Broken Plate Mosaic Belt Buckles
A little about Broken Plate Mosaic Belt Buckles
I am an Australian artist who is passionate about mosaics. I make Unique Handmade Mosaic Belt buckles and other mosaic jewellery using Antique Bone China. I love mosaics and also enjoy travelling to places to see interesting mosaics which have been made by other artists.
- Mosaic Belt Buckle
If you are interested in a unique, handmade, mosaic belt buckle then check out my online store for all of my latest pieces.
http://brokenplatemosaics.bigcartel.com/
- Mosaic Belt Buckle
You can also visit www.brokenplatemosaics.com.au for more information
- Mosaic Belt Buckle
Or ‘like’ me on facebook – Broken Plate Mosaics.
- Mosaic Belt Buckle
Texas Stop Step Dancing
This is a little of what a Texas Two Step Class looks like.
Along with making my one of a kind mosaic buckles I have been doing a Texas Two Step and Rock n Roll class at the Coburg RSL on a Thursday evening. It’s so much fun! Margaret is an amazing teacher and people pay as they go – it’s only $10 per class. If you like country music and have a bit of rhythm it’s a fun way to learn.
If you want to know more just drop in to the Coburg RSL, 323 Sydney Rd Coburg on a Thursday evening. Very New Beginners start at 6.40pm, Beginners at 7pm and a more Advanced class at 8pm.
My Unique, One of a Kind, Handmade, Mosaic Belt Buckles
So.. apart from remaking my mosaic table (see earlier post)
visiting mosaics around the place
Mosaic Steps in Rio, Brazil
and enjoying photographing other peoples mosaics.
I also make mosaic belt buckles out of Antique Bone China plates.
Antique Plate but soon to become a Mosaic Belt Buckle
I hunt around in Antique markets and usually find a plate which has lost its cup and is looking for a new home and a new life. It’s like a ‘make over’ for Antique China Plates
Mosaic Belt Buckle Romanesque 299
So many old plates have been sitting in the back of a cupboard collecting dust so I turn them into a little piece of wearable art.
Old Country Roses Plate
The ‘Old Country Roses’ plate is one of my favourites. I actually have a set at home.. but it does make the most wonderful Mosaic Belt Buckle!
Mosaic Belt Buckle Romanesque 301
This is it’s cousin ‘Moonlight Roses’
Moonlight Roses
It makes a great buckle too.
Mosaic Belt Buckle Statuesque 178
The advantage with using the Bone China to make my Mosaic Belt Buckles is that it has such a beautiful lustre. Quality China makes quality pieces. It’s as simple as that.
Mosaic Belt Buckle
When we were living in Canada I found an Antique Store which had heaps of plates from the Estate of an Old Lady who had covered her walls in them. Friends would bring her plates to hang if they had broken the cup. They said if you’d stacked them on top of each other they would’ve been as tall as the Calgary Tower, which is 191 metres (626 feet) tall! That’s a lot of plates! For me it was like walking into Disneyland…
Art Deco Plate soon to become a Mosaic Belt Buckle
There were some funky Art Deco plates which made some amazing Mosaic Belt Buckles.
Mosaic Belt Buckle Romanesque 300
I might make one or two buckles from a plate depending where the pattern is on the plate and how useable it is. Interestingly the most beautiful plate doesn’t always make the most beautiful buckle and conversely a ‘less beautiful’ plate can make an amazing buckle.
These buckles were all made from the same plate.
Mosaic Belt Buckle Romanesque 164. This one is Sold.
Mosaic Belt Buckle Arabesque 169
Mosaic Belt Buckle Statuesque 131. This one is Sold.
I just used different parts of the plate to create three completely different mosaic belt buckles.
I love making my One-of-a-kind mosaic belt buckles. I also really enjoy the relationship I have with the people who buy my mosaic belt buckles. They often come back to visit, wearing their buckle and tell me the places they have been to with their buckle.
Mosaic Belt Buckle Statuesque 166
I get to create my buckles and then send them out into the world. They have been bought and sent to Canada, the U.S, England and Australia so far.
Mosaic Belt Buckle Arabesque 271
There are four types of mosaic belt buckles..
Burlesque .. is big and bold
Mosaic Belt Buckle Burlesque 41
Arabesque .. is smaller and more refined
Mosaic Belt Buckle Arabesque 336
Statuesque … has a squarer edge and is often fairly contemporary
Mosaic Belt Buckle Statuesque 140
and Romanesque .. is my favourite. She is modern and not afraid to be noticed.
Mosaic Belt Buckle Romanesque 265
If you have one of my buckles. Let me know. I’d love to know where it’s been.
If you are interested in buying one of my mosaic belt buckles they are available at brokenplatemosaics.bigcartel.com or check out my website at
Escadaria Selaron
Having missed the amazing mosaic steps when I was in San Francisco… I was not planning on making the same mistake on my recent trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Escadaria Selaron (Steps Selaron) are the work of a Chilean born artist, Jorge Selaron, who, in 1990, began renovating the dilapidated steps that ran along the front of his house. He initially used pieces of blue, green and yellow tiles because these are the colours of the Brazilian flag..
Initially he used whatever materials he could find from construction sites and piles of urban waste from the streets of Rio – tiles, mirror etc.. Gradually he began to add his own original pieces (depicting a pregnant African woman) and the colour red because, he claimed, “there are certain colours, particularly red, that bring joy wherever they are.”
People began to hear about his steps and to bring tiles for him to use from different parts of the world…
Slowly the steps transformed into a whimsical mosaic cascade. No sooner was one section finished that he would begin work on another section, constantly changing it so that it was an ever evolving piece of art.
There are 250 steps and they are now covered by over 2000 tiles from over 60 countries around the world. The steps have now been featured in a number of ads, magazines and video clips (Snoop Dog and U2). Sadly Selaron was found dead on the steps earlier this year. It’s unknown as to whether he was murdered or if it was suicide. His tribute to the Brazilian people lives on, however, and he will not be forgotten.
Completion of the Table
Ok, so I’ve been really slack!! I left you all hanging in the lurch re the completion of the table! Sorry about that. I DID finish it, despite Melbourne’s Autumn being hotter than Hades (he was the Ancient Greek God of the Under world – did you know that?). Of course, by the time it had cooled down enough to grout it, it was too late in the season to sit around and use it, so it has been marinating in the Winter rains and will be ready to go come Spring!
Here’s a close up so you can see that I really did grout it.
Here it is sitting out amongst the Autumn leaves…
You will be happy to know that we had a lovely afternoon tea to celebrate the completion of the table..
There were raspberry and white chocolate muffins and cups of tea.. I don’t break up ALL of my beautiful china.
There were also still roses flowering in the garden..
(The painting is by a dear friend from Canada – check out her artist page Kari Lehr Art).
So the table was finished and celebrated but
I still haven’t grouted the other pot.
Looks like that will be this coming Summer’s job ( I might even do it in the Spring). I’ll let you know…
In the meantime I’ve been back at it making buckles and necklaces and earings etc.. for the markets..
If you are interested I’ve put the buckles onto the Big Cartel store – brokenplatemosaics.bigcartel.com
Remaking the Mosaic Table…
Ten years ago my trusty partner and I made an outdoor mosaic table. We were living in Perth at the time and bought all of the wall tiles from various tile stores around Perth. The table was designed using the Sacred Geometry symbol called ‘The Flower of Life”. We picked colours which reminded us of the colours of Perth..
We moved back to Melbourne with our marine ply and our tiles and had a wrought iron base made to fit the ply. The table took a year to make and was enjoyed for many an event. Unfortunately the dog ate the cover for the table (don’t ask) so it was open to the elements. This would not have been a major problem.. the marine ply board had been waterproofed but timber swells and shrinks and the grout cracked .. and I should’ve regrouted but I didn’t. Why not? Well, I love mosaicing but I have to say grouting is not my favourite task! Call me crazy but breaking my back and rubbing my fingers raw are not my favourite part about mosaics.. so I just didn’t get around to it. I wasn’t really worried I thought the marine ply would hold out. Unfortunately it didn’t..
And that is why this Summer’s task has been to remake the mosaic table…
A new piece of marine ply was purchased and waterproofed with Bote Coat (an extremely toxic boat waterproofing agent). Two coats were applied. Next we transfered the ‘flower of life’ pattern onto the table and measured up where the border tiles should go.
Hours and hours and hours and hours were spent cutting the grout off all of the old pieces of tile. I cannot tell you how many episodes of ‘Breaking Bad’ I watched as I snicked grout from tiles!!
This is an example of one of the buckets waiting to be snickered. My fingers were covered in bandages from the blisters. Oh it was fun and I kept wondered why I hadn’t just regrouted in the first place!!
Finally the new table was ready for the fun part – gluing…
Slowly, slowly the pattern began to take shape..
First the Border..
Then the leaves..
And so it grew…
And Grew…
And Grew…
It was Hot too.. Under the plastic roofing it was over 36C some days..
But I was on a mission…
There was a week’s break down at the beach and then it was back into it..
And so it came down to the final piece..
And then it was done..
Well, it’s glued at least. And now for the dreaded grouting..
I’ve made a start… But it’s been too hot! Grout needs to be between 5C and 35C and it’s been 27C at 9am!! The weather isn’t looking like cooling down anytime soon and it’s supposed to be Autumn..
I’m just doing it in tiny bits so that the grout doesn’t crack.
Maybe whilst I’m doing the table I’ll get on and grout this pot..
This baby is now in Grade One so I’m thinking maybe I should get on with grouting it.. (the pot not the baby).
I told you I hate grouting..
Scones, Gardens and Art – A Magical Day
Apart from Champagne and Music, my other passions include Mosaics, Gardens, Art, Antique Bone China and Devonshire Teas.
On a recent Sunday I managed to indulge in a number of these passions…
My lovely neighbour and my clever, arty, gardening friend and I first set off to visit Banool, which was on display, for the first time, as a part of the open garden scheme. ‘Banool’ is a Paul Bangay designed garden filled with lovely old trees and interesting sculptural pieces
‘Banool’ has a lovely, old, stone house, which was built in 1936. The property was bought, by the current owners, in 2004 and the house and gardens have been extensively renovated.
There are many interesting copper sculptural pieces including a number of handmade copper swings, which looked amazing as architectural pieces.
The day began with rain but ended up being quite pleasant, though the seats were a little wet for our Devonshire tea tasting by the pool.
My trusty neighbour appears to be enjoying the scones! She didn’t continue on with us to the next garden/artist studio. Perhaps she went back for more scones…
We continued on to visit Nerina Lascelles. , one of the amazing artists who had her studio open as part of the Nillumbik Artist Open Studios
Nerina has been exhibiting in Australia and overseas for over 20 years. Her work is quite layered and seems to have a Japanese influence. I find it very beautiful.
The house was an incredible backdrop for Nerina’s exquisite paintings.
Our next stop was Shaaron Smith’s Mosaics Studio
This was the original purpose of our trip and we found Shaaron warm and friendly and her garden a riot of mosaics and roses.
Shaaron also runs classes in mosaics so if you are interested make sure you contact her. Click on the link above for her details.
Whilst we were admiring Shaaron’s mosaics, we met a couple who suggested another studio they thought we should visit. So we jumped back into our cars and bounced our way along a long and winding road and dusty tracks to find the oasis of Kay Steventon
Kay has a studio with her pantings but it was her ceramic pieces which I fell in love with…
Her garden was beautiful too and we were encouraged to have a wander through..
And so it was with a heart filled with gardens and art and mosaics and scones and adventure and beauty that we headed home. A Perfect day really.
Strathewen Mosaic Letter Box Project
On Sunday I am planning to head out to Panton Hill and Kangaroo Ground to the Nillumbik Open Studios. I mentioned Shaaron Smith in my previous post. I am really looking forward to having a look at her work. In the meantime I thought that I’d share some photos of the mosaic letter boxes from Strathewen (which I also mentioned in my previous post). These were taken when they were exhibited in Hurstbridge before they found their new homes in Strathewen. I am looking forward to seeing how they have settled in….
Mosaics and Open Studios
If you live in Victoria and you are interested in mosaics, or other forms of art, you might be interested in the Nillumbik Open Studios.
It will be running over two weekends in November – 17th and 18th, and again the following weekend -24th and 25th November from 11am – 5pm.
There are 38 artists and 25 studios open with a range of disciplines including painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, ceramics, jewellery, textiles and photography. (I’m quoting directly from the website now).
An artist whom I am looking forward to visiting in her studio is Shaaron Smith. She looks like having some really interesting mosaic work.
The Nillumbik area was deeply affected by the Feb 7 Bushfires in 2009. If you are in the area you might also like to check out the mosaic seat outside the St Andrew’s hall. It was made by a group of women, many of whom lost their homes during the fires. The seat was made to tell the story of Feb 7 and beyond and to commemorate the event.
Another display of mosaics in the area, which you might like to have a look at, is the Strathewen letter box project. This was another initiative, after the fires, which was started by a local artist, who didn’t lose her house, and who wanted to support her community and all those who had lost so much. The town of Strathewen was substantially destroyed during the fires but these mosaic letter boxes bring a spark of hope back to the town.
So if you have a day free there is much to explore. That’s the plan for my day at least. I’ll post some photos if you can’t make it.
My Spring Garden
Melbourne in Spring seems to oscillate between Summer and Winter temperatures. There is usually wind at times, rain at times and sun at times! However the garden is starting to look Spring like at least.
The first of the Roses are starting to Bloom too
This one is Nancy Haywood
This is an old Dutch Rose. I can pronounce it but I can’t spell it for you sorry.
Of course all of the Winter rain means weeds, weeds, weeds so I have been doing a lot of weeding of late.
The old rooster is happy about that..
So is the fish ( he doesn’t look that happy but it’s hard for a fish to look happy really)
I’m happy, I love it when the garden comes to life again.
I’ll be even happier when I have finished with the weeds..
Then I thought I’d celebrate with a High Tea with friends in the garden.
The garden really looks its best around Cup week when the roses are all out. I’ll make sure to take some photos to show you.
Until then I’d best get back to the weeding.
