Blue Lotus Mosaic

Blue Lotus, stained glass mosaic, 34.5" x 34.5" (36" x 36" framed), 2015 ~SOLD

Here is a photo of my latest mosaic commission. Just like all of my flower designs, this kind of a mosaic is available to be commissioned in any color and size. Email kpolkowska@gmail.com for more info.

Above you can see me holding one of the hand cut petals.  All the petals in the mosaic are hand cut - no grinder, no saw - just Kasia!

 Size comparison - his new flower will measure to be 3ft.

 Making progress and trying to keep those annoying glass shards off of my mosaic.

Morning light hitting my work bench.

Ready to glue!!!

 It's been glued with super Kyle's help. Now onto my favorite part - grouting!!!

Grouting!!!

  All ready for shipping! 

The Scarlet Lotus

The Scarlet Lotus, stained glass mosaic, 34.5" x 34.5" (36" x 36" framed), 2015 ~SOLD

A red lotus relates to the heart, it is associated with love and compassion. It is an exquisite flower that easily captivates whomever casts their eyes upon it. In nature it emerges from muddy, murky waters to bloom into a perfectly clean flower. Because of this it has come to symbolize purity and has become a much loved symbol of beauty in various cultures, all having a somewhat different interpretation. What I love about this flower is that it follows the cycle of light, opening up during the day and closing at night – rebirth is a symbol that I am particularly drawn to. 

The lotus flower inspires me to begin each day fresh and clean. Furthermore, it is a sign of enlightenment – breaking through the darkness. I love looking back on times when I broke through the darkness inside, learned something new about life around me or about myself. For me lotus is a beautiful reminder of the potential we have when we open up to the light.

 

Above is a the beginning process of the project.  All of the stained glass in this mosaic is completely hand cut by me using 4 basic hand tools. 

Here you can see the mosaic progressing.  During this stage, I wasn't yet sure if I was going to incorporate the red specs of glass into the background design.

Above is a photo of the grouting process - my favorite part! 

This mosaic is pretty, pretty large! It measures 3ft by 3ft but weighs under 30lbs. It is custom framed and has a hanging wire on the back for easy hanging on a wall, just like a painting.

Imagining a Kasia Mosaics Art Fair Booth

I'm considering applying for a couple of art fairs for 2016.  This will be a new chapter for me as I'll be focusing on trying to get my work out there in the new year.  My only experience with an outdoor festival has been assisting my partner in a couple of fairs he's taken part of so I'm really excited to give it a go.

Above is a computer generated mock-up of what a potential Kasia Mosaics Booth might look like.  My partner Kyle Cunniff who is a freelance industrial product designer created this rendering using Solidworks. 

This isn't exactly what my booth would look like as I no longer have some of the pieces that are up in this computer generated rendering.  But there would be lots of new work as I'm busy in my new Denver studio creating lots of exciting mosaics.

A Glimpse into My Glass Cutting Technique

I thought that it would be fun to share one of my cutting techniques. The above video demonstrates how I use a glass scoring tool, running pliers and the flathead tile nippers to cut out freehand full shaped hearts out of stained glass. 

Click Here to Watch the Youtube Video 

Recently I've been seeing lots of misinformation about glass cutting for mosaics online, things that are meant to discourage people from using hand-tools to cut out semi-complex shapes out of stained glass, actually even simple shapes. Those videos are used for marketing much more expensive machinery such as grinders and wet saws.  I must add that I don't have anything against people using those machines to create their artwork but they are not always needed by people with healthy hands to cut out many of the shapes they want to incorporate into their stained glass mosaics.  For example all of the shapes in all of the artwork I've created up to this point are all hand cut.  If I was cutting glass for stained glass windows, a grinder would be useful to help create the tightest joints which are crucial for a structurally sound window.  Or if I wanted to cut out extremely intricate shapes that I could not possibly achieve with hand tools, I would definitely invest in a good wet saw. 

I am an advocate for fine craftsmanship that is achieved through constant practice and the full understanding of the tools one chooses to use and the material that one uses.  I love seeing the satisfaction on my student's faces when they can independently cut out beautiful shapes out of glass, never knowing how easy it can be if done properly. I hope that you enjoy this glimpse into my cutting technique and don't shy away from learning the basics of glass cutting.