Well, this was it. After more than three weeks of more or less solid work, we finally reached the completion of the frog.

Twenty-two days of tiling all came down to this night, when the grout was applied. Grout is a cement-like compound smeared over the mosaic to fill the spaces between the tiles and create a more uniform appearance. Once applied, it must be cleaned off shortly after, to prevent it from sticking to the subject and ruining a whole lot of work. Jeff and Nicole made a special appearance that night to help with the job at hand.

By all standards of logic and reason, the grouting party was a noisy, messy, and generally rushed event. I was on hand to document it from start to finish, running back and forth between frog and computer to dump pictures off the digital camera's storage chip to free up more room. All in all, a total of thirty-one pictures were taken that night. And here they are, from the beginning...

The first step was removing as much excess glue as possible. This was a long and grueling task.

(LEFT) Shawn and Mum "patiently" scrape the glue away.
(RIGHT) And even more glue scraping.


(LEFT) Shawn removes more glue as Chloe investigates.
(RIGHT) Shawn takes a moment to pick his teeth, thinking I'm not paying attention.


(ABOVE) Shawn, Nikki, Jeff, and Mum clean up more glue.

Once enough glue was removed to make everyone happy, the grout was applied. It's a nasty, messy, concrete-like stuff that fills in the gaps and makes the whole thing look better. Sections of the frog were grouted at a time, making it easier to work with it, rather than doing the whole kit-in-kaboodle in one fell swoop. The grout is smeared over all the tiles and wiped off a few minutes later, leaving it in the cracks.

(LEFT) Shawn mixes up a yummy batch of grout.
(RIGHT) With much joy and glee, Jeff grouts the frog's buttocks.


(LEFT) Y'all come back now, ya hear?!
(RIGHT) The back covered in grout. Looks like a coat, huh?


(LEFT) The front of the head coated in grout.
(RIGHT) Likewise, the back of the head coated in grout.


(LEFT) The frog's rear end, showing grout job. Compare with photo above.
(RIGHT) The application of grout to the feet and belly.


(LEFT) Adding grout along the legs.
(RIGHT) Still finding glue to remove...


(LEFT) Grout on the abdomen.
(RIGHT) Shawn polishes up the head a bit.


(LEFT) Removing the excess grout.
(RIGHT) The same from another angle.

With all the grout in place and the majority of it cleaned off the surface, the frog was carried out into the front yard for a good old fashioned hose down. With Shawn yielding the hose like an insane fireman, the grout was sprayed off - and all over the lawn. The neighbors must have been suspicious, seeing us all gathered 'round a giant frog at one in the morning, spraying it with a hose.

(LEFT) Shawn spraying down the frog.
(RIGHT) Gettin' in those stubborn areas.


(LEFT) Jeff and Nikki wave to a confused passer-by as the frog is dried.
(RIGHT) The drying continues, much to Jeff's delight, apparently.

What it all came down to, through weeks of labor and a night of messy grouting, was that the frog, at long last, WAS COMPLETE!

(LEFT) The frog, finally finished!
(RIGHT) Completed at last!!

~ 4 June ~

The next day, it was time to take the frog down to the old Armory on Secor Road to hand over to the It's Reigning Frogs people. We managed to get some pictures before loading it up.

(LEFT) The frog, sitting peacefully in the front yard.
(RIGHT) Mum and the frog share a moment, in a picture by Shawn.


(ABOVE) Andy took this picture showing us lifting the frog up to put it in the truck.

Upon arrival at the Armory, we unloaded the frog. There, in a large warehouse like building, were a bunch of other frogs scattered about. Many finished. There was a lady and some kids there working on one of the five-foot Leaping Frogs. This was the first time I had come face-to-face with the Leaping Frog. All I can say is that sucker is BIG. The vast array was rather impressive, to say the least. Frogs of two shapes and sizes in a multitude of decoration, ranging from creative and nice to outright astonishing. We helped a man unload his creation, Professor L.M. Fibian, and milled about a bit, examining the works. There was another mosaic frog there, Bjorn Innapond, though assembled using shards rather than tiles. After a short time, we bid our farewells and left.

(LEFT) One Lord a Leaping, still under construction, observes the newcomer.
In the background is apparently The Big Blue Frog.
(RIGHT) Our frog, with others in the distance.


(LEFT) More frogs. Mum stands by Sweet Summer, off to the side.
(RIGHT) Uncle Amphibian, Froggy Bank, and Garden Frog staring towards our frog.
The green stripped frog is Classy Glassy Lady, and that's Cloud Frog of the Black Swamp on the right.


(ABOVE) Ohhh Chees Paaad is visible beyond our frog.
Farewell, sweet frog. May the flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.


See the frog ON DISPLAY!