The Buddha Shrine is finally done. My little Buddha, rescued this summer from the back of a truck full of junk, now sits in splendor, cross legged, quietly contemplating the lotus flower I have bestowed upon him. Bill is sure his expression is now one of serenity with just a hint of a smile. All problems have been solved, all has come to it’s inevitable conclusion, all is as it was meant to be.
Well that’s pretty well how it seems to me now, now that it’s all done. The dishes I thought I needed, I didn’t need. The dishes I had and the decisions I made now all seem right, destined even.
I suddenly came to a conclusion about the back and just filled the space with green and blue turquoise dishes. Dishes, I might add, that were in my kitchen cupboard all along. Sometimes I use dishes meant for mosaic for a while and I’d totally forgotten they were there to be used.
Partly finished back
The color fit well with the front of the shrine and it also leant a quietness to the design. So another problem solved with no effort.
The edge was done with the little scraps of gold tile I had left and the skinny little pieces seemed to be the right design solution after all.
gold tile scraps worked well for the edge
So yesterday, Bill and I donned our rubber gloves and slathered on the grout. The grout color was somehow fittingly called Green Tea, to which I added water colored with just a bit of Phthalo green paint. I wanted the grout to be more turquoise. Oddly that didn’t work either but the color actually became an almost exact match for the Buddha’s antique finish. Another strangely perfect conclusion. I was actually quite pleased when we finally glued him in place and grouted around him, just how well the grout color fit so well with the Buddha.
grout around the Buddha matched so well
The finished back in watery turquoise
So here it is, all done. Candles lit. Shown here as he is in daylight.
And then here as he is at night with the glow of the tea lights flickering on his meditation.
Now all I have to do is find a spot for him or a new home where he will be appreciated, where his serene meditation of a lotus flower in front of the tranquil green rippling pond will remind an onlooker to slow a bit and quiet their thoughts. And realize that everything has a way of flowing, just as this little shrine did, to it’s inevitable conclusion.
Tags: Buddha Shrine, dishes, lotus flower, pique assiette, scraps of gold tile
Your Buddha piece certainly is a metaphor for life, isn’t it? It’s like life always work out even if we can’t see it at the time we’re “in” life. He’s a stunning piece and if I had gobs of money, I’d love to give him a home. I will have to be patient with my financial journey. I have enjoyed following you throughout the last several weeks. What an inspiration.
Thanks,
Lia
HI Lia, Yes it’s odd how the little Buddha shrine just came together in the end and it all worked out. I kind of wonder if the little Buddha had something to do with it. Glad you were inspired.
Beautiful Helen! As Lia mentioned, the process is indeed a metaphor for life. I too enjoyed reading about how this wonderful piece came together.
I’ll have to muse on this posting when I’m doing my writing work, when it just doesn’t seem to want to come together, when the sighs and frustrations arise, when I take time off from it only to worry about looming deadlines instead, when I start yet another draft. Yes, it’s all about process, that’s when you have to be in the moment, and not fret about time passing.
Thanks again for this! As for a home for Little Buddha, he would be most welcome to (en)lighten a corner of our little house, that is if he doesn’t have a home already… Lia?
I think that in a lot of ways you have the gist of it, doing mosaic is all about the process, being in the moment and learning to accept how things come together. Something that I, who can be a bit of control freak, always need to learn a bit more.. just to allow things to be and work with that.
Wow, this is so nice… you do such lovely work! So glad I stumbled onto your site ^^