New Batches of Soap

I made 3 small batches of soap this week, which should be available in my Etsy store in a few weeks. One batch of real castile soap, (first try), made from 100% olive oil, one batch of lemongrass, dandelion root shaving soap and one of prickly pear, tea tree oil shaving soap. Unfortunately the prickly pear soap ended up looking a little rough as I did not tap the molds enough to prevent air bubbles from forming. It is still useable, but just a bit more "rustic" looking. I am looking forward to trying out the castile soap, as it is a basic, but extremely mild soap, that can even be used as a baby soap. Since I break out from just looking at the wrong product, I will be the perfect person to test this one, to find out how mild it really is. If I don't break out, the majority of the world's population shouldn't either! I will let you know if I am one giant walking rash or not, in a few weeks. Needless to say, should I end up red and itchy, this soap will not go up for sale!

A+ Elementary School Project

I like working with kids, so this project was quite fun. Palm Valley Elementary School, in Goodyear, Arizona was designated an A+ school. In celebration of this achievement, I was asked to create some mosaic artwork. The artwork consists of 3 mosaic panels. The two outer panels were created by the students, the center panel by me.
Each student at the school made a letter and this letter was then used to create words that describe what makes their school an A+ school. I then mounted the letters on 2 panels and grouted them. The center panel depicts Palm Valley Elementary School.

artist in residence projects

I have decided to post some of my past work. Including the artist in residence projects I have completed at a local elementary school.
Most of the work is mosaic art work, but I have also done some paintings.
I will post them one project at a time.

favorite find of the week

Found this vintage Doug Wiley whale tail mug last week. This will make a great mug for one of my shaving kits.

The Classics in Pieces

This is the last public art piece I have done. Three concrete tables covered in scenes from classic literature. It is also at the Avondale Civic Center Library.
The seats are painted in a color matching the mosaics and the city also purchased matching umbrellas.
Here is a link to an article about the project in the Arizona Republic:
Article

Public Art Pieces

I have decided to post some of my completed projects, since I have not finished my website and it doesn't look like it will be done in the near future. The mosaic above is a public art piece that is installed on the City of Avondale public library at the civic center. I worked with the children of Rancho Santa Fe Elementary School. The images depict places and buildings of Avondale's past and present.

This week's favorite finds

So I went thrifting this past week and here are pictures of my favorite finds. Some pink depression glass and a very pretty tea cup made in England. I found a lot more stuff, but these items are the ones I am seriously considering keeping.

Finally Done!

I am finally done! A couple of weeks ago I finally finished this glass mosaic I have been working on for 3 years. I can't believe it is finally off our dining room table.
It is available for sale at www.xclusivedesigns.etsy.com