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green blue glass mosaic butterflies butterfly mural by bay area mosaic artist sophia othman
Home » Mosaic Art Blog » Mosaic Mural » Butterfly Glass Mosaic Mural – In progress – A Graduation Art Project 2020

Butterfly Glass Mosaic Mural – In progress – A Graduation Art Project 2020

iridescent green glass mosaic butterfly large by bay area mosaic artist sophia othman

In progress images of our butterflies glass mosaic mural, 26’x5′, glass, mirror, and fused glass.  

The Piedmont High School graduating class of 2020 wanted to leave a positive mark of hope and beauty.  The design theme we developed for the project was of a swarm of huge glass mosaic butterflies flying off into the future.

green glass mosaic butterfly large by bay area mosaic artist sophia othman
Iridescent glass mosaic showing different viewing angles.

Two views of same butterfly mosaic to show reflection and iridescent stained glass.

butterfly mosaic design with blue green butterflies by bay area mosaic artist sophia othman
Butterflies as symbols of transformation through the COVID19 pandemic & 2020 California Wildfires - students grow through adversity and fly into a brighter future

Mosaic Design Inspiration

The Piedmont High School graduating class of 2020 wanted to leave a positive mark of hope and beauty.  The design theme we developed for the project was of a swarm of huge glass mosaic butterflies flying off into future.  The art project was spearheaded by student leader Tammi Zimmerman.

The students are all graduated and on to new wonderful endeavors.  They wanted the mosaic mural to represent transformation and evolution through the time of COVID19 and a brutal wild fire season in California.   The symbolism of positive transformation out of calamitous change was a fitting healing design theme for responding to the fires as well.

 

Aqua glass butterfly mosaic in progress by mosaic artist sophia othman
mirror mosaic banner for COVID19 school graduation art project by bay area mosaic artist sophia othman

A ribbon of cut mirror mosaic gracefully ties the butterflies together and provides a frame for the words.

teal green glass mosaic butterfly in mosaic studio work in progress by bay area mosaic artist sophia othman

Our CMO (Chief Morale Officer) in the mosaic studio – Jasmine makes us smile. 

iridescent green and teal glass mosaic butterfly and little dog art by bay area mosaic artist sophia othman
Mosaic butterfly with iridescent mandala pattern

Mosaic butterfly wings for little angel dog Jasmine.  This butterfly’s beautiful iridescent glass is shown in the next pic taken outdoors with more light and a different angle of reflection.

iridescent green and teal glass mosaic butterfly and little dog art by bay area mosaic artist sophia othman
Iridescence shows up at different viewing angles.

I chose a mandala pattern for piecing the mosaic butterfly wings – inviting the gaze to rest and the spirit to calm. 

iridescent dark blue glass butterfly mosaic with little dog by bay area mosaic artist sophia othman
Iridescent cobalt blue mosaic butterfly - Jasmine dog supervising

I chose iridescent glass for parts of the butterfly mosaic to mimic the natural beautiful iridescence of some butterfly wings.  The mural will be installed on it’s concrete wall in March, 2022.  Here are images of the mosaic making process.  My dog, Jasmine, enjoys modeling for me.  Here she is a butterfly dog.

Large green butterfly mosaic in progress by sophia othman mosaic artist
Full scale prints of the mosaic printed in sections for use in the mosaic studio.

the largest glass mosaic butterfly requires two tables in the studio.  

mosaic studio work in progress by mosaic artist sophia othman
Full scale prints of the mosaic printed in sections for use in the mosaic studio.

Adjusting the full scale print before cutting glass for the butterfly mosaic.  

Mosaic artists sophia othman and Siram use large scale prints to guide mosaic piecing in the studio
Full scale prints of the mosaic printed in sections for use in the mosaic studio.

Here is how it all begins with a printed full scale design on paper.  Here are a few pics of the process of making mosaics – the mosaic mural is entirely pieced in the studio before installation. Full large scale prints are taped together to guide the piecing of the mosaic in the studio.  

mosaic artist sophia othman shows how fiberglass mesh is used to create glass mosaic
Glass pieces are glued onto fiberglass mesh to create the mosaic in the studio.

Fiberglass mesh is used to glue the glass mosaic pieces onto in the studio.  

The Piedmont High School Vice Principal in the mosaic studio to view the mosaic creation.  

The mosaic mural layed out on the studio floor in prepartion to cut it apart into pieces for installation

After all the sections are pieced in the studio we lay them out to make sure they will fit into the wall space on which the mosaic will be installed.

glass mural sections stacked on wood boards by bay area mosaic artist sophia othman

Here the entire mosaic mural is sectioned up into small sections like a puzzle for transport to the installation site. All the sections of the mosaic mural are packed carefully and labeled so that they are easy to locate on the installation day.

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