Creating the mosaic for DeEtta's fountain basin

Over this past spring, summer, and fall, Mark and I finally had all the pieces in place to create this mosaic. Our friend DeEtta had commissioned this fountain 3 years ago, upon completing our first mosaic for her fireplace facade. It took 3 years for the time, space and idea to materialize.

During that time, DeEtta had the concrete basin built and the spiggots installed. Our original idea was to make a statue representing an Earth Mother figure, holding a hemisphere, standing in the middle of the basin. After further consideration, she changed into the person of Persephone, standing on a pomegranite and stretching her hands up to the sunlight. The statue will come later. Meanwhile, we had the fountain basin to bring to life.

Mark and I laid out the paths for the 4 seasons, the galaxy, and the Yin / Yang background, and then the 3 of us had a wonderful time picking out the glass, stones, and special elements to form the mosaic.

In this picture, Mark is contemplating the project before beginning the day's work.

I'm laying in the brilliant colors of summer (my favorite season without a doubt, can you tell?).
It's a bit hard on the back, but so rewarding.

After spreading a thin layer of adhesive, the colorful glass globs are smooshed in place. Next, small rectangles of clear glass are laid in place, one at a time. Finally, the individual stained glass pieces are glued down, following that season's color scheme.

The center of the spiral begins to emerge! Here you can see all of the seasons and their color schemes, as well as the galaxy and the Yin /Yang of darkness and light. How exciting (and a big relief, too!) to have all the patterns established!

Galaxy Girl helps us out! Our dear friend Jodi Fleischman took a break from teaching dance to join us all in exploring the meaning of life while gluing down glass globs.

DeEtta enjoys watching her mosaic evolve

Mark working from a strange angle

DeEtta's cat also kept us company, and gave us the inspiration for our final animal element, the Raven.

Mark and I enjoying the long-awaited grouting party!

At first, the colors become duller, obscured by the muddy-looking grout, but we'll soon polish and buff them back to life.

Summer! The sunlight makes these colors extra vibrant. Look for the second turtle, swimming toward the wall.

The center of the spiral, where the pomegranate dome will be. All 4 season paths begin here, overlapping the galaxy and Yin / Yang paths.

Voila! Some luscious details of the completed work: Autumn on the right swirls up the wall, including the starfish; to the left you see the galaxy in black and white, and the edge where Yin and Yang meet; and finally, a bit of Winter is visible.

Joline El-Hai , fabulous artist and friend, agreed to make this raven for us, to add the fourth animal and complete the Winter strand. Over one weekend, she turned our simple sketch into a gleaming glass bird.

Indulge your love of beauty by clicking on the link for Bella Luz Studio, Joline's glowing glass and art site.

DeEtta is pleased as punch with her new basin! Being a writer and artist herself, she understands the complex process of consulting the muse, figuring out the physical challenges of the site and materials, and keeping the egos in check while our collaboration was materializing.

Our completed Mosaic fountain basin!

After the great labor is complete, the gorgeous mosaic is born! We're all very pleased by the results. We hope you'll have a chance to come see our work in person sometime soon.

Our next big project will be completing a statue of Persephone, for the center of the fountain. She will stand on half a pomegranate, leaning toward the future.