The Chain, Unleashed

I finally finished my first mosaic of 2014, pictured above.  It is entitled The Chain. I didn’t even get a chance to start it until mid-April, and have only  been able to work on it sporadically over the last few months.

I had been holding onto some deliciously misshapen freshwater pearls and wasn’t sure how I would use them.  I had written a poem called The Middle, and it finally hit me that these pearls would be the perfect way to articulate the sentiments of my words. 

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I was plugging along on the mosaic  but just wasn’t completely happy with the way it was coming together.  Although I liked the materials I was using, the adjacent tesserae were too close in color to that of the pearls, and it bothered me that the pearls were "lost" in the field of other lightly colored tesserae. 

 

So, I did what many of us have done through gritted teeth, rolling eyes, and grunts—I chiseled my way back to a redirection using tweezers, a flathead screwdriver, a hammer, and whatever would work to pry these bits and pieces off of the substrate.  And yes, some of it was thinset. 

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I decided to add a range of darker blues for more of a contrast with the white pearls. 

I’m happier with the color contrast now, but I did like the mix of tempered glass and other materials used in my first attempt a little better. All along, I intended to have a teeny little burst of color within the chain. In my own mind, that little burst expressed the words in my poem, but I know I’ll probably be the only one that puts any interpretative meaning to it.  And of course, my family queries, "Why'd you put that red in there? It looks out of place."  I’m okay with that, and they never read the poem, anyway.  

If you're interested in the lowdown.  The substrate is easy board. I used a little bit of thinset, but mostly Weldbond and left the piece ungrouted. Aside from the freshwater pearls, I used stained glass, smalti, vitreous, dalle de Verre and other chunky glass cut with a hammer and hardie, shells, turquoise, and glass gems and chips.  The piece measures 11" x 18".  I'm sharing it and the poem for (hopefully) your creative enjoyment.  I’m pleased with the way the piece turned out and have my fingers crossed that I’ll be able to find a little more studio time this summer.  

The Middle

I am in the middle
Like a link within a chain
tRUST weakens me a little
As each side stakes its claim

Everybody knows
Even if of steel
A weak link has the power
To make said strength unreal

So both sides should stop pulling
And mend this disrepair
Or this strained link is breaking
Leaving nothing but despair
                          Carolyn Wagner
                                    2014

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Not trying to end this post on a melancholy note.  The poem was written in a moment of vulnerability.  I'm fine now, so don't worry.  


Thanks for stopping by,

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