I love it! what a nice design! cant wait to see it finished!

That is going to be just beautiful when you are finished.
I love Koi also, I have 7 big one's in my pond and I would love to do a mosaic of them someday.
May I ask why you are copper foiling the pieces?
Just wondering..... Treesa207

Very clever, Hrsg! Love it! Nice cutting on those fishes!

Looks great, I love koi done in stained glass mosaics!

Very nice! Your cutting is superb!

Oh that is really neat. I love koi also as we have 5 of them. Can't wait to see more.

Its beautiful, will look great when done.
I love koi designs and yours is really pretty.
Bianchi

you are really churning em out! that's really pretty I also am very impressed with your cutting! Go hrsg!!!!

Thank you all for your comments!

Treesa207
You asked why am I foiling? I'm not. I think what you see is the marker I use for my glass. It is a copper paint marker that is easily cleaned off, but that I can see on any glass to cut along.

How wonderful! We'd love to have a koi pond, but too many cats in the neighborhood. Can't wait to see it finished!

Pat

That's going to be beautiful, can't wait to see the finished project.

That's going to be a cute one! I have goldfish in my pond when it's not frozen solid. They have to come in the house for winter. Will be watching for the finished product!

Wow! There are some lucky people out there having you for a swap partner! That tray is going to be AWESOME! Your Koi look lifelike!

Beautiful! Love your cutting. Looking forward to more of this!!

Thank you ladies. You gave me a smile first thing this morning. ~: )

That is really beautiful! Can't wait to see it finshed. Love Koi fishies!

Oh, that's so cute. Your drawing is just as super as your cutting. W/be a beautiful gift.

Gonna be beautiful..thought it was foiled too!

Beautiful!

Thank you all again. Off to work on this piece now. ~: )

What a beautiful design! Look forward to seeing this finished.

Got the water in today, and I'm hoping the grout will improve the looks of it. It looks like one big jumble to me now.

Please let me know your honest thoughts on grout colors, as well as overall. I've thought of blue? Shade?

Looks GREAT!!! I think a light color, blue or grey grout would show it off...can't wait to see this done!!! Lovely!

I think a light gray also would be nice...I think it will be beautiful when you get it grouted.

Oh wow it looks awesome. You got my address right?? LOL

very nice... I think a light blue

Oh that is so pretty... I think a light blue grout also.
I sure wish that was coming to my house!

Really pretty!!!!!

Really turning out nice. I'd probably use gray grout to have it blend in with the water, compared to black, which might make all the pieces stand out.

Nice piece, and I've found that Mapei Pearl Grey is a very nice neutral when you want the tesserae to show. It's sorta invisible grout, but light enough to show your darks, which most of your background is. You'll love this when grouted.

Slow
I've heard you mention Mapei many times, and recommend it. So it is on my list when I go to Lowe's. ~: )

Thank you all, and I hope to get this grouted today, or tomorrow.

Well, this thread should also be called:

When Good Mosaic Ideas Go Bad

After grouting this tray made a steady decline. Finally this morning I've cut my losses, and found it a place on my wall of shame.

I even tried painting the grout one color for the water, one around the fish and one around the grass to help, but no joy.

Oh well, live and begin again. ~: )

PS - here is a picture for proof of the horror, lol.

This was after I painted the grout, and was removing it (upper left corner) to see if it helped. It didn't.

How about repainting it in a ligher gray so it doesn't take away from the fish? I think the blue would have been alright if you would have used dark midnight blue - this blue is a little light for the glass colors you're using.

I think the blue would have been better if I had used one color overall the water. But NOOOOOO I had to try to be creative. lol

Sorry Helen,it is still pretty but I know when we know we've made a mistake ,just like I did on my blue cross I now hate.I think gray would have been a better choice,but hey this is how we learn but i know it's sicking to put all that time into something and then not like it.It's still a pretty tray just not what you wanted.

Thank you both for the support. ~: )

One good thing is I can remove the tray bottom, replace it and try again! lol Only this time I think as you both said I will do a different color grout.

How disheartening to have something that you've worked hard on turn out unhappily.
However... Hey, I'd love to see what happened if you cleaned it all up... painted the grout black or dark, dark blue... and just enjoyed thinking that those gorgeous fishies were brightening up a dark pool on a cloudy day! I think it just might be wonderful!!! I love your fish.. and all of it! Might be worth a try to darken up that grout?
(gentle push) :)
"Try it... you'll like it!" :)

Oh, I'm sorry. I'd try Kate's suggestion before I totally gave up! Put it aside for a bit and try.

Thank you ladies.

It is put aside now, and I may revisit it later.

I think you should just try to scrub the paint off the glass and see what it looks like after that. It's hard to tell with the paint still on the glass...I feel for ya cuz I've been unhappy with my shrooms too, have put them aside till I can deal with them...(too green with the grout AND green plates)