A Friend for George

After making the little mosaic monkey called George it seemed only fair to make him a friend. Here's Louisa, another cheeky little monkey now in place.

Shabby Chic Mosaic Clock

One if the joys of mosaic making for me and others like me is being able to breathe new life into discarded bits and pieces. Using broken china in mosaic is known as Pique Assiette, sometimes spelt as Picassiette. It's literal translation is a not very polite way of calling someone a 'thief of plates' and it originated with a  chap called Raymond Isidore who covered the inside and outside of his house in Chartres with broken china mosaic. His neighbours apparently weren't too keen on what he was doing hence the nickname. Today there are devotees of the style; those who hate it and don't think it's proper mosaic at all; those who incorporate it with other elements in their work and of course every shade of opinion inbetween. Personally I enjoy seeing china plates, especially the old patterns that turn up in charity shops and the backs of kitchen cupboards unwanted and unloved, put to a new use. This week I've used one such plate to revitalise another piece in need of a new lease of life - in this case a clock, so here's my shabby chic clock, made in the French style of pique assiette but with an old English plate!