Mosaic Bowling Ball

Mosaic work is new for me. A few years ago during a basic class, I completed a decorative mirror. Since then I've gathered some resources and materials to explore this medium a bit more. After much online research, reviewing my mosaic books, and mental deliberation, I quit procrastinating and jumped in. "Time Bomb" is one of the eight mixed-media and fiber art show pieces I'm assembling for our July First Friday event at Terra Bella on Dimond, in Anchorage.


In the first photos you can see my work station set up in the garage. Due to the sanding and glass fragments I didn't want any of the debris traveling through the house or having the dogs walking in it. Because this piece is meant as yard art to withstand harsh Alaskan winters, I have prepped the bowling ball by washing it, rough sanding and then scoring with the sharp edge of a screwdriver to provide some 'tooth' for the adhesive to grab. I also sand the bottom of every piece I glue for the same reason. I'm using Indoor/Outdoor clear window and door caulk to glue the glass and ceramics to the ball. It has enough flex after drying to allow expansion and contraction in our freezing temps and hopefully keep the mosaics intact. The wire stand used to hold the ball while I work came from one of the bowling ball bags which works super!



Once I decided on orientation and a rough design idea, I glued Sudoku number game pieces in a clock face configuration. The center of that face is part of an alarm clock mechanism. I recycled moon and sun faces from a shower ring set because I liked the day and night implication in my time theme. The half-moon faces encircle one of the finger holes in the ball where I have stuffed paper towel to partially fill the hole and support a 'fuse' for my time bomb - which is a piece of alarm clock electrical cord. (see detail view of first ball photo) I glued three sun faces around the ball to balance out the focal point.

I decided to use colored glass half-marbles (from Michaels craft store), to fill the bottom portion where the ball will be resting on a stand. Colorful coordinating ceramic plate pieces fill in awkward areas where round marbles don't fit. It also adds more to the mosaic look I think. A round surface allows very little space per work session before the pieces begin sliding out of position, therefore the process is done in stages with a 24 hr. drying time in between. These photos show the first of my work sessions with more to follow.