It's been a whirlwind of creativity and fun at CapellaBay this year! First and foremost, a massive shoutout to the fantastic staff at CapellaBay who make every workshop a breeze, helping us set up and pack down our mosaic-making space. And of course, a huge thank you to my amazing mosaic mates who join me in crafting beautiful mosaics with the enthusiastic resident seniors!
Special thanks to my wonderful mosaic assistants, Joan and Maureen. Everyone appreciates you, and we couldn't do it without your support every time we visit to make mosaics.
I hope you enjoy the photos of the 2024 Courtyard Garden mosaics. Last year, 2024 was all about the Market Garden Mosaics, but this year we've been creating large flowers, 2 fun bees, butterflies, a very long worm/snake, and spinning heart and butterfly mobiles. All grouted pieces are proudly installed in the Courtyard Garden, bursting with color and love, thanks to our resident mosaic makers.
Our process is a true labor of love. We nip and shape the tiles, and the mosaic makers glue them down with Weldbond, using easy squeeze bottles or paintbrushes. I am incredibly proud of their efforts, with our seniors ranging up to 103 years old! I design, prepare and grout all the mosaics at Studio OzMosaics and deliver new adhesive, tesserae (materials) and whatever is needed fortnightly to CapellaBay. It keeps me very busy but I enjoy helping to create this lovely environment.
In December 2024, we embarked on a new project: mosaicking cupcakes to be part of a massive outdoor mural featuring a whimsical tea party. It's a huge project that will take some time to complete, but the design is already looking awesome! Stay tuned for more updates in 2025. The trees are gardens in the Courtyard Garden will soon flourish to blend in with the mosaics. Looking forward to seeing the Kookaburra, Pelican, Magpie, Parrot and white Cockatoo installed during 2025 amongst the mosaic flowers, bees, spinning butterflies, and colourful snake!
At our first December meetup, we started adorning five Australian birds with mosaic decorations. We made great progress, and you can see photos of our work below. Once the birds are complete on both sides, they'll be installed on a mosaic-covered "tree trunk." It's looking fantastic so far!
Here are some photos of the mosaics made and in progress!
This shows the grouting in progress, a messy business!
These are some of the mosaics ready for grouting on my studio workbench at OzMosaics.
Getting a helping hand to glue down some of the bee at CapellaBay.
A big, bright mosaic flower installed in the garden.
The Bee Bandit!
All grouted at Studio OzMosaics, waiting to be delivered.
One of the bees in my studio garden before delivery.
Work in progress at CapellaBay.
The mosaic snake in the Courtyard garden at CapellaBay.
to be continued!
Sandy Robertson, Mosaic Teacher, Studio OzMosaics.
