30 Sq Ft Mosaic Koi Stream & Pond

Our submission to Dephi's Art Glass Festival contest is this 30 square foot glass mosaic stream and koi pond we've just installed at Roasted Coffee Depot in Graham, NC, where we turned a damaged area of concrete flooring into a one-of-a-kind piece of functional artwork! The installation spans 12 feet of floor space in length and culminates in a 3.5' x 3.5' koi pond.  It features 10 fused glass koi fish, 5 fused glass lily pads, and 2 fused glass lotus flowers.  Each of the koi fish required two separarate kiln firings in our beloved Jen-Ken EZ Pro Deluxe Kiln, purchased from Delphi:  We chose a solid color bottom glass for each fish and a streaky top layer to give the fish depth, dimension, and to create a wet look by being able to see through the top layer of clear streaky glass.  We then tack fused the eyeballs onto the fish so that they added an additional realistic dimension!  When fusing the lily pads and lotus flowers, we used Dephi's circle cutter and overlapped segments in order to give them their wavy surface to create a "floating on rippling water" look.  We also used frit and stringer to add the unique character and final detail to each lily pad and fish.  The glass used for the water was cold cut, to add to the variety in textures.  We were able to create the large installation at our home studio, using mosaic mesh from Delphi, and transport to location in 5 large pieces, to install and grout in a single weekend so that the coffee shop never had to close for the installation process.  You can view a slide show of the entire project from start to finish at: http://dynamomuseproductions.com/Recent_Mosaict_ME4W.php