Remake the Fake Mosaic

I love to sit outside the front door of our house when it's sunny.  In this wee spot you can catch the sun and are shielded from the breeze.  It's the place in the garden where I steal a few moments to relax with some knitting or crochet - and a cup of tea or a gin and tonic.  The table top, though, used to irritate me slightly.  Made to look like a mosaic...

...it's actually painted glass! 

I really enjoyed the mosaic weekend I attended last year at Blue Sky Mosaics near Kintore in Aberdeenshire, just half an hour from where I live.  I blogged about it here.  Ann's studio is a creative haven with her beautiful work all around lending inspiration to students and visitors alike.

When the opportunity arose recently to enjoy another weekend of mosaic making with Ann at Blue Sky, I knew it was time to remake the fake mosaic!

As I call it my G&T table, I decided to use my favourite tipple as the basis of my design.

There are lots of materials at hand to choose from to create the colours, shapes and textures desired.

Working on a substrate of plumbers board, which will make my mosaic suitable for outdoor use, I began to look for suitable pieces.  It wasn't long before I had selected the glass for the sunset.  The glass is backed with foil so it shines - and you can't see the adhesive.

The process is both absorbing and therapeutic.  Sometimes I had to be reminded to stop and have a cup of tea!

The picture builds piece by piece til the surface is completely covered.

Once everything is stuck in place, it's time to go home and leave the adhesive to dry.  Grouting has to take place another day but a further opportunity to visit Ann, and meet fellow mosaic-makers, is no hardship - especially as this time there were homemade pancakes!

The grout only takes a short time to dry and then the mosaic can be buffed up with a soft cloth - it's very satisfying to see the colourful pieces emerge.

All that remains is to take the finished table home and see how it looks in situ.  Sadly, the sunshine was missing today so I didn't actually sit outside to enjoy this...

...but so much to look forward to next year when the sun shines (and not a fake mosaic in sight!)