Yard art

[Sad Eyed Lady]

I am ready to do something creative outside now that Winter if FINALLY over. I have had my clothesline between two wooden posts for years and last week we removed the lines leaving the posts standing. I now use my retractable clothesline for all the wash instead. So, having these two wooden posts with crossbeams I have an idea that I hope to be able to carry out. I am thinking of broken pottery mosaic on the posts. I already have a few embellishments on them, but would love to do this with old broken dish shards, maybe some glass pebbles, beads etc. I have searched the web and Pinterest for ideas. I would love to hear if any of you have had any experience in doing this sort of thing, what tips, advise or suggestions you would give before I start. I am assuming all I need is grout and the pieces I want to place. Am I overlooking something obvious? I don't have a particular design in mind, just sort of free flowing and see where it goes. I have a rosebush planted by one post, and some taller purple flowers by the other post, so there is something in bloom around them most of the summer.

[CeciliaW]

I like the idea of a random mosaic and then some sort of climbing vine, honeysuckle, wild rose, something to attract bees and butterflys?

[catherine]

My son made me two mosaics in this way, and he's not an artist at all--just someone who likes to explore doing different things. The first one he made was a mosaic of our street number, which I put above my front door. It's very heavy, because of the board he worked on--I actually think it was some kind of a cement board.

I think that sounds like a really fun idea. FloatOn could probably give you a lot of good advice from both the design perspective and also working in glass--maybe she'll chime in.

I was thinking you could even string some of the glass pieces, as long as they are not sharp, between the two posts like a mobile.

Another idea is to mount a solar lamp on the top of the posts for lighting in the evening.--I had worked that idea into my own backyard design at one point, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

[new2oregon]

Sad eyed lady, I have seen some articles about that sort of stuff that people made art out of old china and stuff and it was amazing. It caught my interest because I was going to auctions, doing flea markets, ebay etc and when you buy lots there is usually some damaged pieces that you can't sell. I have never tried doing it because I am not much of an artist but I bet you could find videos on youtube. Sea glass would look good mixed in also, old marbles. Good luck on your project.

[mschrisgo2]

Not sure, but I seem to remember that the pieces should be glued on, then the grout put between??

[catherine]

Not sure, but I seem to remember that the pieces should be glued on, then the grout put between??

You are correct.

[Float On]

Love your idea. That will be so colorful. A tube of E6000 is a good glue to use. It works well on glass, pottery, or metal. Then use a grout when you are done. How much does your weather change. I have a lot of glass in our yard. Through a little grove of trees we've make a "river of glass orbs" - ornaments that the hanger broke so they actually look more like floats. There are also a lot of ornaments hanging in the trees in that little grove. So beautiful in the late afternoon when the sun shines through all that glass. In every flowerbed there are glass platters and there are floats on the pond. I really don't have a problem with any of it breaking in the winter due to freezing.

[Sad Eyed Lady]

Love your idea. That will be so colorful. A tube of E6000 is a good glue to use. It works well on glass, pottery, or metal. Then use a grout when you are done. How much does your weather change. I have a lot of glass in our yard. Through a little grove of trees we've make a "river of glass orbs" - ornaments that the hanger broke so they actually look more like floats. There are also a lot of ornaments hanging in the trees in that little grove. So beautiful in the late afternoon when the sun shines through all that glass. In every flowerbed there are glass platters and there are floats on the pond. I really don't have a problem with any of it breaking in the winter due to freezing.
Thanks for the tip on using E6000 - I didn't know what to use. So, glue first, then grout. As to your question on weather change, our weather is probably similar to your's. I am in South Central KY and our weather seems to come from St. Louis a lot of time. We can get below zero in the winter, and above 100 in the summer - so we do have extremes. I hadn't thought of how that might affect the mosaic, but with all that freezing and thawing that we tend to get I imagine it would. Oh well, I am not planning on putting much actual $$ into it, mostly my labor so it will be okay if something needs to be replaced the next summer.

[Gardenarian]

Sounds like fun!