puzzle pieces up to the mountains in my front yard which can be seen from my studio window. Here you can also see all of the little spaces I left between the trees, those spaces will be filled with a black grout-line which will create a nice contrast throughout the whole mosaic.

 This is a glimpse into my gluing process.  I glue the mosaic onto a custom built, lightweight, structurally supported and sealed plywood substrate.  The mosaic is glued with Weldbond and left to dry for a few days before I peal of the tape from the surface.

I grouted the mosaic in a sanded, charcoal black which is my choice for most of my compositions.  It creates a wonderful contrast in the colorful glass which has a more dramatic effect.  Looking back at the creation of each of my pieces, this is always my favorite part.  It ties the whole composition together and reveals all of the carefully considered and planned negative spaces between each piece of glass.  The grout takes a couple days to set and is then sealed.  At that point the mosaic is almost complete ... it is yet to be custom framed by Kyle and me.  Pictures coming soon!