Creating Memories with Mosaic Art: Our Quirky Town Project and Other Glassy Adventures

Jennifer Jones
Jul 30
3 min read

Valerie and I recently signed up for the Quirky Town mosaic project class at the Warr Acres Craft Room. Art & Craft - The Craft Room On the big day, we showed up ready to unleash our inner artists —and maybe a little chaos.

Valerie's Mosaic Quirk Town — Valerie's vibrant mosaic masterpiece captures a sunny scene of colorful houses and a lush tree, beautifully crafted with stained glass.

We each designed our own “quirky town” and then filled the rest with crash glass. This part is slow—like watching paint dry slow—because you have to glue every tiny piece just right. Precision is key… unless you prefer abstract “modern art” by accident.

The finishing touch was a choice between grout or Triple Thick. Grout adds color but has the risk of overpowering the piece. Triple Thick dries clear, so naturally, we went with that. Clear is classy, right?

Jennifer's Mosaic Quirk Town — Vibrant glass mosaic by Jennifer depicts a whimsical cityscape with colorful structures and a shimmering backdrop.

Feeling inspired (and maybe a little addicted to glue fumes), we dove into a bigger, more personal project.

Our grandparents once owned the legendary “pad plant”—the magical place where swamp cooler pads were made. When it was sold, we snagged a bunch of old frames. They were basically just wood frames my grandpa made, but to us, they’re pieces of our childhood, full of memories—that along with a huge strawberry patch at the pad plant (the real highlight).

Our idea? Cut glass to fit the frames and make mosaics inside. Easy peasy, right?

Valerie was all in, hunting down the perfect mosaic design for her frame. (Not to call her out, BUT she was in OKC to work on the project and ended up finding better things to do. Her project is tucked back under my bed. Besides, she outs herself - check out her blog about the weekend. My sisters are awesome! – Feathers and Phases) Meanwhile, I decided that instead of working on my pad plant frame, I would swap out the window in my half-bath with a sea-themed mosaic instead. Matt’s only rule: “No flamingos, for heaven’s sake!” So naturally, I went underwater—sea turtles, fish, seaweed, and none of those pink feathered party crashers.

Turns out, an 18"x36" mosaic takes a lot of tiny glass pieces. Like, way more than I expected.

Our breakfast nook turned into a “glue zone.” Valerie planned quietly while I glued and glued and glued. Eventually, Valerie had to go home, but I stayed glued to my project… literally and figuratively.

When we actually need to use the breakfast nook, Matt slid the whole workstation under the bed with a look that said, “You’ll finish this eventually… right?” I instantly agreed - I would, someday.

Months later, after working on floors in the house, we were installing quarter round—and guess what? The mosaic resurfaced like a crafty sea turtle coming up for air. I must say, I was more than a little sad at its resurfacing.

Matt moved it back to the breakfast nook, declaring it would stay there until I finished. Like some sort of mosaic hostage situation.

So I glued. And glued. And ran out of crash glass.

Of course I did.

After waiting for the new glass to arrive, Matt (in a burst of handiness) built the window frame. Once the final pieces were in and the glue fumes cleared, I finally finished the piece.

Then came installation. I’d love to say it was seamless, but I won’t lie to you. There were tools. There were words. But in the end, it looks great—even if I have to say so myself.

Now, I am planning what I am going to do for my pad plant frame. Stay tuned... ;)

Why I’m Hooked on Mosaic Art

Besides the minor glue addiction and accidental paper cuts, mosaic art connects me to family memories—and gives me a great excuse to avoid “real” work. Plus, watching the piece come together is oddly satisfying. Like a puzzle, but with more chances of stabbing yourself.