Illustration Friday - "Intricate"

©KathleenRietz
Since I am still busy illustrating my second children's book of 2009, I thought I would post something different for Illustration Friday. I used to have time to pursue other creative outlets, and really enjoyed making mosaics. I still have a basement full of beautiful glass, and some day I hope to get back to mosaics. For me it was very therapeutic....I could make whatever I wanted and no one could tell me if it was right or wrong. I always thought I would sell my creations, but I gave most of them away as gifts. This mirror still hangs in my kitchen.

By the way, to read an update on my school visit for the book "The ABCs of Yoga for Kids" later this month, click here. (You can also order the book by clicking on the book icon in the upper right hand corner of this blog page.)

Recycled.

A few years ago, I began recycling my recyclables...
(The photos are definitely worth clicking to see 'em larger, IMO.)

Jelly jar is now a candle holder. And an iced tea bottle is now a pretty bud vase.

Drug store votives are dressed up and reused.

Your trash is my treasure.

The Moleskine

©Kathleen Rietz
©Kathleen Rietz
©Kathleen Rietz

Fellow blogger and good friend Joan Yoshioka has been visiting from Hawaii and staying at my home in Chicagoland. We have so much to post about...it has been a vacation of sorts for us both. But tonite I am finishing up some sketches for the children's yoga book I am illustrating, so we are taking a little break from our adventures.

Today was grey and cold...the first real nip of autumn in the air. I bought this Moleskine sketchbook last night while we were out, and today we decided to have an afternoon of sketching at my kitchen table. Now I understand why artists become obsessed with their Moleskines....they are just so "different" from any other sketchbooks out there. It was nice just to do some sketching, free of deadlines and pressure. I guess there is still this fine artist living inside of me, set free on the pages of her new Moleskine.

Just for fun...

Here is another vase I made from a recycled iced tea bottle. This is one of my faves....I love these colors!


This is a pendant I made using the ancient technique of casting molten silver in a carved out cuttle fish bone. Cuttle bones are very soft and can be carved into and hollowed out easily using sinple tools. The cuttle bone can only be used once, so each piece is an original. I took a metalsmithing class last year and this was my favorite piece I made.

Thank God, it is 40 degrees here today! I will take the dog for a brisk walk and I have a massage scheduled this evening. The snow is melting and it looks like the cold spell finally broke.

I want to take my acrylic paints out and begin experimenting with them. I have not used acrylics in years. All in time, I suppose...I feel so driven to create art lately. I hope to have a new promo piece done this week or next.

Hope you are well. Here's to creating great art!

Mosaic Objects #2

For my series of crosses, I first made a 4" cross template out of cardboard, and then cut and sculpted the crosses out of Sculpy, which I then baked in my oven. Then I added the cut stained glass. The grout has little flecks of metallic gold in it, which you cannot see in this photo. I gave this cross to a friend for her birthday.


This is a detailed photo of a vase I made for my entryway.


I made a series of mosaic pendants. First I sculpted the pendants from Sculpy, baked them and then add the mosaic glass. Each one is different. These sell for $12 each.

I love to make mosaics, but I think it's been a year now since I have made anything. When I started creating mosaics, it was an obsession for me. It was a time in my life when someone I loved was away, and I needed a creative outlet that was not defined by anything or anyone...something which has been a struggle for me because I have spent so many years making commercial art. I enjoy making things for people and giving them away.

Mosaic

I wish I had a better photo of this mirror I made. It is actually a very cheery piece I created for my kitchen. The light was not cooperating with me the day I photographed this.


I recycle glass jars and bottles and make gifts out of them. This was an iced tea bottle, which made a lovely vase. I gave this vase to a friend who moved away to Georgia.


I love the luminescense of the light through mosaic glass votive candle holders.