In December '08 I received a commission to do a fireplace surround for a very nice family - the Rich's. They have a beautiful Craftsman-style house and were having a new fireplace inset installed as well as a new mantle.
The area around the inset is small - too small for traditional large tiles that are usually used on a fireplace. The area is delineated by tape in the photo above. Instead they decided on a small, simple mosaic and contacted me to do it.
Coincidentally the owners love gingko leaves and,
as you have read in previous posts, I knew the perfect artist to create them out
of ceramic tile - Saundra Warren, a Jingletown artist!
In the above photo you can see the Hardiebacker board that was put in place by the contractor. The flooring around the work area was brand new too so I took extra precautions - like putting down newspapers, beach towels and then a tarp - to avoid damaging it. The area of the mosaic itself is only about 6 square feet and the room - the dining room - is small too.
So I felt that just a subtle, low-key mosaic was called for.
This is the almost-finished product. All it needs is the mantle to be installed.
I used mostly earthy greens but with various textures and finishes to provide visual interest. And I mixed charcoal grout with the too-bright hue of the straight-from-the-bag dark green grout to tone the color down some.
And Saundra's gingko leaves in Autumn amber and rust provide the highlights.
The mantle is due to be installed soon. I cant wait to see this piece actually finished!
The area around the inset is small - too small for traditional large tiles that are usually used on a fireplace. The area is delineated by tape in the photo above. Instead they decided on a small, simple mosaic and contacted me to do it.Coincidentally the owners love gingko leaves and,
as you have read in previous posts, I knew the perfect artist to create them out
of ceramic tile - Saundra Warren, a Jingletown artist!
In the above photo you can see the Hardiebacker board that was put in place by the contractor. The flooring around the work area was brand new too so I took extra precautions - like putting down newspapers, beach towels and then a tarp - to avoid damaging it. The area of the mosaic itself is only about 6 square feet and the room - the dining room - is small too.So I felt that just a subtle, low-key mosaic was called for.
This is the almost-finished product. All it needs is the mantle to be installed.I used mostly earthy greens but with various textures and finishes to provide visual interest. And I mixed charcoal grout with the too-bright hue of the straight-from-the-bag dark green grout to tone the color down some.
And Saundra's gingko leaves in Autumn amber and rust provide the highlights.The mantle is due to be installed soon. I cant wait to see this piece actually finished!
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