Meet Wilhelmina

THE BEFORE. 
For the beginning of this story:   New Project

For dressing her up like a doll for St. Patrick’s Day:    Happy Red Sox Fan

 I’m not sure that I will be able to mosaic her hair.   I’ll have to think up something creative.    Her face will definitely be a challenge…

I’ve been out scrounging plates at antique/junk stores and even stopped by the local craft store (chain) to see what mosaic-ing supplies they have…  I was actually disappointed to find out they have everything one would need.  Including BROKEN plates!  for $7?!?!?!   goodness, me.   That bothers me for some reason.    A lot of the fun is pulling out a funky scrolled plate from under a pile of dusty junk and deciding that it has enough flatness to it to be worthy of smashing.    But now, all ya gotta do is go to Michaels and buy the whole kit and kaboodle.   

Trust me, you can save money doing it the scrounge way.   From buying the caulking glue and grout from the hardware store, and plates from Goodwill, and even a rock or two from the yard!   I’m always finding discounted picture frames and other wooden decorating accessories – I check the clearance sections and have a stockpile of goodies to mosaic someday…

Here’s the ‘craft room’:      And some of my tiles/odds&ends waiting patiently for me to get my nippers and hammer out to create interesting pieces to glue…               I found this cute terracotta crocodile in Costa Rica. 

 

She’s got some attitude, doesn’t she?  I’m still wondering if I should ‘dress’ her or go random-funk or swirly?   Maybe a combination.

     gggg

There are very few human beings who receive the truth, complete and staggering, by instant illumination. Most of them acquire it fragment by fragment, on a small scale, by successive developments, cellularly, like a laborious mosaic.             
-Anais Nin

New Project

Lately, I seem to have taken up residence in the Melancholy Dwells Hotel.   Or at least, driving the bus that goes there.    I also call these times the DREADS and, also, the Sit&Spins.    What someone described to me as being lost in the ugly colors of the rainbow;  the trick is navigating all the colors and enjoying the ride.   I think it was something like that, anyway.    Perhaps, my biorhythm valleys of ‘low’ are all in sync?  

I am not one to easily dismiss the negative thoughts that pop into my consciousness.   The “Happy” experts say to recognize these thoughts and then just say, “OK, I see ya, don’t need to BE ya.  Go away.”  and somehow, they – these negative thoughts – are supposed to drift off into the ether.   

But mine bring friends.    The shouldn’ts and couldn’ts and wonts.    That SHOULD family is big and burly and boisterous and drinks a lot.    SO rather than kicking them out, I tend to join in on the party.   

Anyway!!!    Stop it already!    It’s a good thing I’m going on vacation.

So, being in need of a new distraction in my life,  I introduce you to my next project.    I do mosaics.    Please enjoy some of my work: 

    Simple stuff, nothing fancy, really.   Both of these are mirrors…   The purple and teal was the very first mosaic I created.    I give more of my work away than I keep but I have a ton of objects just waiting for me to smash some plates and start gluing.   

Which brings me to the Next Project.   It’s a big one.  

Hub and I were discussing the space above our front door.   Curtains?    a huge vase or two?   WHAT?    We’ve lived in this house for 4 years now and I don’t want anything ‘up there’.     It’s fun to have a spot in the house that seems unfinished.   It entices questions from visitors and it bugs the mother-in-law.     And I don’t want to dust it.   (ha!  I wouldn’t anyway – stupid argument, that.)

For some reason – not even sure WHO it was…    We thought how cool it would be to have a mosaic’d mannequin!     And we could suspend Hub’s trombone from the ceiling  – it’d be COOL, MAN!  

I googled the internet for mannequins for sale and thought they were relatively inexpensive.   I don’t know why, but I thought they’d be hundreds and hundreds of dollars!    Of course, shipping and handling usually is possibly 3 bills, too.

Not having actually ordered anything, just kicking the idea around, we mentioned our grand idea to my parents.    

Come to find out, during hunting season, my dad placed a mannequin up in his tree stand so the deer would get used to seeing a human-like figure.     He got it from mom who used to work at JCPenneys.     It was buried in the attic; would I want it?

HELL, YES!     We rushed it to the UPS store to package and ship it home – they were quite amused and Hub and I were like little kids.   TOO FUNNY.

Here we are doing the ‘torso’ unveiling to Puppy-O:     (he was NOT too thrilled, quite suspicious.)

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And here is the space we plan on placing this soon-to-be mosaic’d mannequin: 

While I’m off & away attempting to tan my fair skin (I’ll get to a darker shade of pale) while reading poolside in warmer climes, I encourage all readers, friends and lurkers to leave me a little note suggesting a NAME.   Our colorful crazy mosiac will need a name, don’t ya think?   May I come back all happy-happy and excited to crack tile and smash plates and dig through antique stores for cute little porcelain critters, whatnots and scrabble pieces;  all charged to create!                                                      I plan on documenting my progress here and I THANK YOU for giving me some accountability and encouragement.                                            See you next month!  

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Oh, and Happy Leap Year Everyone!

Sincerely,   Curious “C”