Ep. 121 A SMALTI MOSAIC OWL, NEW WORKSURFACE, WHAT NOT TO DO WHEN GROUTING & GLASS SHOPPING! 

Ep. 121 A SMALTI MOSAIC OWL, NEW WORKSURFACE, WHAT NOT TO DO WHEN GROUTING & GLASS SHOPPING!
0:06 A SMALTI MOSAIC OWL. I pick up on my smalti mosaic owl that I started a YEAR ago at a Demo Day at the museum. I start by selecting some of the soft grainy brown and other browns as well as some transition colors of Mexican Smalti. I am using black tinted Laticrete thinset as the adhesive. The swath around the eye is my goal. In the upper right region, the black feathers taper down and I adjust my original image.
Then I have to break down my bigger pieces of black smalti because I don't have any A-cut sizes. I score and knock the score on my hardie a couple times, then I can pick up the hammer and get after it. Yay! Progress on the smalti owl mosaic!
5:15 Next, I show how to put together my new workbench from Home Depot! It has a bunch of screws, adjustable height butcher block top, metal legs and two drawers. I assemble it in about an hour and then wait for my husband to help me put together the drawers since they are heavy and each side needs to slide into the groove. Looks like the only thing I might change now is the floor lamp that is a little bit too low.
8:00 I walk you through my grouting process with a butterfly I finished a while ago. Using black sanded fortified grout, I start by putting on my mask. You need a mask when you are mixing the grout. It usually takes a little bit more grout than water. I am looking for a thick peanut butter like consistency that does not slop off the spoon. Once it is to my liking, I can remove the N95 mask and put the lid on my grout container. Slaking takes 5-10 minutes.
After slaking, the grout stiffens up a bit so I like to give it a good stir. Then plop it on and spread it around with a spreading tool. My favorite spreading tool is a blue finishing rubber. I prefer sanded grout and this project it is needed as my spaces are huge! Once all the grout is in there, I use my spreading tool to remove excess grout from the surface of the glass. Then it is time to wait for the grout to cure a bit and haze over. Good time to walk the dog!
13:31 When I return, it is ready to wipe down. Once I give it a try I realize I let it sit too long!!! This is NOT what you want to do when grouting! I fill some areas where I knocked off the grout by smashing in extra grout. This is one reason why I like to hold onto my mixed grout until the very end. I end up using a wet cotton rag to wipe off the grout and then it cleans off easily. I clean my tools outside with the hose, in a bucket or with a spray bottle, but NEVER in the sink.
15:50 Then I give the butterfly body some Rub N Buff in Gold Leaf to show off the texture.
16:29 Last of all, we go on a field trip to Chattanooga, TN. There is a stained glass store called Visions Stained Glass owned by Carolyn Insler. Carolyn makes custom stained glass pieces. She shows us some lemon tree panels for a front door and a floral panel to compliment an existing piece that she repaired. I show some of her work, which includes a few mosaics. You can tell Carolyn has been in the glass business for a while! She also has a scrap glass room! I finish up with a few ornaments and a tree panel she made. More information @ visionsgallery...
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