Courage.
Let me tell you, it took courage to start this project. And research. Lots and lots of research. I certainly had issues with adhesives in the past, with grout, with tile. I had done many, many "pique-assiette" mosaics, with found objects and porcelain plates and glass tiles. It wasn't what I was looking for. I wanted the insane, organic look of Gaudi, the color, the boldness. I finally discovered that if I tumbled pieces of broken plates in a commercial rock tumbler, it gave the edges a softness and muted color that I wanted.
Goodwill Loves Me.
My original intent was to put a sea turtle in blues and greens along the side of the van. So, I bought every blue and green plate I could find in Goodwills and thrift stores and yard sales, from here to the south end of Georgia. In an abrupt mental turn, I decided on a mermaid instead. And I was determined not to use any glass tiles, and only upcycled materials, to keep in line with my paper mosaic art, which also uses upcycled materials. And, glass tiles could be blinding to oncoming traffic in the Florida sun, and I opted not to be the possible cause of accidents on the roadway. But the rest of the van was to not reflect any theme other than waves of color, undulating in and out of itself. Organic and flowing and joyful.