Saturday noon, and it’s been slow going.
The blue tile inventory being low means that I have to search a long time for each tile to try to fit into a space. What I wrote on March 18 is more and more true as I go along.
SOMEWHERE out there is that mother lode of tile from someone’s 1950’s kitchen remodel!!
But that doesn’t mean progress has stopped. Here’s what she looked like at the end of the day yesterday:
You can see all the blue tiles added under her arm (those were still taped up previously); more of the yellow beach tiles, and a lot more filled in under her body and behind her tail. Here are a few closeups (from yesterday and this morning):
More yellow beach tile, and my first use of a pointed shell (what are those, anyway?) in the design. I’m still very curious how the grout is going to flow around those…
A lot more around the tailfin! Being down on the blue I’m focusing on the green. One thing that slows me down and makes this take longer, is I’m working on the top of the wall, so I have to go all the way up and down the stepstool, usually at least three times (often more) for each tile. Since breaking my leg three years ago taking just that many steps off a ladder, I do this very carefully each time. It’s tiring.
Also, notice way up on top: those tiles are going off into airspace off the top of the wall. I may have to reinforce that from behind somehow, but we’ll see. I’m hoping the cement (or if necessary, the No Mas Clavos) will hold them securely.
Finally, here’s a detail of that one small area under her body, connecting her waist to the bottom of the wall. I end up using a lot of small tiles (and doing quite a bit of nipping and grinding) to make these fit.
Next page: 25 March–A few more go up