School Auction, 2013

Completed project. Center frame holds a 5x7" photo.

I love this kind of stuff..... but I have never worked with this medium before. These are Sculpey tiles that I stamped and cut.. the 31 large tiles were each painted by one child in the 1st grade class.. I painted the remaining tiles. I had the idea to make a piece like this..but then I had to think of a way that we could generate high bids at the auction. By incorporating a frame (the frame remains accessible from the back of the piece) into the art, the piece can now be customized to hold whatever the highest bidder desires..

A close- up of some of the tiles..

I am proud of this project because my husband PERFECTLY executed my plans for the base work on this. Trust me...my plans are not like those drawn up by an architect.. they are a lot of "you know..like this.." and "one of those thingies" type of plans.

Bead grout.. now affectionately called "Brout" (Patent pending.)

Laurie Mika is a genius in this medium. I don't have her book...but if you're looking for the know-how for a project like this, don't email me. Buy her book. A special *wink* to my friend who helped me with the stamps for this too...and you know who you are.

She's glorious... I may even bid!

I'll leave you with one last image. These are the custom built innards we made for the project out of plywood, painted black:

From left to right: The piece without her tiles; the top removed to see the inner structure; the back of the piece.

Ahh...remember the rosary I made for the preschool auction? The good ol' days..I have my fingers crossed this project does as well if not better for the school. The school auction project time is my favorite time of the school-year.