Adler love!

I'm in love with Jonathan Adler's new colors for Kohler!

You have to check out the new collection.  It's perfect for a space that needs something unexpected or a pop of color and surprise for a fun space!

Colors include: Piccadilly Yellow, Greenwich Green, Palermo Blue, Annapolis Navy

Jonathan Adler is a mod, funky, talented designer that creates furniture, pottery, and more in home decor.  In case you're unfamiliar with him, check out his website to see more of his fun creations!

Installation Day

We Spent all day installing the mosaics at the firms' new office space the other day!  It took quite a while since these monsters are A. HEAVY, B. awkward to carry/hang, C. we had to make sure all three hung level and in line with each other at the same height, and D. we installed the wood frames on-site.

The interiors had been finished and the walls were ready for our artwork:

We stained solid red oak boards that we pre-cut to fit as our frames around each panel to match the trim woodwork in the space.  We waited to nail them to the panels until after we hung them because they aren't structural and would have made carrying the mosaics too difficult since we'd be holding all the weight with our hands on the frames....  could've led to a disaster of dropping and breaking a panel by a frame edge popping off! ahhhhh.

Mom is very excited to get this going!  We had Christopher and Kyle to help us with muscle and handyman skills!

First, we marked our level line for where to hang our brackets.  We used two french cleats on the back of each large panel to distribute the weight [each panel probably weighed 150-200 lbs].

 We used a nail gun to shoot our frames on the panels, being very careful not to shoot too close to the surface of the board where a nail might pop through and break a tile!

Gotta clean the tile to make it nice and shiny for those spot lights above to highlight the tile!

The close-up shots: 

You can see both mosaics from this view below:

This is the lobby space, and behind the camera is a huge conference room with a large glass wall that has views of the lobby and mosaics in one large shot.

The Landscape mosaic hung behind the reception desk:

 The firm is moving in soon and furniture should be arriving.  Once everyone is settled and things are filled in, I'll show photos of the finished space highlighting the mosaics.

Landscape Mosaic

We've finished tiling the three panels and have now started the landscape mosaic that will be hanging over the reception desk at DFRGR law firm! 

We started by laying out and gluing the liners that break up the sections of tile.

The inspiration for this piece was an abstract interpretation of the waving fields of wheat and prairie grass in Kansas.  The liner curves mimic one of the wallpaper patterns used in the space and the colors go with the overall scheme.

All Grouted and ready to hang:

Next step, to install all of the mosaics in the space and add the stained wood frames!
Finished photos to come!

Mega Mosaics Phase 2

Here's the update on the second and third panel in our triptych...

After many more long, hot hours we finished gluing the tile on the last two panels.

We used handmade tile from New Mexico, International Materials of Design, Dal Tile, Lowe's, Home Depot, and handmade some of our own clay pieces in our kiln for some of the round accents.  We also got some of the accents from antique stores in Fort Worth and New Mexico.  The materials include: slate, marble, glazed ceramic, glass, travertine, porcelain, metal, stones, and stained glass.

This is the last two side-by-side so you can see how the design will all connect with a gap between them when hung on the wall.  This grouping was inspired by the natural colors used in the rest of the space and the idea of sediments of earth layered on top of one another.

The detail shots:

The next step is grouting.

[But before-hand we seal all of the natural stone first]

We mix the grout with water and spread over the tile with our hands (wearing gloves).  Because our surfaces are so uneven using different kinds of tile- our hands are easiest to spread grout than a rubber trowel.  After it dries a bit, we use sponges with water to smooth out the grout joints.

Then you let it dry and use a rag to buff off the haze left from the grout, and clean up the tile.  

The grouted detail shots:

The three panels are done!  Now, on to the landscape mosaic...

Mega Mosaic Phase 1

So if you've wondered why I've been M.I.A. it's because I've not only been working on multiple remodel projects, but mom and I have also been working on the largest mosaic we've ever done!

This is the progress of our 3 huge panels we're creating for DFlaw firm in Park Place Leawood, KS.

To see the first post of the beginning of the project click HERE!

Here's the guys (Randy, Doug, Chuck- hiding, Evan, and Tim) and I checking out their new space in progress.

These are the spots our mosaics will go.  A 5'wide x 2'high landscape behind the reception desk, and three 7'high x 3'wide panels forming a triptych on this wall at the end of the main hallway in the lobby:

The Process:

The three boards started out like this:
leaning up against the wall while we stared at them for a while.

Then we laid them on the ground and started laying tile where we envisioned it and drawing lines with a sharpie to guide us.  Of course, things move around and adjust as you go- getting started is the hardest part even with a good idea in your head of what your plan is.

Our system:

I draw the lines on the tile for where to be cut, mom cuts on one of our three tile saws depending on the  material and shape of cut.  We both glue & grout.

 Here's what it looked like when we were almost done gluing tile on one of the three boards
[mind you it took about a week to get to this point]:

Check out our working conditions:

[the garage]

Having a mother and her pregnant daughter working in the garage space in 100 degree weather is not ideal.  Unfortunately, we were unable to take these big boys downstairs into our art room because they won't fit down the stairs.  So we put plastic up accross the whole garage space with a door and bought a portable air conditioner.  Wow does it make a difference!

[me dying of heat and exhaustion...maybe being melodramatic.]

Our friend John even helped out a little bit!

more to come...