There’s a craft and gift fair after school today at Chorlton C of E Primary School http://www.chorltonce.co.uk/ starting from 2pm. I’m taking some mosaic kits along and I know Cathy will be there with her gorgeous handmade scarves – I’ve already bought a number of them for Christmas gifts – they’re utterly ‘Adornable’ (officially, now.)
Green Day Mosaic
If you were wondering what was going on in the playground at the school yesterday, I’ll explain. We had a problem with one of the mosaic panels on the playground wall. To be honest, I’d worried about the centre panel from the minute the wood arrived. Even though all three panels were cut from the same sheet – it was 18mm external grade ply, if its of interest – just one of them had a very slight bow. I talked to Craig at the timber yard (Chesworths in Urmston) about it and we concluded that after 3 coats of yacht varnish was applied to the reverse, with the weight of the ceramic on the front and with four fixings into the wall, it should be fine….
However, in truth, the panel was clearly held in too much tension and after a couple of months and the impact of a football, the screws sheared and the panel came down! I was reassured, however, by the strength of the mosaic itself – good adhesive and good grouting there, because despite all this movement, practically nothing came away!
So yesterday we removed the other two panels and then re-installed the whole thing using much more serious expanding anchor bolts into the brick. I think we’ve secured it good and proper this time so I just need now to mosaic and re-grout over the gaps!
Horse & Jockey Craft Fair — Saturday 11th
The day started out quite sluggish and stayed quiet for the first couple of hours. I didn’t mind too much because I was enjoying the very good company of Mary, Alex and Fay who had tables immediately around me. It was also lovely to see Sarah, Chris and Cathy who all popped in to have a look and say hello during the day. However things livened up during the afternoon and my fellow crafters and I all made good sales. The variety of goods on offer was great – I came away with jewellery, a fabulous ‘Manchester Pin-Ups’ calendar with Manchester girls in vintage 50s style clothes, make-up and hairstyles and also a beautiful home made Christmas Cake – with cute penguins on the top.
Wonder what I might pick up at today’s craft fair……………………
Making Mosaic Stepping Stones with the School Grounds Project Pack
Tracey Cartledge Artist 