Metal Mosaics

I'm all about texture, I always have been. Not texture you buy, like a rubber stamp or a Rolling Mill printing paper texture plate; they need to be my own texture. Hammers, rolling mill, etched, pressed ,stamped, cast, reticulated, mutilated, altered, assembled. These are my textures for the metal mosaic. Some people call them bench scraps. These are not bench scraps. I have to make all the parts and if I'm lucky enough to find a leftover piece in my bench scraps that will work, then great, but it doesn't happen much anymore. Assembling these pieces and cutting them to size and the layout is very time-consuming, because technical aspects of the bending / shaping, as well as design elements that complement each other with colors, textures, shapes, and negative spaces. I rearrange things seemingly hundreds of times, and then I might have to make pieces that are required to satisfy the missing design element. These may seem haphazard or random, but  are studied and balanced. I put them all together, then shape, alter, clean up, round off, patiniate, polish  and  seal...oh my.
Some of my metal mosaics are silver and brass, some are silver and karat gold, 14k, 18k 22k or 24k...depends on what it needs. I make some occasionally in copper or all bronze or red brass. I try to keep it fun and discover new texture combinations often inspired by the nature that surrounds me but sometimes it might be what is on my bench or studio floor!!