Beads, Glass and Tile...Oh My!!!

Since my last post, I have been very busy!  I have been working on the ribbon, the dancers tutu and the base.

Ribbon

Here I started working on the ribbon. This is the edging...I am alternating iridescent gold tiles with gold mirror glass, trimmed with ball chain.

The center part of the ribbon is red mirror glass. This is a little fussy to do since I am working on a curved surface. I have to cut each piece in half or even in thirds to get it to lay flat and follow the curve of the form. 

Tutu and Tulle

My dancer's tutu is going to have a very structured top and I want it to appear as tulle underneath....some of it is completed in the above picture. I used gold seed beads to give the effect of fluffy tulle. to apply the beads, I had to turn the form upside-down and use 2 part epoxy to glue them on.

This was a really messy job. It took a little figuring out how to get the beads on...first I just spread the epoxy on, then poured on some beads....the beads went everywhere, not matter how carefully and slowly I put them on. But I had to work quickly, since the epoxy sets up very quickly.

After some experimenting, I found the best way to apply the seed beads was to mix my epoxy in small, workable amounts and add the beads to the epoxy and then spread it on like peanut butter! It took some doing, but it worked very well!

Here you can see a section finished...It does have the appearance of tulle!

The Base

For the base, I am simply using black tile and trimming the edge with ball chain.

This will be grouted with black and the edge will be painted black to match.

The Sole

I am using clear glass pebbles to mosaic the sole of the shoe to give it a different texture than the tempered glass. I am embedding the pebbles in a layer of clear silicone adhesive. I like the way it softens the shadow. 

Here is the sole completed, also the ribbon and base.

Front view...ribbon, base and tulle completed.

You may have noticed that I gave the dancer some hair. I did this for a couple of reasons. First, her arm needed more support, since it was lifted away from the form.  The hair going behind her arm fills in the gap between the arm and the form. And or course, my dancing ladies ALWAYS have wild flowing hair!!!!

stay tuned....

The Work Continues...

I finally have the dancer's skirt completely covered with Apoxy Sculpt. The under side of the skirt, I will mosaic with beads, the top will be red stained glass.

Apoxy Sculpt is a wonderful product! It's perfect for adding a sculptural element to your art, a perfect substrate to mosaic on!

Trim Work!

I started the trim on the shoe, using iridescent gold tile and gold mirror glass.

Here you can see how the glass reflects when the sun is shining on it.

I love the flashes of red and white. 

Next...the ribbon...stay tuned!

Changing gears!

I am glad to have the tempered glass completed and it's good to move on to a different part of this.

Making the Skirt Armature

I’m working on the skirt form. This is so hard, I can’t believe it…I started using some thin cut Styrofoam and cut out skirt sections. I want it to look really structured and want to use the styrofoam for an armature.

I dumped the styrofoam and switched to foam board.

After I get this form together I will cover it in apoxy sculpt and attach it to the dancer. Then I will fill in underneath to make it look poufy under a structured top.

I attached the skirt armature to the dancers body using apoxy sculpt. I am filling in under the skirt with aluminum foil to take up most of the bulk, and using mastic to fill in the lower part that will show by layering it with styrofoam to keep the structure and to keep it light. 

I want to do this in layers so that the mastic will harden. This will all be covered with Apoxy Sculpt so that it will be completely water proof. I will be cutting red stained glass for the upper part of the skirt. I will mosaic the underskirt with gold beads, (a variety of sizes and tones to give a crinoline effect)

Here is the skirt covered with Apoxy Sculpt, You can see the structure under the skirt still not complete.

Tempered Glass is Done!!!!

This week has been glass week…there is a lot of area to be covered with tempered glass…so that’s what I’m doing.

Feb. 27  Icky wet snow today. All the tempered glass  is on. Have some cleaning up to do on it…little excess glue. 

For the sole of the shoe, I want fill fill it in with some glass pebbles, just to give it a different texture. I will do a test swatch first, just to make sure it will look right. If I don't like the effect, I will just use tempered glass.

Here is the detail of the front of the shoe.