Hi folks Excuse the little blog silence – half-term holidays kicked in and those quiet moments for blog writing have been filled with the sound of squeaky recorders, giggling (yes, a little fighting), singing, funny shows (yesterday was Spoon Man meets Rolling Pin Man!) and some trips into the center of London. We even managed […] Read more...
A mosaic feast in the North of Italy – part 2
In this second installment of my mosaic tour of Friuli (part one here) I have a treat for you Roman mosaic lovers… Aquileia, the most complete example of an Early Roman city in the Mediterranean world, is a UNESCO world heritage site, ‘visited’ by Attila the Hun (my visit was a little less eventful!). The […] Read more...
Our beautiful allotment in full bloom…
It’s been a labour of love for the last 3 years, but oh so worth it. This little patch of land has given us so much – amazing fruit and veg, open space, relaxation, exercise and connection to the soil. People ask how I manage it all on top of running a mosaic business, art […] Read more...
Some pics of what’s going on…
Soon… Soon there will be space to write… For now, some mosaic pictures… few words (maybe that’s ok?!) of all that is going on round here. All good, just in a phase of wrapping some projects up and preparing to start new ones… This phase has definitely been about facilitating others to make mosaic art […] Read more...
The other love of my life…
Sweet children and dear husband aside, my love of mosaic walks hand in hand with my love of the soil – and for the last few weeks I have been digging, preparing seed beds, sowing and planting every spare minute. We are so fortunate to have two small plots to grow things in. They allow […] Read more...
Mosaic workshops and chimneys…
Exciting times here at Glittering Shards HQ! Teaching others mosaics is one of my loves…and 2014 is the year when I am dedicated to developing the types and availability of courses on offer here at Glittering Shards. All will be announced in the next couple of weeks… In the meantime, here is a novel use […] Read more...
Learning mosaics and winning awards!
Hi folks! Its been a great few weeks here at Glittering Shards. A fantastic commission to restore a beautiful and historic mosaic fireplace made with semi-precious stones has been completed (hope to post pics soon). I am hugging my lovely Inland Diamond band saw that did its job beautifully because without it, this restoration […] Read more...
Do you want to experiment with art…?
Firstly, a big thanks to all of you who commented on the blog and on FB with feedback on the Topps Tree. It is always such an encouragement to get feedback – its really appreciated. I will do a blog post on the process of making this tree in the next couple of weeks… …but […] Read more...
The wonderful Topps Tiles Mosaic Tree!
It starts with a possibility… …a concept…celebration, growth, the passing of time, establishing roots, a support system, growth bursting out, celebrating the beauty and history of materials from Topps Tiles, the UK’s largest tile retailer … …sketching, drawing …a vision in the minds eye… …then the hard work begins…turning the ethereal into the material… …handling […] Read more...
Happiness and sadness…
Teaching children about emotions is such a big part of being a parent. So easy to get it wrong – to send messages that cause a denial or surpression of feelings (‘don’t cry, cheer up, don’t be silly’…) or to be shy in setting boundaries of what behaviour is OK/ not OK in response to […] Read more...