16/10/23
LOGIE COLDSTONE MOSAIC SIGN
How lucky am I to have been invited to work with the pupils and staff in this lovely school. Together we created a rather sparkly sign for the school. The children were fantastic and the staff and parents so supportive. Next time you drive past, look for our sign. So proud of what we achieved .Thank you to the parents council who funded this project.
Watch this space
VERSAILLES 2022
Oh my gosh, I think now I have the poshest bathroom in Royal Deeside. My tired old bathroom needed a makeover so a bit of mosaic bling and posh wallpaper did the trick.. I painted the horrible dark wood and marble sink unit and covered it in blue and white tiles. The wall tiles are painted and decorated with some decoupage. I cut the 2 urns from thin ply and filled them with 3D flowers. Please do not enter without being properly dressed when Louis and Marie Antoinette are in residence. No peasants allowed.
Please wear the crown before sitting on the throne
ply
5/11/21
DURNESS CHURCH MOSAIC
A lot of my time over the beginning of this year was spent creating a mosaic for the
Durness Church of Scotland.
Thank you to the minister Andrea Boyes for allowing me to do this and for Donald Morrison the joiner for providing, prepping, hanging and framing my wooden board and cross.
I have to say it was a hugely emotional experience handing it over in May this year.
My original intention had been to invite everyone in the village to come and place some of the pieces but COVID put paid to that .
However the 8 children in the school and nursery did make little fish and sheep which were included in the piece.
I wanted the piece to be very spiritual but also lighthearted, bright, cheery and optimistic.
So included in the piece I have the Lord's Prayer, words from the hymns
"All things bright and beautiful"
and
"When He Cometh "
Most special for me is that I have incorporated a tiny photo of my mum and dad.
This piece was created from the very depths of my heart and soul .
4/8/20
RAINBOWS
During lockdown I have missed so much the interaction with my students.
I also missed my garden visitors who have donated so generously to charity (gathimbaedwardsfoundation).
I decided to spend some of my newly found time making rainbows to raise funds for the HIGHLAND HOSPICE in Inverness. This was where my lovely wee mam spent her last days and was looked after by the angels there.
Altogether I made 10 rainbows and raised £640 in total.Thank you so much to everyone who ordered one.
WYLIE
WYLIE THE SAWMAN came to work in the PRETTY RUBBISH GARDEN in July.
His old tractor driven saw we found in the hen area lying in disrepair.
It has been mended by Stuart Campbell the joiner and Wylie was created by David Barclay of Barclays stone and metal .We have him lit up at night and he looks amazing silhouetted against the trees.
I have replaced the rusty old saw blade with an upcycled glass table top which I have decorated with melted flowers and foliage. 
30/6/20
Today I'd like to introduce you to MARIE ANTIONETTE who came to live in the garden in May this year.
Her head is made from insulating foam and her body a shop mannequin from the skip.
She really is a very aristocratic pile of rubbish.
She sits beside the main gate into the garden and is re adjusting to.......
a) having her body and head rejoined
b) living in a garden a bit less structured than Versailles
c)the Scottish climate .
Her dark curls are formed from melted bottle necks and her ears from cup handles.
Her eyes are the tops of salt and pepper pots and her eyelashes are cut from a metal lamp.
Both MARIE ANTIONETTE and her arch rival SUNFLOWER SHELLEY had a face and hair makeover this year
21/6/20
Oh boy, where do I start.. 3 months and I haven't been updating my website. Been caught up in the bubble of weirdness created by COVID 19 .
So so fortunate to have lots to keep me busy and contented . The garden is exceptionally beautiful this year and yet no one has been able to come and share in the joy.
Here are some of my projects over the last couple of months
PRINCESS HENRIETTA
...is finally finished and in her place on the drive. She stands on a glass plinth with a football underneath .Every time I look at her she makes me smile....
She looks so lovely in amongst the flowers.
She took me many month to complete as she is huge and
she has all sorts of little messages incorporated into her cup handle "fur"!
I carved her from Kingspan insulating foam
Here is a video showing how she evolved ...
30/3/20
Such a sad and unsettling time for us all.
I send you all my love and pray for the strength, courage and resilience we all need to get through this .
In the meantime I'll keep posting photos and videos of what I am up to in the PRETTY RUBBISH STUDIO AND GARDEN.
Hope to see you here later in the year
22/3/20
Had a truly special time with the children and staff in CULTER PRIMARY SCHOOL.
Over 3 days 48 P7 children helped me to recreate the school logo in mosaic.
What lovely children.. and now I am sad that the school is closed they will not be able to see it finished . They will be going to High School after summer.
The children also had fun making a small pretty bonkers mosaic for their classrooms.Thank you so much to Hilary Park for inviting me to the school and to all the staff who helped and made me so welcome....
22/2/20
And from May to July 2019.....
5/1/2020
I'd like to share some of my favourite photos from Jan to April 2019
4/1 /2020
Happy New Year everyone and thank you all for following and supporting my work.
2019 was incredibly busy for me and I met so many lovely, interesting and talented people both in my workshops and when out and about.
Over the Year I gave presentations to the Embroiderer's Guild and the Petroleum Wives Club in Aberdeen.
I worked with Riverbank School to create a large wall hanging for the new Tillydrone Community Hub.
I worked at Woodend Barn with their summer kids camp,
with Kingswells WI craft group and with Grampian 50+
We had loads of visitors to the garden and studio including WI groups from Kintore, Bourtie, Maryculter, Drumblade and Aboyne.
We had visitors to the studio from Australia, Germany and Gran Canaria
I was interviewed for Radio Scotland programme
"OUT FOR THE WEEKEND".
I exhibited ART ABOYNE and UDAS and my work is for sale at the Highland Bakehouse in Ballater.
I made loads of commissions
and am still working on my huge WESTIE called PRINCESS HENRIETTA for the garden
...but throughout 2019 my main focus was on my ART FOR THE HEART charity project
where people from all over the world sent me mosaic treasures to sell from my ivy heart display in the garden.
By December we had bought 8 Dairy cows for families in Kenya and given £1000 to a local child " Evie" with severe disabilities . This was all organised through the Gathimba Edwards Foundation charity
PHEW!
... oh and I must never forget my weekly GEMS on a Wednesday morning .. what a joy to watch them creating such wonderful pieces...
1/11
What a lovely afternoon spent with the ladies at Kingswells WI Craft Group. Thanks for organising Margaret Farquhar. Everyone mosaiced a little ceramic bird using tiles, crockery, melties and nuggets . Wonderful creations and they all took a wee bag of grout home to finish .
19/10
We bought 8 cows in total since last October .
"Bonnie" the last one will hopefully be with her family later this month.
During NEOS (NORTH EAST OPEN STUDIOS) we sold £1000 worth of mosaic pieces from ART FOR THE HEART and all this money is going to the
Gathimba Edwards Foundation Neil Jaffrey Initiative (click here for more information)
helping severely disabled children in North East Scotland .
I was lucky to be invited to exhibit with ART ABOYNE this year and sold six pieces which made me one of the best sellers at the exhibition.. SO CHUFFED.. I sold my ROCKING ALL OVER THE WORLD GUITAR , BUBBLES THE FISH, OWL IN A PUSSY CAT , BULL IN A CHINA SHOP, CHINA JIM THE COCKEREL AND ROBBIE THE STAG.
19/7
Seems I can only get to this page every couple of months .. I post on Facebook all the time so I'm sorry if you're not on there as that is where most of my news goes.
Lots and lots been happening but the main thing which is taking up most of my time at the moment is my
ART FOR THE HEART PROJECT
I have now collected over 100 pieces made by mosaic artists all over the world and they hang on an ivy heart in my garden.
I can't believe how many people have gone to the trouble and expense of getting their lovely pieces to the North East of Scotland. I am so grateful to everyone.
So far we have helped 4 families and the money for SANGO.. cow number 5 is already in the account so she should be bought early August .
My lovely friend Debra brought 20 pieces across from America and people from as far away as Canada , Australia and New Zealand have contributed so many lovely pieces.
so far I have sold over £600 worth of pieces.
JUST WOW!
I will be continuing to sell all the pieces until every last one has gone.I'll keep you updated . The local paper "EVENING EXPRESS " did a lovely feature on the heart .
My other big project was with
GRAMPIAN YOUNG ART
I worked with the P7 children at Riverbank School in Aberdeen to create a 5ftx 4ft wall hanging for the new TILLYDRONE COMMUNITY HUB which opens mid August.
So proud of what we achieved. Vera and Colin from Grampian Young art and my pal Carol along with Mrs NG the class teacher all really mucked in to help get the piece finished in time. The children were just lovely and a photo book will be in the hub library so the children will always have a lovely record of our time together to show their friends and family.
A huge amount of planning and preparation was required for the panel and boy it was a steep learning curve for me!
90% of the piece is made from recycled materials including melted bottle glass and tiles rescued fro the skip outside TOPP'S TILES.(with their permission of course!!)
And today is preview night for
ART ABOYNE
which opens tomorrow. Watch this space
5/5
And so its May.
Winter came back yesterday with snow showers and cold wind so I've been working out in the garage with the kiln on to keep me warm! Bit by bit the casualty ward is emptying and all my pieces are heading back out to the garden.
Been so lucky to have lots of commissions to work on.My favorite has been this horse head statue which I was given the go ahead to be flamboyant and colourful . This is to be a memorial but the horse is still alive at 33 years old!
Lots of meaningful bits and pieces and words hidden in there . What a joy to embellish this beautiful creature .. and once he is grouted I have his twin brother to do!
His right ear had
broken off so I was delighted to find a little bird ornament which made a quirky new ear!
Still to finish his left ear which will be covered in meaningful words.I will use wooden letters which will be painted and varnished before grouting.
GRAMPIAN 50+
So lucky to have been asked again to work with the GRAMPIAN 50+ group
at their SPRING FLING in Bridge of Don Academy.
Brilliant to be back in school again with happy learners...
What great results 3o little birdies were mosaiced and taken home to grout.
Spent a lovely week in Durness and put this little slate onto mam and dad's grave.
Gave our lovely friends Julie and Graham the memorial I made for their little cat BUD who died 2 years ago.
7/4
BUSY BUSY
Gosh for those of you who take the time to read my little bits and pieces of news.. thank you.. They are rather scarce aren't they!
I promised myself I would try to get my mosaic/life balance a bit more even this year and here I am with so many things on the go that my head and my diary are full!
Just back from a few days in Barcelona where I got to see the most wonderful mosaic features but it was the Sagrada Familia which blew my socks off ..
Have been gathering all the amazing mosaic birdies and flowers coming from all over the world for my ART FOR THE HEART PROJECT
Can't begin to express how grateful I am to all the people who have contributed. Hope to make loads of money for the Gathimba Edwards foundation.
We have already bought 2 dairy cows TINKY WINKY and PRINCESS HENRIETTA and have got the tail and backside of number 3 ROLY POLY
Got to work on this lovely commission for a retirement gift .. a few challenges in there including a pair of Billy Connoly's banana boots!
Look closely and see all the details referring to the police, football, music. I loved making the oyster catchers on the police badge out of melties.
Been creating lots of new pieces to display in ART ABOYNE
including my coffee pot mirror, my ROCKING ALL OVER THE WORLD guitar, a little chair , hare and my FRUITY OWL
Lots of visitors, workshops, my regular GEMS and several commissions in the making and I am kept out of mischief!
Got to give a talk yesterday to the Aberdeen Embroiderer's Guild. Delighted to be asked to present to such a talented group of ladies. As always a huge thank you to Grace Napier for coming along and supporting me
11/2/19
DELFT B-LOO
Finally after 3 years of collecting, trawling ebay, placing, masking, screwing and glueing, filling,grouting and scrubbing.. my DELFT B-LOO is completed .
It started in 2016 when I found a box of KLM dutch houses in the charity shop. I made a simple scene with about 20 of them and filled out the sky with dutch tiles and bits delft crockery. For the substrate I used an piece of floorboard!
As soon as this one piece was wall mounted I knew I had to carry on so that all the friends and families of the people in the houses could play a part in my display! so I started buying and scrounging and bidding on ebay and ended up with a huge variety of pieces. I also kept finding more houses and have now got over 100 of them....
......over the last 3 years the design has just evolved with no real planning.....
I love to hear the gasp and intake of breath when my studio visitors enter the loo and shut the door..! I hear the giggles and that makes me really happy!
I know these houses are collectors pieces and goodness knows what my little collection is actually worth . To me it is priceless!
The most expensive piece I bought was this gorgeous violin which I paid £70 for.Needless to say it didn't get glued down !
So now all that I need is a posh toilet seat to match in with my design.Watch this space!!
7/12/18
HOW LUCKY AM I?
As I look back over 2018 I have to count my blessings ...for so many reasons...
More than 70 people(little ones too) came to my workshops and went home with unique pieces of mosaic art.
Lots of visitors and groups came to the studio and garden including Tarland, Glassel and Lumphanan WI, Better Balmedie, Inverurie Tangent and Aboyne Day Centre. They were all hugely positive about my work and generous with their charity donations. We gathered money for the Gathimba Edwards Foundation to help build houses and we just bought a cow!!!
My lovely GEMS came every Wednesday morning and made loads of wonderful pieces.
I got to work with the P7s at Lumphanan Primary. They were amazing and we created a lovely wildcat picture which hangs in the school reception area.
I got invited to the Maryculter WI.(Wonderful cakies)
I got to visit Jacquie Primrose in her studio in Swindon
I visited the Giant's House in Akaroa NZ with the lovely Sharon Wilson.
My thistle design went to Phoenix Arizona to be part of the Human Mosaic Project.
I got asked to make several commissions including a rather large dog called Harry.
I helped hang 2 exhibitions for UDAS and got to listen to lots of brilliant speakers at the UDAS talks including Shelagh Swanson and Stuart Herd.
The Butterworth Gallery is exhibiting some of my pieces.
I met loads of talented, fun, interesting and inspirational people.
Local charity shops and Rubbish Fairy are still saving treasure for me .
I must thank my husband andy and my Gems, grace, Evelyn, Eleanor, Maria and Ann for helping and supporting me to fill the charity pot.
I WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY ,HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL 2019
2/11/18
Just where does the time go? So many people, workshops, commissions and visitors.
So humbled by people's generosity when visiting the garden.We've had Aboyne Craft Club, Aboyne Day Centre, Glassel, Lumphanan, Torphins and Tarland WI, Better Balmedie, Inverurie Tangent and lots of individuals popping by. In all I think I have had more people than when I have done NEOS and we have put loads of donations across to Gathimba Edwards Foundation.
But that is the end for this year as the garden becomes sad and cold and the bedding plants wither in the frost and we rescue the geraniums and fuchsias to hopefully have them bloom again next year.
Some mosaic pieces are already in and cosy but some will stay out all winter and take their chances. The BBQ will get bubble wrapped,
the birdies and lots of little delicate ornaments will be packed away. The casualty ward in the garage will start to fill with pieces damaged by wind , frost or wear and tear.
2 of my lovely glass window panels were smashed by the wind and this has made me realise I have to get in touch with a blacksmith who can help me make substantial holders so the panels can be stuck into the ground above the flower beds.
Today I met the lovely Jacquie Primrose of Primrose Mosaics in Swindon.I learnt so much in the short time we spent together. Her panels are perspex rather than glass and she is able to drill the perspex and screw it to rods and stands. I think this may be my way forward.
17/8/18
Have recently been enjoying creating wildlife designs onto slates using a mixture of melted glass, stained glass and ceramic shards. Literally a heap of rubbish but the results are really pleasing. If you have a favourite animal or bird you would like me to design for you onto slate my prices start at £95.No 2 will ever be the same.
1/8/18
GROWING MEMORIES
Delighted to have been asked to create a piece for the GROWING MEMORIES project in DEAN CASTLE COUNTRY PARK.I incorporated various wildflowers including forget me nots, poppies,foxgloves, cornflowers, corncockles and campion. Some I made slightly 3D and others were just cut from china and glass
I cut the large green letters from wine bottle glass and melted them in the kiln
The plaque is now in situ with forget me nots planted round it
8/7/18
WILDCAT MOSAIC
This June I was lucky enough to be asked again to work with the P7 leavers at Lumphanan Primary school. Thank you so much Susan Anderson for asking me.Mission was to convert one of the children's drawings of a wild cat into a mosaic.
I have never done anything quite like this before and did a huge amount of preparation to
make sure it was a success.
The children worked with sharp shards of glass and sharp tweezers so we worked on a one to one basis with some parent helpers. The A3 drawing we worked from was wonderful and I think we did it justice in our creation. The children all helped to create the large tree and wildflowers which were made mostly out of melties. Each child has their initials in there
too. Thanks to Mark for making a frame for the piece
1/7/18
I feel very fortunate to have been asked to create a commission which for the "Growing Memories " project and I met a lovely girl called Jess Wharf who came to the studio to learn how to create mosaics and created an amazing piece on slate also for the project.Here is what the project is about ...
My husband paid the princely sum of 50p to take the megabus down to Glasgow to deliver the sign.He has been dying to do this since turning 60!! He had a fine jaunt!
29/6/18
This is so ridiculous that it has taken me all this time to catch up with my bits and pieces news. I post on Facebook all the time and I'm sorry if you don't do Facebook .
So much going on in the studio all the time and lots of workshops and commissions.
A huge thank you to everybody who has contributed in any way to the studio's charity donation to the Gathimba Edwards Foundation. Since April this year we have raised over £400 towards a building project in July in which my friend Caroline is involved . We have had lots of visitors already to the studio including the Glassel WI, the Aboyne Craft Club and The Deeside Day Centre. They all gave really generous charity donations .
Harry ,my spaniel sculpture has gone to his new home and I am so happy with how he turned out.
I have made a short video of the process of making Harry. Hope you enjoy it!
1/4/18
.. and finally after many hours of touching up, cleaning and getting absolutely frozen as we worked in the garage Maria has got her beautiful table home. thanks to Ann at Blue Sky Mosaics for all her input both with cutting the difficult orange pieces and with grouting...
YIPPEE.. IT'S HOME in Ballater
16/2/18
Maria Spinardi has been coming to my regular "GEM" class at the studio on a Wednesday morning.she has spent many hours creating this amazing peacock table which she affectionately refers to as "the BIRD" .The table has been rescued from the skip and has been adorned with beautiful shades of stained glass shards some of which have been foiled to make them sparkle even more. His eye has come from Turkey and his beak was cut from a gold dish. The nuggets which we cut in half give more texture and interest and as always the ball chain adds a bit more decadence. this table will be put outside but needs to be taken in over the winter.I suspect the gold oil behind the beak will perish but we decided to take the gamble. Isn't it wonderful! Now to grout Maria... Good luck!
12/2/18
Meet Harry .
Harry's mum has commissioned me to do a quirky sculpture of her beautiful boy.
I'd like to share the process with you as he evolves.
He is sculpted from kingspan insulating foam which came from the dump.
I glued and wired the blocks together into the rough shape I needed. Bought the gorgeous ornament to guide me with the shape as I cannot do it from a photo.
The shape is coming along nicely now and he is about 60cm high.
Daisy Mackay has given him her seal of approval....
I have a list of quirky requests to incorporate into his design so watch this space.
5/2/18
Gosh, I'm sorry it has been so long since I've added anything to this page.
I'd like to tell you about my mural in the utility room which has kept me very busy over the last 3 months.
It has been a slow process which started with me getting new units and flooring.
I firstly wallpapered and painted and then I was able to start preparing the design to cover the rather bland cream tiles which have been there since we moved in.
I started by hunting for lots of different shaped bottles and glass vases which I melted in my kiln. I primed the tiles and just worked onto them rather than go to the hassle of removing them. I melted around 40 different shaped bottles and vases and cut some ceramic ones in half too.Some of them I foiled behind to give them an extra sparkle. They got stuck on first
Then I made lots of different ceramic and glass flowers using a variety of preshaped materials, lids, knobs and bits of crockery and glass. I glued them onto mesh so they could be easily wall mounted and positioned on a vertical plain.
This was the fun part! I decided not to "clutter" the design with foliage as I wanted to create a more abstract feel.
I worked in sections and beside the sink I incorporated 2 vintage ceramic marmalade pots which I cut in half to hold my utensils etc. I drilled holes in the bottom so the water would drain out.
I spent ages trying to decide on what colour to do the background. Mirror was definitely in my mind but I ended up digging in my rubbish crocks box to find bits of white plain china which I chopped into random shapes to work in round the flowers and vaseS. I outlined the whole splash back with some vintage tiles which had come from the dump. They are a lovely pale grey colour and I just had enough to go round the edge.
I started to add in lots of subliminal messages and little bits and bobs which mean something to me.I also added some nonsense and some quirkiness so you'll always find something new in there no matter how many times you look.
I've got our name, our anniversary, the tale of Peter Rabbit and lots of china stamps to name but a few pieces.
Grouting was a nightmare.. slow and laborious, but boy did it bring everything together beautifully. Again, I did it in sections so I had to go back to it on 5 different occasions!
It is really hard to grout vertically and the light was poor and it was hard to reach some areas . What a brilliant feeling to have it finished though!
It has been scrubbed and polished and it looks amazing. Now I just need to buy some lovely expensive mosaic tiles to put on the shelf under the window. This luxury I am allowing myself as my splash back cost very little apart from a few tiles, the kiln firings, the grout and adhesive, 10 fingernails, about 300 disposable gloves and 3 months of my life!
TA DAH!!!!!
Thanks for reading and watch this space as I am 2/3 way through another mural in my loo..!
*************
7/11/17
Today I would like to introduce you to POPPYCOCK and This piece has been inspired by the work of the Amazing SOLANGE PFIFFER . Look her up. Her pieces will blow your socks off! 
POPPYCOCK been created onto an upcycled chopping board so he is rather heavy!
His tail feathers and body have been cut from the rims and designs on 2 sets of dinner plates. I used one of the flowers on the plate to represent his eye.The ceramic poppy was taken from an arrangement and I was floored to realise the colour on poppy had been painted on after firing so it came off when I started to grout! Had to repaint it! His comb is also made from poppy petals which had to be repainted and his wattle has been made from melted bits of glass.The background has been filled with a selection of precut tiles ( a nice contrast to the random pique assiette style of the bird). He is a gorgeous guy and his friend CHINA JIM will be joining him soon in the studio. Watch this space......
6/11/17
Can't believe it has been 2 months since I've had the chance to sit down and write up my news page.
September was all about NEOS and 191 visitors came to my studio and garden over 9 days and gave generously to my chosen charity gathimbaedwardsfoundation.org. Please look them up and see what wonderful work they are doing.
My GIVING HEART outside the studio was adorned with 200 knitted flowers and the money raised went straight into a house building project in Kenya.My lovely friend Caroline pictured below was involved in the project and they built 2 houses in the time she was there.
My visitors came from far and wide and they ranged from very young to very old.
I had some 4 legged guests too!
5/09/17
Finally finished "KING HALCY ON A LOG" and he has now been installed into the bottle pond . He is my 5th sculpture made from Kingspan foam.
The first one I made was DAISY MACKAY in 2013 at a course in Crieff run by Jan Kilpatrick of Wild tiles and hosted by Katy Galbraith of Recycle Me Mosaics. Both these artists have been hugely inspirational to me.
The pieces of foam are carved, wired and glued and before being covered in tiles and random crockery in pique assiette style.
My 3rd piece was created when our beautiful TINKY WINKY died.. larger than life when he was alive, I had to create a larger than life memorial for him!
SUNFLOWER SHELLEY is a rather stunning beach babe who stands beside the pond in her bikini . Her body is a metal frame and her head is sculpted from kingspan. Her hair is formed from twine found washed up with the tide and her bikini bottoms are made from perfume tops by Marc Jacobs!Her hat keeps her warm in the winter!
And last, but not least we have RUBBISH FAIRY.. the ecowarrier who collects all your rubbish and brings it to me for recycling. She is an absolute star... and you can sit a cup of coffee on her chest!
26/08/17
Meet "Pinky" and "Perky", two of my newest creations. They are a pair and were inspired by a drawing by my great niece Miah Campbell. Pinky is made from a mug and I have incorporated the handle into her tail. Perky is made from a spice jar and the lid forms part of his body. In both pieces I have used some beautiful pale blue china for the sky. I don't know the name of the design, but it bursting with opulence and elegance which is such a contrast to the 2 rather quirky chooks! I love creating pieces which are full of contrasting elements so you will look and look again and each time you will see something new!At the moment these 2 guys are at the UDAS (Upper Deeside Art Society ) exhibition in Ballater but they are sold and will be going to live with Cornflower at Penny's house!
CORNFLOWER IS PART OF "THE HENNY HUT" SIGN
21/07/17
This fishie little guy is slowly taking shape since being carved in May under the watchful eye of my talented friend Gail Massey. He is carved from insulating foam and has been adorned with glass , crockery, melted glass and figurines amongst other things. Last weekend he was given a log to sit on. It was carved by "Steve the Viking" who doesn't want a mention but he's getting one anyway. ..such a talented guy. He worked really hard to get the angle and position of fish and rods to keep the kingfisher well balanced and to give his top heavy head some support.
Here are some pictures of progress so far. I have melted him some longer tail feathers and have literally anchored them into the foam with lots of glue. I'm worried that the foam isn't strong enough to take any more weight. tomorrow I will grout his body, tidy up his head and he can be placed on the log semi permanently.
Next photos will be of him finished and in his temporary home beside pond.
9/07/17
What a great way to spend a grey rainy day at Balmedie . At the Sand Bothy we had a family mosaic day and boy, what a gorgeous array of sparkly colourful pieces were created . Such a pleasure to work with 2 enthusiastic and creative groups. Thanks for organising this Rosie Nicol . 
30/06/17
Today is end of term for Lumphanan Primary School.How lucky was I to have been invited to create a "leaving piece" with the 14 primary seven children? Thanks Alison Ewen for the idea and for all your help.
What a lovely bunch of children and look at their creations. I used 2 of the children's designs in the middle piece and enlarged and traced them to create an exact representation of their drawings .In the border we have everything from sharks ,swimmers, scooters, swords, rabbits, foxes dinosaurs, initials ,names and flowers and Chloe came form her sick bed to create a little bumble bee. Spent whole day working with the children to design and glue then I grouted piece ready to hang outside. Look out for it.. it's lovely and colourful.
11/06/17
Grace finally finished her mirror today It has been such a joy to watch it evolve. Inspired by Gail Massey's melted mirrors we have used one kiln load of melted glass shards to create the flowers, leaves and branches which adorn this piece. Grace made the little bird on mesh and I cut the 2 robins on my wet tile saw. The "bricks" came from the skip at Tile Giant and the mirror was bought second hand. Doesn't it look amazing for a heap of old rubbish!
Below are the 2 amazing mirrors created by Gail Massey at our Mess with Tess in Dess weekend in May. 3 kiln loads of melted shards to create flowers an greenery . Amazing work by such a talented girl.Oh and my Kingfisher WIP is looking good there too.
25/05/17
What a joy to work with the children at Ballater Library Club.Thank you so much Sabine Muir for inviting Lynne Henderson and I to come and do some mosaicing. Boxes of precut "treasure" were provided for the children to use so they had only to design, stick and grout! And boy what results. Wonderful creations onto flat pebbles and slate. Lovely sunny day so we got outside to grout..PHEW!Hope I'll see you again and you'll come and see me at my studio guys.
20/05/17
Latest commission off to it's new home in Sauchen. "Cornflower" was made from a large mug and a lovely flowery cereal bowl and the letters "The Henny Hut" were melted from bits of beer and wine bottles.Melted glass leaves and branches for tree and my new dremel tool cut the plastic eggs nicely in half to fit into the egg cups which were cut on my wet tile saw.Great fun to do and please look out for Cornflower and say hello when you drive past to buy your eggs.Check out the Pennies for Penny's Hennys !!
10/05/17
Had a lovely morning working with 21 ladies at 3rd Stage group in Woodend Barn. Everyone created a lovely butterfly .They are indoor pieces as they are created on MDF. I would have liked these pieces to be grouted but we had no time so we packed the tiles and embellishments into every available gap! I drilled tiny holes and inserted wire which doubles up as a hanger and antennae. Lots and lots of little tubs filled with precut tiles and shapes,nuggets , beads, ballchain and melted glass pieces to use in the designs. Net time I'll take a hairdryer as it was tricky to work on 2 sides in 2 hours!!! . thank you for inviting me ladies. 
It was fun!
20/04/17
Finally handed over this wall hanging to The Sand Bothy in Balmedie. Thank you Rosie Nicol for making it happen.So much detail and variety packed onto this up cycled kitchen cabinet door!Tried to incorporate loads of little quirky bits and pieces so you can look and look again and keep finding new things. Hope it will be seen close up. Looking forward to doing workshops at The Sand Bothy on Sunday 9th July
15/04/17
I started this wallhanging in October at a course at Wildtiles in Elphin. Finally finished it. It is made mostly from kitchen tiles which I challenged myself to cut with a tile cutter tool instead of my beloved wheeled nippers. It took me forever. The flowers are inspired by Jan Kilpatrick's. The little birdie was done on mesh and the substrate was an old shelf. Love the finished piece.It's a smile maker!
My favourite piece for a long time. "Woodpeckers" have gone to Blairgowrie. 2 birds created from random shards cut from dishes and mugs. I've played with text cut from china to create their feathers and I've even got pictures of art incorporated into their bodies. Their claws were twisted from copper taken from broken stained glass. The wellies were a cruet set and the tree is my "piece de resistance" as you have to look closely and see that it was once a large 3d ceramic boot ornament. Turn picture on its side !Couldn't get Nancy Sinatra.. "these boots were made for walking .."out of my head and because lovely Kay has walked away to her new life, I wanted to include these words.
My first commission for America arrived in one piece at its destination.Called "Moonlight Shadow ", it is a memorial to a cat called Chloe. Thank you Lisa Weinsheimer for letting me create this for you.The cat is made out of a "Black Bottle" whisky bottle . Not one bit of the bottle was wasted.Look closely and you'll see the body is made out of the base of the bottle melted. The crushed glass around the tree is taken from some tealight holders. The tree and branches are melted glass and so is the grass. This weighed 3 kilos but I got it to America for less than £20.
The mirror below is called "You shall have some Fishies". It is created from a mixture of melted bottle glass, millefiori, nuggets, and glass tiles. I loved mosaicing over parts of the mirror to soften the edges and make a more interesting, organic shape . The glass pieces have been foiled to make them shine and the little fishies were cut from bathroom tiles. Enjoy admiring yourself in the mirror Brian Patience!
28/03/17
What a joy to create this colourful wall hanging for the sensory garden at Port Road Day Centre, Inverurie.
The tree has been created from melted bits of beer bottle and many of the little random shapes used are cast away glass shards melted in the kiln. The border has been put together using all the individual little tiles designed by our helpers.Lots and lots of people involved, both staff and service users.Brilliant to work with Ann Stephen of Blue Sky Mosaics in Kintore. Bit by bit, Ann and I are making the whole of Aberdeenshire sparkle!!
14/03/17
Thank you so much to the Friendship Group at the Ceilidh House in Kinlochbervie for inviting me to give a talk about my work. Thanks to the people who came out on such a horrendous night to and listen to me.I loved doing it and hope I'll get more opportunities to do this type of thing .Thanks also to Jasmine, my lovely sister, for helping with my wee demo. Get well soon everyone who couldn't manage along because of illness.
2/03/17
Started mending my frost casualties...
.This "sunflower Tower" is made up of sections . The top bowl was bought because of its lovely flower shape and I decorated it inside and out with sunflower colours. Water gathered in it and froze and the backside fell out of it! I have glued a sideplate in there for a new base and mosaiced it with black nuggets and tiles. The bulbous "pineapple" section covered in gold tiles and sunshines is also damaged as the pot underneath the tiles is also not frost proof. I've patched the grout and am confident it will be happy till the next frost arrives. I've got 10 months.. then I choose whether to take it inside, cover it in bubble wrap or let it freeze
18/02/17
I am proud to be helping to raise money for the Gathimbaedwardsfoundation . I created this vase to be auctioned at their charity dinner and I'm delighted it raised £160 . Thank you to Elaine Mather of Wild Poppy for making the stunning floral arrangment for the top. The total amount received this evening was £48, 624.Thank you so much to the lady below who bought it !
