Added a links page and began updating tutorials on my website. More to come soon...

I've been keeping busy assisting with my local community mosaic group for a few hours each week... working on my smaller projects at the mosaic group when I can as well as mosaic projects for the group, although most of the time I end up helping out with this or that and putting my almost 8 years experience of making mosaics (and many more years experience with computers & other techie stuff) to good use, answering questions and helping where I can. I enjoy my time there, not only for the interaction with other mosaic artists of various skill levels ranging from beginner to experienced, but also being able to give back something to the community. The mosaic group is a great catalyst for making/building friendships who all have at least one common interest... MOSAICS!

Thank you, Dianne Little for creating this wonderful group where people on the Southern Moreton Bay Islands (SMBI) can come to learn how to make mosaics for the community and also create new friendships.

My larger mosaic projects stay in my studio throughout construction, which is much easier than moving them around, and I am gradually setting up and adapting my workspace to accommodate my not entirely unique requirements. That's not an easy feat, as just the changing variables of my injuries have taken time to learn and understand how to work with, but I am making headway sometimes by trial & error, and sometimes by just good research/planning and using my brain. I figure if I could fix mobile phones and computers (what I did for previous jobs), I can do almost anything as long as the physical requirements aren't beyond my limits!

So there has been plenty to do to set up my studio, and lots of gardening too which I also enjoy, albeit in small doses to keep my pain levels to a minimum. The one thing I can do most of the time, is sit and cut tesserae for future mosaic projects, using mosaic glass cutters or tile cutters depending on the material. All in all, the last few months have been an interesting part of my life's journey, and so it continues...

Currently I have 2 mosaic projects in my studio:
"Night Watch" - a mixed media pictorial with cats in a tree. I have emphasised the eyes of the cats, to give the impression they are watching something, and also to the stars to convey night time. I've had this project packed away between moves, but now have the space to work on it.

The other mosaic is for a wall fountain (no title yet). This project has evolved since the glass background panel was broken both times I have moved since beginning the fountain. I was recently given a small fibreglass pond, which I wasn't sure if I'd incorporate with the fountain as I had planned to use a half kerosene type drum as the water reservoir. Then, shortly after I began looking for a suitably sized wediboard panel, the husband of a friend from the mosaic group found two panels large enough to incorporate the pond and delivered them to my door... what a surprise that was, and I am so thankful! Not only has it saved me the hassle of getting the material transported from the mainland to the island, it has also allowed me to radically change the background substrate to a torsion box type structure (picture a hollow core door) which will be much stronger and will also allow me to hide the plumbing inside the structure.

My new website is online at last!

After waiting for over two months for the web designer to complete my new website I decided to have a go at it myself, as I was tired of excuses and nothing getting done. I used a WordPress theme, for which I then created custom graphics, including a new logo.

As the new website also functions as a blog, I will now only make occasional posts on this blog which may include recipes or anything else not relevant to my website, which can be viewed at mosaicavatar.com

New art projects are often underway in my studio... so keep an eye out for project updates on my website.

'Easy No Dig Veggie Garden' instructions

Recently I've been asked by several people for instructions to my extremely productive no dig veggie garden in Hervey Bay which I created from scratch... so here it is.

Warning: This method will produce an abundance of fresh vegetables bursting with flavour, without the use of chemicals or pesticides!

Materials:

• Pine or hardwood sleepers (or other suitable material such as masonry blocks) for border. Ensure wood has not been chemically treated, as these could potentially leach toxic chemicals into the garden bed.
• Lucerne hay (1 bale of hay will do aprrox 2 veggie beds)
• Compost (well rotted)
• Newspapers
• Manure
• Blood & bone
  

Construction:

With this method you can even build your veggie garden on top of grass; there is no need to prepare the ground unless your chosen site requires leveling.

1. Build the border for your garden bed in a sunny area that will receive at least six hours per day of sunlight. The best orientation is north-south with taller growing plants at southern end of the garden bed for southern hemisphere dwellers (or at northern end of the garden bed if you're in the northern hemisphere).
   
2. Place several layers of newspapers directly onto the ground inside your completed garden border, then water until newspapers are damp.
   
3. Next place a layer of lucerne hay approx 10cm (4") deep, then water lightly.
   
4. Cover with a layer of compost approx 10cm (4") deep. Rake to level, then water until entire surface is damp.
   
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4.
   
6. Add blood & bone and manure, then turn through upper compost layer. Rake to level, then water until entire surface is damp.
   
7. Plant seeds or seedlings in rows directly into top layer of compost. It is a good idea to keep a note of what you have planted where. Water well, and keep moist until seedlings emerge.
   

Care:

If you have planted seeds, feed with seaweed solution when seedlings emerge. Apply solution approx every 2 weeks during growing season.

Approx every 3 weeks, add well rotted manure (Dynamic Lifter is an excellent alternative for green leafy vegetables, while tomatoes and other fruiting crops will benefit from cow & sheep manure), then water well.

Other useful tips:

I also like to plant a border of marigolds around the veggie plot, as these attract dragonflies which feed on other pests such as aphids.

To minimise evaporation, always water in the cooler part of the day.

To encourage healthier root growth, it is better to give few thorough waterings rather than many light waterings.

One small veggie plot, approx 1.2m x 3m (4' x 10') should be sufficient to feed 2 people, however it is best to have at least two veggie plots to allow crop rotation to avoid pests and diseases building up resistance.

Harvest your crop frequently, and enjoy!

Approx 2 months later - my 1.2m x 3m (4' x 10') veggie plot,
using the method above. (click image to enlarge)

Moroccan style media cabinet (finished)

It was quite an effort finding hinges and matching door hardware to complete the media cabinet I built from re-used timber, but it is now finally finished.

I am happy with the end result, and again have taught myself some new skills along the way.

'Moroccan style' media cabinet - re-used plywood and decking off-cuts, rolled glass.

Cactus cooker

I was recently given a used 'Turbo convection oven' which I then discovered had a very badly rusted heater element cover, so it was unsafe to use for food.

As usual, before throwing it away, I considered potential artistic uses for the glass bowl and other components. With the addition of a rescued glass saucepan lid, a liberal scattering of smallish rocks, some small cacti and succulents, it is now a terrarium... and the half hour or so that it took to create it gave me a much needed break from housework!

Now this cooker really is cactus!

Restored family heirloom

This antique medicine cabinet has been handed down through the family from my grandfather. I restored it some time ago, however was unable to find a suitable keyhole escutcheon which it has always lacked.

I stumbled across a selection of escutcheons during my search for hinges to use on the Moroccan style entertainment cabinet I built recently... it arrived yesterday and I wasted no time carefully affixing it to the cabinet, as well as replacing the glass which was broken while moving house.

New home, new studio

It's taking me a lot longer than I ever expected to get my new studio set up, but I've finally repaired the workbench which was vandalised on my balcony at the old house. Now that it's in the studio, it has given me an extra work surface, which means my glass-working bench no longer needs to double as a general workbench... and hopefully that means that I will be more productive.

I still have what feels like a gazillion boxes (really less than ten, but I'm somewhat exhausted from the move) to unpack, but the end is in sight and I'll be back in the studio before I know it!

Kev's Apple Ambrosia

I created this delicious, refreshing juice recipe this morning using 100% natural ingredients, and thought I'd share it.

I am considering starting a separate blog to post my many other recipes, so please try this one and leave a comment at the bottom of this post about what you thought of it.

Ingredients:
8 x red apples (I used 4 x "Delicious" and 4 x "Pink Lady" apples)
1 x pear
2 x Navel oranges
3 x large carrots
1 x dessert spoon (or to taste) honey
1/4 cup water
2 x sprigs chocolate mint (fresh)
2 x sprigs lemon balm (fresh)


Method:

Wash ingredients, and be sure to remove skin and pith from oranges before juicing, as they can leave a bitter taste.

Juice carrots and all fruit in juice extractor, then pour into blender. Add leaves of chocolate mint and lemon balm.

Mix honey in 1/4 cup of water and microwave for approx 30 seconds on high to dissolve honey (prevents it becoming a lump in bottom of blender if fruit is chilled), stir and add to juice in blender.

Process in blender for approx 30 seconds.

Serve chilled ...and enjoy!

Makes approx 2 litres of delicious, refreshing, juice.

Seeing stars

After a busy day a couple of weeks ago, I looked outside before closing up the house for the night... the sky was dark and overcast, but I decided to do a preliminary sketch for a mosaic featuring stars. The sketch also got me thinking about how to fill a blank area on my website. Seeing stars is not that unusual for me, as I have been fascinated by the stars and "why do stars twinkle?" since my early childhood. I've also always been curious about how things work, which led to me developing a keen interest in electronics and to a lesser degree mechanics... so I guess it's no wonder I became a telecommunications technician many years later!

Me terminating 100 pair cable to equipment rack in a telephone exchange.

For the last couple of weeks I've been concentrating on finishing my long overdue website update. After deciding to stop writing work-arounds for frequent bugs in one of the well known browsers (I'll work on these once my website is back on-line), the task is so much easier as no sooner had I fixed all the bugs, along came an update with a slew of more bugs.

So now, the last step is to complete the slide show to display my artwork... which is after all the main reason for my website.

After trying one recommended gallery option, I discovered it required a new HTML (web) page for each photograph. I then began working on a JavaScript which looked more promising until I got stuck and it was doing my head in, which was enough to make the decision to pay a professioanl to do it... I'm now anxiously waiting for him to complete it as I'm itching to get the website back on line and then get back into creating more art!

Still cleaning up after floods... 7 months on

I knew it would take me a long time to clean up after the floods here, but certainly didn't expect to be still going more than six months later! I must admit however, that my slow pace is also largely due to ongoing vandalism here which has required me to relocate my larger work areas indoors, as well as repairing the vandalised garden art pieces. I still hadn't gotten over my car being vandalised, when it happened again... but this time I witnessed it, and am not surprised to see who was involved, as they've constantly voiced their misplaced 'hatred' of others and often said I will never be a real artist as well as making numerous threats from the moment I met them. What is a surprise, is that the police still have not taken a statement from me regarding the car vandalism and burglary or any of the recent serious events, despite being contacted three times over the last few months.

The weirdness hasn't stopped there, with my phone line being cut, electricity often being switched off during the night, as well as numerous mail deliveries going astray, threats to kill others or cause property damage, and numerous other very unusual things ranging from just plain annoying or inconvenient to potentially life threatening. Regardless of whatever reason this person gives for doing these things, it is totally unacceptable behaviour!

While waiting on the legal system to deal with these matters, I've continued to address the challenges of less workspace by building more shelving to help ease the demand for storage of my artwork and tools etc. I've also begun repairing some of the vandalised garden art pieces and keeping my spirits up by continuing on newer projects.

After visiting numerous hardware stores and websites, I'm still searching for hinges to complete the Moroccan style media cabinet. I've come close to finding them, however they either are not in stock, are not the type of metal I want or don't have screws of the right length in the same material, which is important because different metals coming into contact with each other can cause corrosion. The cabinet still looks pretty good without the doors, but I feel they will be a perfect finishing embellishment. I still have plenty of other projects to keep me busy in the meantime...

'Flow Dreaming' mosaic sewing box - vitreous and
stained glass, and glass nuggets on hand painted
& lacquered craftwood box.