From all my re-blogs of the church mosaic, you might think that’s all I do.  Well, the church mosaic pre-dates the beginning of this retaining wall commission but, the retaining wall mosaic will be finished far, far sooner.

Here’s a look at today’s progress:

My ring saw is handy for cutting precise shapes in the high-fired porcelain tile.

I have been using my ring saw outdoors again, due to a renewed water leakage problem in my containment chamber.  Fortunately, Bob Bridge, the construction angel who has built all of my studio shelves, my under-table roll-out storage, and my studio cat storage devices, is now going to make me a new, improved saw water containment chamber that DOES NOT LEAK so that I can use the saw indoors once again.

Rendering of the left panel of the pool wall mosaic

Here is a reminder of what the first panel of my pool retaining wall mosaic design looks like.  The finished mosaic panel is 19 inches wide and 8 feet high.

Several sections “stitched” together.

Since it is impractical to adhere tile tesserae to fiberglass mesh that is more that a few feet in any dimension, I have been making the mosaic in small sections, expecting to fit them all together at the time they are installed on the wall.  I have been matching up the sections I have already made, and I am fitting the tiles that will go between sections, so that the finished mosaic will appear as seamless as possible.  You are looking at three sections of the first panel that have been fitted together.

All day tomorrow I have planned an uninterrupted workday on this mosaic.