"Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are
only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage.
Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest
essence, something helpless that wants our love."
Well, for the love of mosaic I went to Ann Arbor last week and helped one of my long time mentors with his commissioned artwork at the Summers Knoll School. Martin Cheek spent many weeks creating his mosaic called Danny the Dragon which was a compilation of drawings from the kids at the school. Here is the Facebook link to
Martin Cheek's Latest Commission.
Martin is coming to A Work of Art Studio in April to teach a weekend mosaic workshop, there is still space if you are interested.
Now, a little background: Somehow Martin and I became friends on Facebook. I got an email from a glass factory that was hosting him for a mosaic workshop. I asked him about it and he not only sent me his 2014 USA tour schedule, he told me that he had a weekend free. That began my planning of his mosaic workshop at A Work of Art Studio. While chatting about our workshop I noticed that he was busy with this commission and asked if he needed help, which he replied, "It won't be fun, it is hard work." He didn't know me very well. Without further ado, here is the installation process of Martin's dragon:
Laying out the meshed mosaic pattern and deciding where the starting point on the wall is located.
#Laticrete wonderfully donated the adhesive and grout for the project. It has great hold and tack.
Cleaning excess adhesive from the mosaic surface with vinegar and a scrubby sponge and eventually with a paper clip to leave room for grout.
Dragon Selfie
"Our lives are unique stones in the mosaic of human existence -- priceless and irreplaceable."
Martin and I smearing the grout into all the crevices between tiles and glass fusions. Because the glass fusions are so textured and bumpy we ended up using our gloved hands. The grout was a lovely chocolate color.
Because the glass fusions were so rounded and wonderfully textured, we scraped around most of them to allow them to stand out and give the dragon more depth.
Martin Cheek and Molly Moblo Perusse after a long day's work. What a handsome devil; and Martin isn't bad, either.
If you like this mosaic you should check out Martin's other amazing artworks at his website:
And call or email today to book your spot at his mosaic weekend workshop at A Work of Art Studio! www.aworkofartstudio.com, A Work of Art Studio: 989-352-8222
