I started work on this mosaic mural for a private home in late July, 2021. The client had a cinderblock wall on one side of the courtyard of a home overlooking the Puget Sound with a view of Mount Rainier. The owners spend a lot of time in this courtyard, using it as an extension of their home, so they wanted to give it a surface treatment that would be visually interesting and bring a sense of delight to the space. The concept was to depict a sort of underwatery scene, but without any literal imagery. They wanted the idea of an octopus or kelp, but without being overtly either one. They also hoped for their combined initials to be incorporated, but in a way that would not be obvious to anyone else, so the shapes along the top of the window have a “MV” in the flow of a tentacle.
In order to make the most of the budget and time frame, I collaborated with Christopher Gerber, who did the wall prep and created a color wash for the background from soycrete, a durable alternative to stucco.
The most fun part of this project was selecting some of the unusual glass in my stash, using the ones that are highly textured, have iridescence and interesting mottled color mixes. Then I hand-cut each piece, following a template, but making up much of the patterning and color choices as I went along. On the left, you can see some large glass beads that I’ve had for years, cut in half and set in a row to suggest suckers, barnacles or limpets. I used glass gems to represent clusters of bubbles or eggs. My favorite projects are those that begin with a loose design, allowing me to improvise as I progress, bringing surprise elements to the final mosaic.
Technical details: This mosaic was made on fiberglass mesh in my studio in large sections. I used Laticrete Titanium 257 thinset to adhere the glass to mesh, then Laticrete Platinum 254 as the mortar for installation. It is grouted with Permacolor Select grout in Raven. From our first client meeting to completed installation was 6 months with 4 months of fabrication. The glass is a mix of everything I have on hand, including Spectrum, Bullseye, Kokomo, Uroboros, and some pieces from a demolished church in Seattle.
