Original artwork description:

A mosaic wall sculpture art work.
There are several different stories about how the robin got his redbreast. I particularly like an Irish folk tale which I'll attempt to retell...
"It was a harsh and very cold winter and a boy and his father were out in the forest collecting wood for their home fire. It was getting dark and they still had many miles to go before they were home so the father made a fire to keep them warm for the night and warn away any hungry wolves. As they sat warming their hands and trying to get comfortable, father found he was finding it hard to stay awake so he told his son to keep the fire going while he had a nap. His son agreed and kept a nice fire going until he too found himself beginning to nod off. Before he could wake his father to take his turn and look after the fire, he had fallen fast asleep. It wasn't long before the fire began to dwindle, getting lower and lower. Meanwhile a wolf was waiting for the right moment...
Whilst this was happening a robin watched from a nearby tree and flew over to the fire. To stop the fire from going out he fanned the embers with his wings, keeping the flames high. As the hot flames licked his chest he didn't fly off but bravely continued fanning the flames until it was safe and the wolf had gone away."
This robin is sculpted using a hand cut wooden base, polystyrene, wire and cement mixtures, then the glass is cut and applied. For this piece I have used red and orange Venetian smalti (a traditional mosaic glass originally used for Byzantine mosaic murals) , glass tile and my own exclusive hand gilded gold metal leaf glass. The gilded glass might change a little over the years in small fluctuations. I have tried and tested it for several years and found that if it is indoors there is very little change. The mosaic is built on plywood and has a three dimensional body and front wing. There is a fixing on the back (d ring) to hang it on your wall .

Materials used:

plywood, polystyrene, wire, cement, smalti, hand gilded metal leaf glass, shell, glass tile

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