In addition to learning and acquiring new hobbies, this year will also be about finishing my projects — all of my projects. I started this mosaic bowl over a year ago when I first got introduced to mosaic art and glass cutting at the Alameda Art Lab. I got a fair amount of practice for both cutting and catching flying pieces of glass through the air since I completed a few mosaic art projects — a turtle, a rock and a heart. I decided to take on this mosaic bowl, and just as I was about halfway through it, I ran out of steam. I left the the bowl with JaYing and she said she’d hold on to it until I decided to come back and finish it.

Well a year later, I came back. I was wondering if the bowl was still there… and it was! It was just sitting there in the corner. Other students came and went, and she did mention that someone had offered to finish it I never came back, but luckily, it was still exactly how I had left it. Shards of yellow, purple, pink and brown glass were still plated though I had to pick up a few more slabs from the color bin. I started out with mirrored glass encircling the “eye” of the bowl and lined it with gold and yellow, which really made the rich sea of purple and brown pop. I have to admit, it was hard to distinguish the dark browns from the dark reds, so I “snuck” in a few shards of deep red. You could only tell when  you hold it up to the light. I think it gives it character! I also decided to leave room for shades of brown and pearl to contrast against the pink and pearl, and to complement the eye. With those last few pieces, it’s time to grout and let it sit.

With my sister’s birthday coming up in the next month, I decided this would be the perfect gift for her apartment. She’s a fan of purple and I’d like to give her a place to leave her keys, drop in a few coins and leave her knick knacks. I can’t wait to see how she receives it!