Journey of a Mosaic

Have you ever wanted to do something, but you didn't quite know how to accomplish it? That was me on my journey to creating a unique table.

In April of '18 we bought a house and then spent a couple of months remodeling it. For a centerpiece for our ocean-themed home, I wanted to find a special dinner table. We visited local furniture stores and checked out tables online. Nothing grabbed our attention. Well, one did, but it was too expensive.

In July, I began playing with the idea of making a mosaic tabletop. Not a simple one, either. This would be a big project. Might take two weeks or something. ;)

I watched YouTube videos and spent lots of time looking at mosaics on Pinterest. I had some design ideas of my own--it had to be about the ocean, and not just to go along with our decor. I was writing a book about a seaside town. I'd lived on an island in Alaska for twenty-five years. I love the sea, so it just had to be.

About ten years ago, I bought a few pottery plates from the thrift store and busted them all up with a hammer--that was cool. Then I made an extremely simple mosaic on an end table. Perhaps that experiment gave me the courage to tackle a bigger project in the world of mosaics.

My husband, Jason, built a farm-style table and painted the top white. I ordered a bunch of glass mosaic tiles. I had no idea how many pieces it would take. I shopped at www.mosaicartsupply.com and chose tiles by color.

Honestly, I didn't know what I was getting into with this project. But I can say, I loved almost every step of the process. A friend asked me how long I thought it would take to do a mosaic that size, and I really did tell her two weeks. (Big chuckle.)

Our table is about 3' x 5', and we needed a sketch. I tell people my drawing skills are that of a five year old. But I determinedly spread out freezer paper and drew my design on it. Don't laugh!

Originally, I was going to do a scalloped circular design in the center, with an Alaskan scene in the middle. But then, we purchased a captain's wheel at an antique store and put it on the living room wall, so my design changed to replicate its shape.

I needed a more detailed drawing now. Jason's artistic skills bailed me out again. Thanks, Jas!

I used carbon paper beneath the sketch--I know, they still sell that stuff?--and I traced over the top to get this design transferred onto the table.

I decided to put a shell design in each corner of the tabletop, making freestyle, colorful waves going around the perimeter. At first, I used bright colorful pieces for the shells--I don't have a picture of that stage. But when they turned out looking more like cartoon shells, I scraped them off--which was difficult once they were glued down and dried--and then it was back to the drawing board. About that time, a friend gave me a shell that I loved. So I used it as inspiration in the new design. I think that turned out better.

My waves are, I admit, still quite colorful and cartoonish. If I were starting over, I would choose teal or gray for a better water color instead of the brighter green. Oh, well. I wasn't willing to scrape that part off.

Most of the mosaic tiles had to be cut at least once, sometimes two or three times to get the shape and size I wanted. I tried to make action in the waves around the sides with a mismatch of color and tiles going in different directions.

Finally, the exciting day came when the outer portion of the table was finished. I could now work on the four ripples of water. This was an emotional phase for me because of the symbolism I envisioned. I arranged four dinner plates on the table to make equal sizes for the ripples, and drew around them.Then, in the center of each circle, I placed an inch-wide gray tile, trimmed in a circular shape, that would represent a rock. Four rocks in the center of four ripples, symbolically thrown into the sea of life--our four kids making their own ripples in this world. Gets me teary still. I loved working on those ripples, praying for and thinking about my kiddos who are all grown now, while I did it.

The tile work was slow. Much slower than two weeks! My hands ached from all the cutting, but I was determined to have my table ready by Thanksgiving. (In all, it took about four months of part-time work.) I was also busy writing and editing a book. However, I worked on the table in the evenings when I didn't want to stare at a computer screen any longer. Doing anything artistic is therapeutic and inspirational for me. I loved experimenting with this mosaic! Piece by piece, it formed into something new and interesting.

Each time I moved to a different section of the table it was exciting. It was so much fun to see the pieces coming together, making a whole.

Here, I must say, I told myself I probably wouldn't like the finished product once I grouted it. I'd read that using a dark grout was best for a piece of art. That it makes the design pop out better. But part of me wanted to keep it light. I'd grouted with dark gray around white stones for the back-splash in my kitchen, and I didn't like it at first, either. Time would tell about this one.

I couldn't wait to begin tiling the center of this project. I feared doing it too. It would be more intricate in design. The pieces smaller. A more challenging scene.

I kept cutting glass and filling in more and more white space. I ordered mosaic tiles four times!

The center picture took a lot longer than I thought it would. The boat lines were the hardest--so very thin.

Also, I struggled with recreating the northern lights. How could I make the gorgeous lights I'd seen in Alaska look like they were dancing in a mosaic picture? I tried various colors. Turned the pieces this way and that. Some I scraped off. Tried again. And again. Sigh.

Finally, for better or for worse, the glass work was done. Hallelujah! Now came the scariest part of all: grouting. Covering the whole design with goo, not knowing how it would turn out, freaked me out. Would I hate the finished project? Once I started, there was no turning back. Part of me didn't want to move forward. However, Thanksgiving was drawing near.

When I put the grout on this center portion, I was so nervous. What if I couldn't get it off? I also had to try not to make a mess of the other parts I'd already finished and cleaned.

It did work! Yay! And I didn't hate it. However, like I thought, I didn't love the darker grout around the white ripples.

The change was an adjustment for my artistic side. Although, after a month of looking at it, and smoothing my hands over it, I can affirm that the dark grout ties all the elements together in a cool way, making one "mosaic" out of many pieces.

Kind of reminds me of the body of Christ. Alone we are jewels, shining bright. But together, we create an awesome, beautiful picture of love and grace and resilience.

Jason stained the table legs and sides black. I spent about eight hours running a tiny brush dipped in sealant over the tiny lines of grout around every piece of glass, being careful not to get liquid on the tiles. That was challenging, but the time was worth it in preserving the integrity of the grout. Some people have asked if we are going to put a glass piece over the tabletop. We've decided not to do that. In the future, if something stains the grout, it will become part of the picture, changing through the years--kind of like us.

We used the table at Thanksgiving and Christmas!

And I can say, I'm hooked on mosaic artistry. I can't wait to begin my next project. I hope these photos will inspire you to give mosaics a try too.

~

Mary Hanks writes inspirational romances about couples finding their way back to love and grace. She also enjoys dabbling in various art forms. To follow her journey, "like" her author facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/MaryEHanksAuthor

Where Did Time Go?

How softly the years go by. Like a swish of air skidding past my face. A few deep breaths and time tumbled by. Oh, where did it go?

Birth to kindergarten. First through eighth grade. High school. College. Careers.

Memories and life. Milestones made steps. Steps turned into stairways leading far from the safety of home. But always in our hearts. Still in our hearts.

Daniel's smile could dazzle us. Our firstborn would stand in the kitchen, while I made dinner, chatting a mile a minute about basketball stats and school happenings. He was so creative, could draw, imagine other worlds, loved to read. He had, has, a tender heart, and like his dad, tears could easily rush to his hazel eyes. Basketball was his great love, and when the three brothers and Dad got together, it was like they spoke a different language all their own.

But time flew by.

And as each child left the nest and moved on to capture his or her own day in the sun, a part of Mom's and Dad's hearts floated away with them. We watched. Observed. Prayed. Hoped for the very best.

It's their lives stepping up to the plate now, starting new families, just like we did when we were young. Sometimes Jason and I talk about how we were once our parents' "widdo kids", and we grew up, married, moved away. We didn't call as often as they wished we would. But they stood back and patiently watched the beauty of our family grow and change and become.

That's what we're doing now.

One by one, our kids left home to follow their own call, their own road, where life and God would lead them.

Today, Dan carries a chunk of family, of Mom and Dad, in his heart and life. Dad's looks, Mom's humor, Grandma's determination, Grandpa's work ethic. This blend of family, as far removed as we might get, is glue sticking us together, through good times and bad. We'll always be there for each other, even if we're a bazillion miles away.

In two days, something wonderful is about to happen to my family, thus today's sentimental blog. On August 9^th, Jason's and my 39^th anniversary, Dan is going to marry the love of his life, Traci, and the two of them will make a new life together. A family.  She brings pieces of her family's past, their blends, their hearts, their traditions, their hopes and dreams, to join with the hearts and pasts and blends and dreams Dan brings. Together, they'll become a new heart, beating as one.

Life changing. Going forward. Building a new stairway.

Perhaps, our hearts are kind of like the bread Jesus broke and passed around in that amazing miracle. We share ourselves, our love, our lives, with our children, and they go out and share their hearts, their lives, with others. Someday, their children will do the same thing. Each one changing, growing, becoming new.

Life is a journey to celebrate, to love, to relish, to delight in, to live. But watch closely. In the time it takes to snap that picture or store the memory safely in your heart, time will pass. As quick as a brush of air on your cheek.

Did I Change?

My life is extremely peaceful. I live in the country. No kids in the house. We eat simply. Housecleaning and laundry are minor ordeals. In general, I'm pretty relaxed most of the time.

Life has taken on a different view from my window. Serene might be a good word for it. I'm a calmer me.

Not too many years ago, the clock dominated my life. Tick, tick, get breakfast ready. Tick, tick, make lunches and sign homework slips so the kids can race off to school. Have dinner ready by a certain time. Get that laundry done. A new basketball or volleyball season meant schedules revolved around the game list on the refrigerator. There were always things to do with four active young people in the house.

Now, the refrigerator's surface is pretty bare. The house is quiet. The stress level is low. Things that drove me to high energy and sometimes pull-your-hair-out emotions are gone. But it wasn't always like that.

Through most of my kids' growing up years, I worked—eighteen years in Christian education, several years in preschool and daycare, and a couple of years in retail. Working and keeping up with housework and cooking and, of course, the delightful hours with the family fueled my existence. At age forty, as if I wasn't busy enough, with my second son starting college, I joined him to finish up a degree. Now, that was a stressful time in my life! But I accomplished what I set out to do, despite the hectic lifestyle. Also, in between living and working, I directed full-stage theatrical productions with a bevy of period costumes, many that I sewed, and too many staging challenges to list.

Life was busy and full—and in some really weird way, extremely satisfying.

As much as I love being a writer and getting to savor country living, there's so many things I miss. Not all at once. But in the quiet, I miss the noise my kids used to make as they chattered non-stop with each other. I miss the tv running late at night and me slipping out of bed to watch an old West Wing episode with my son. I miss a sink-full of dirty dishes after a homemade pizza and movie night. In the mountainous beauty around me, I miss living in the city and taking a long drive in the country and oohing and aahing over the perfectness of the settings, wondering how people in the country live. Silly, huh?

Today, the house is quiet, except for when the phone rings with a telemarketer trying to sell me something or when the dogs bark excitedly at a passing delivery truck--the thrill of their day.

The quiet tempo of my silence makes me yearn for the sounds of yesterday, because it's absent of that which once defined me. But it's a changing time. Still. Just when I think I've adjusted, it's there again to remind me. In my peacefulness, something is missing.

It's time for me to find a new challenge. A new place of being needed or useful. Because we all need that. The peacefulness of my spirit is a blessing. But it's time to be revived and inspired again.

Did I change? Yes. Did life change around me? Oh, yes. And I must change with it. But sometimes my ability to change needs a little time to catch up.

Life is an adventure! (even after the kids are gone)

 

Do you ever wake up and feel like there isn’t any reason to get up? Who cares if I stay in my pjs all day? Why not veg in front of the tv, enjoying someone else’s life? How about devouring the whole pan of brownies or the carton of Moose Tracks ice cream? Where’s the purpose that drove you for so many years? Kids. A job. A house. A busy week ahead.

 

All these motivated me for three decades. Then things abruptly changed.

My house is now quiet. Seldom messy. I rarely bake. No pressing responsibilities—other than the occasional whiny dog needing to go outdoors. Meals are simple. The “umph” for getting up and getting going is gone.

Maybe I’m in midlife crisis. Maybe I really am getting O-L-D. (haha)

Remember the saying…”Life is a bowl of cherries, but this is the pits!”? Life changes—and aging—can be the pits.

Kids move out. The job ends. Dreams fade. Energy diminishes. What then? Am I done?

NO!!! (Well, I don’t think so.)

So, here’s what I’ve decided. I need ADVENTURE!

New experiences. Tasting things I’ve never tried in places I’ve never been. Seeing new sights. Having FUN just because!

Do you relate? If you’re over fifty, like me, I bet you do!

We all have a story to tell. A story to live. An adventure to find. Even still. Today. Now.

I’m ready to shake off the sadness over an empty house and live an adventure.

Fifty is my new fabulous! And my story is today.

What about you? What kind of adventure are you going to live this week?