Art Projects

The mirror mosaic flower pots are coming right along. I should be done with the mirror on the second one and ready to grout the first one today.

Projects like these suit me in some indefinable way. I started the first one (a birdbath) just because they broke a big mirror when we remodeled our master bath. It already gave me seven years of bad luck, right? So maybe I should try to make something of the broken mirror? I began with the idea of covering a bowling ball and making a gazing ball for the garden. But tiling requires one of the two surfaces bonded to be porous. So I had to look for something besides a bowling ball to cover.

I actually spent hours looking for an outdoor device that I wanted to cover in mirrors. I ended up with a birdbath. I found one that was smooth and rounded. And I began nipping the mirror into smaller pieces and sticking them to the birdbath with tile adhesive. I made two of the birdbaths. One for myself and one for my BFF, Tammy.

My sons mocked my efforts. The oldest told me that when he saw tiny birds with bleeding feet, he'd know they'd been to my yard. Not funny. I lined the edge of the birdbaths with slate tiles to give the little rats something to stand on that wouldn't cut their feet.

I don't keep water in my birdbath--that would actually attract birds and I'm not going for that--it just stands in the garden and looks pretty. Shiny. It catches the light.

It makes me happy every time I look at it.

When I decided I wanted some tall pots to flank the front door, I started looking at the garden centers. You can spend a bunch of money on pots. Who knew? I finally explained what I was looking for to my husband and indicated that I would probably do a mirror mosaic on them.

He came home with four pots. Big ones. They were on sale and he inverted one on top and showed me the height. About perfect, and way cheaper than the tall pots. He took construction adhesive and stuck them together and then caulked the seam. I don't know if it will hold the pots together forever, but by the time I smear them with adhesive and mirror and grout them, I bet they stick forever.

So, as I work on this art project, I find that I'm happy. My knuckles are bloody, by back is sore and I'm thrilled at the creation that's taking place. I love the look of them and I can't wait to get it done and put some plants in the pot. In case you're wondering, I sealed the inside of the top pot so that moisture could not leak through and mess with my mosaic.

It's nice to have a creative outlet. One that allows me to do something that only I need to be happy with. It's a very good outlet for restless hands. I'm convinced that I could find a more lightweight, less messy hobby. But not one that gives me as much satisfaction.

--Sandee Wagner