For those of you who don’t follow my Facebook page, here’s the finished sun-face. Minus a little drilling, and a lot of sealing, which I’m leaving until the weather cools. That part is messy and stinky, and has to be done in the garage, which is about 300 degrees right now. I managed to get one good coat of matte spray sealer on it to hold it over until I can do the heavy-duty stuff. So there.

I don’t do art just for me very often, so it’s been a real joy to finish this project. Once it’s up on the shed door, I’ll be able to see it any time I’m in the kitchen, which is decorated in sort of the same colors as this piece. Wait, I have a picture of it, when it was first finished…

I spent the first two years I lived in this house working on this kitchen. I did all the work with my own two little hands, tearing it back to the studs, removing a wall, extending another wall, drawing and redrawing the kitchen plans to fit the maximum number of cabinets into a ridiculously small space. My kitchen designer gave me the thumbs up when I presented the plans, but questioned my choice of dark cabinets and a white counter top, because with my slate floors, it was completely devoid of color. Then I took him out into the garage, and showed him the pile of tiles I’d been buying, a few at a time, for two years, and he approved. I knew I wanted this colorful back splash before I bought the house. I tore a photo out of a decorating magazine with sort of the same idea, but in solids. I did the tile work myself, over a Thanksgiving weekend. It’s my favorite thing in the house, which is mostly very subdued in color. Guys like my living room, front bathroom, and hallway for all the dark wood, leather furniture, and solid neutral colors. Women turn the corner into the kitchen and breathe a sigh of relief when they see bright, light, and color. Even the door is colorful—in a sea of brown wood doors, I painted the back door from the kitchen to the garage the same green that’s in the back splash.

There you have it. A little peek into my world.