So the funding is in and things are moving FAST because we’ve got to get this thing finished and installed before the cold weather shuts us down! The clock is definitely ticking!
So here’s the plan for these 4’W x 14’H mosaic columns:
We have material support from Sunshine Glassworks in Cheektowaga, NY & Tiles International in Orchard Park, NY. (Oh my geese – thank you guys from the bottom of our hearts! We’re so, so grateful!!)
I have a lot of design/technical support from Bonnie Fitzgerald of Maverick Mosaics in Vienna, VA. If you’re interested in mosaic work, I definitely encourage you to connect with her online, and DEFINITELY buy her books from her webpage: http://www.maverickmosaics.com/ They are completely packed with information and a resource so affordable, it would be ridiculous to do without them!!
Onwards!
Wedi Board Prep – we’re building the design on Wedi Board, so we’ve got to weatherproof the edges. I choose Wedi Board because it’s very lightweight but incredibly strong and because I want to build the design up in the wings, and Wedi board will allow me to do that easily while still maintaining a lightweight structure. (At some point I’ll have to carry these things up scaffolding and install them, you know! You’ve got to plan ahead!)
To make installation as easy as possible, I’ve broken the columns up into 5 pieces each, plus 2 little flanges for each column that will wrap around the sides for a total of 14 panels. Each will be bolted to the face of the columns and joined together with adhesive and finally finished with concrete and you’ll never know where one panel starts and the next begins — it will be completely seamless and permanently part of the existing columns.
Once the Wedi Board is prepped, it will be time to start cutting down sheet glass! I have two amazing, lovely assistants coming to me from Buffalo Arts Studio’s Jump Start Program to help make this project a reality and we have A LOT of work to do: 140 square feet of glass to cut down and assemble!
So we’ll keep taking video and pictures and we’ll get another update out soon!
With gratitude for everyone’s support on this amazing project,
McElf!
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