Friday, May 23, 2014

Layered Mosaic Treasure Boxes

I recently had the opportunity to attend a workshop with Laurie Mika, the multi-media mosaics artist who originally inspired me to try polymer clay mosaics.  Laurie took us step by step through the process of preparing the individual tiles, adding color using a variety of methods, layering the different tiles then adding special touches.

It was a fabulous experience and I came home with my head bursting with ideas.  I've been busy trying different techniques and seeing what worked and what didn't.  I love the layering techniques that Laurie taught us.  Then you add in a few "found objects" and the results just makes me happy!

Here is a picture of the box I made in the workshop.  I didn't have a lot of blingy stuff with me so it's a bit on the bland side compared to some of the other boxes made by the other attendees.  We had a great "show and tell" at the end of the workshop! 
                                                                          
I came home and started digging through my stash of bling and assorted "stuff" I'd collected over the years.  Then my daughter introduced me to the "cheap jewelry store" where her teenaged daughters get their jewelry.  One of the things I found was a really cute pair of owl earrings.  I decided one of these owls needed to be on a red and black background so this box was born.

Another interesting discovery was that the clear acrylic pieces that I had purchased for a totally different purpose back around Christmas turned out to be the perfect addition to the top to the box.  In addition to just being really cute, it works like a knob when taking the box top off.  And, amazingly enough, it didn't melt while the clay was being cured.  I did cure the first one separately just in case!!!

One thing that I've discovered about these little treasure boxes is that they are addictive!  I am just having too much fun!!!

I'm in the process of adding these to my Etsy store but for a view of some of my designs, go to my  Flickr photo site.