At the very beginning of my mosaic journey I wanted to make a birdbath. I looked at a blog online from
a respected magazine–I think it was either Better Homes and Gardens or House Beautiful–telling how to make a mosaic bird bath. They said, “just use tub and tile adhesive in a tube for an easy adhesive”. Which I did. I worked on this piece for quite a long time, as it was my second mosaic (after Lady Kingfisher) and it would be sort of shrine to people and events in my life. I had a great time creating this and finally, a few months later when it was complete, emailed a photo to my dear friend Jean.
Jean knows alot about alot of things, and she promptly announced that I would be killing birds if I put water in this! I was duly devastated. I called the tech people at Loctite, the tub and tile adhesive manufacturer and confirmed the bad news:
My birdbath, rather than nurturing birds, would certainly make them sick at best and kill them at worst. This, after recently reading in a birding mazine that the bird population had decreased by something like 50% in the past 40 or so years. OMG.
I am going to start offering lessons in making mosaic birdbaths when possible–if only to pass on the information that one MUST use cement grout and thinset when making a birdbath.
Now for the good news:
I am throughly enjoying my birdbath INDOORS as an architectural adornment. It sits in the corner of my livingroom next to my sofa, where I meditate. I often put little notes of paper in it with wishes and desires I wish to manifest, or flower petals that I want to dry.
This is a bird bath mosaic used as architectural adornment. It represents beloved people and events in my life. Its central gold angel represents my son Nicky, who died at the age of eight. His angel is encircled by a silver heart given to me by my daughter Lizzie. The yellow flower represents Nicky, and jewels, shells, and marbles represent personal events and places dear to me, like glass from Glass Beach I collected during my off-grid trip; rhinestones from tango dancing; marbles from the physical therapy after foot surgery to correct injuries from dancing in 4″ stilettos, and shells from the coast of Normandy collected on my first trip to France and met dear friends, Monique and Isabella. I must also mention freshwater pearls received as a gift from a remarkable gentleman.