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.
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.
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.
Mosaic Shoes
If you like mosaics, as I suspect you do, then check out these shoes from Pisaverde in London.. They are a bit like wearing mosaics on your feet! I have particularly fallen in love with this pair
.
But these are great too…
And these..
They look like they do Summer ones as well..
If you see me post and I am wearing a pair you will know that I have succumbed! Be still my beating heart!
Entering the World of Social Media..
..With a Buckle
She normally looks amazing… but to my way of thinking Elle’s outfit definitely looks better when she is wearing a buckle… What do you think?
