Over the last few months I’ve been busy working on a new mosaic, well three mosaics actually, to cover the plain concrete fence posts on our patio.  I took lots of photographs as it helps to look at the design from a different perspective.   So, I hope this post will show the process I use and give you some idea of the detail involved.

I decided to work the three panels at the same time so the design would flow.  I wasn’t working to any plan, I just knew in my head what I wanted it to look like.

When it came to making a butterfly, I started experimenting.  I took a piece of plain glass and cut it to shape and then painted the back with several layers of nail varnish.  It worked out beautifully for this and another butterfly, so I used this method again for snails, ladybirds, dragonfly and bees wings.

This little spider was a regular visitor.

Even though it was blisteringly hot, our extremely furry dog would sit in the shade and stare at me, willing me to put my cutters down and play football.

I wanted to include as many garden visitors as possible, even the ones that aren’t always welcome, so snails had to be included!

I took a photograph of this moth sitting on a window and followed it’s simple lines in mosaic.

At the very bottom of the panels I used stained glass to make grass and added another snail and a hedgehog.

Next – sunburnt shoulders, cement hands and the installation ……