Le Grenadier

While I am devoting lots of time and energy to my Kickstarter campaign, I am not neglecting actual mosaic work ! 

I am presently working on 3 projects. One pair of eyes (a rather famous guy), a community project in partnership with Troy University in Dothan, and a bigger edition of my Pomegranate Tree presently in France. 

All of this is very exciting for a number of reasons, but tonight I wanted to introduce my "Grenadier" (this is French for Pomegranate...)

Most of you have seen this first Pomegranate Tree,  all made of glass, I built it on mesh in Alabama and assembled it in my French Studio last July. 

Is this a beauty or what ?

However, I believe the next Grenadier will be even more beautiful, and I'll tell you why : 

• I just brought back from France with me some really gorgeous tiles. 
• I added two alchemical Sun and Moon at the top corners of the tree  !

Can you see the joy in these golds and orangey yellows I purchased from my friends at Championnet Carrelages ! This, my friends, is going to be gorgeous. 

Please let me know how you feel about it !

If all goes well, Grenadier will be available in December 2015, a fantastic Christmas Present don't you think ?

I am a modern mosaic artist with a deep admiration for ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine Arts. You can see my own mosaics on my site at mosaicblues.

 

If you are interested by this piece or my work in general 

or if you would simply like to drop me a line, please 

contact me by email at frederic.lecut@gmail.com  

or by phone at (334) 798 1639. 

 

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Flying with Mosaics

Although my last mosaics are lighter than they were 5 years ago, they still are 5 to 10 times heavier than a painting of the same dimension. 

This may be why galleries do not like mosaics very much: they find them harder to hang on a wall. Actually, there are now easy ways to hand heavy loads on any kind of walls, at a reasonable cost. I'll review these methods in a next post.

An other negative aspect of a mosaic's weight is  Shipping...

Over the past 2 years, I have sold 4 mosaics in France. Shipping them would have been very expensive, so I simply travelled with them. I carried an extra piece of luggage with my mosaics in it.

As long as you keep the total of added dimensions under 64" (160 cm) and the weight under 50 lb (23 kg, it costs $100.00 for one additional suitcase on a transatlantic flight. 

I have reduced the weight by 70 % by building my mosaics on fiberglass mesh. All that travels with me are the Tesserae glued on a very light mesh. No concrete, no backing board. I now have in France a small studio where I mount my mosaics on their final support and frame them.

Mosaicblues French Studio, Dec 2014

The important point is to pack them very carefully. 

Here are the 4 pieces flying to France with me mid-July 2015.

From top to bottom and left to right : 2 Green Eyes Girls, Carlotta, and the Pomegranate Tree. These 4 pieces are reverse method, so what you are now seeing are their backs. 

I built a wooden crate / suitcase for them. The contour of the crate was made of 3/4 " (19mm) yellow pine wood, the sides of 1/4" (6 mm) plywood, reinforced with fiberglass mesh. 

I placed a sheet of 1/2" (12 mm) insulation foam at the bottom and placed "Carlotta", sandwiched inside an envelope of tar paper on top of the foam.

I slightly sprayed the mosaic with water to increase its flexibility and I placed an other layer of 1/2" foam on top of Carlotta.

I then installed "Pomegranate Tree" on top, also wrapped in tar paper.

Covered it with more insulation...

I placed the 2 Green eyes Girls over this. 

And covered them with another foam sheet. 

I have some space left, which I'll use for various goodies to bring back home (Mexican Chorizzo among other things...)

Next Month I'll tell you more about each one of these pieces coming with me to France...
 

I am a modern mosaic artist with a deep admiration for ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine Arts. You can see my own mosaics on my site at mosaicblues. 

If you are interested by my work or would like to drop me a line please contact me by email at frederic.lecut@gmail.com or by phone at (334) 798 1639. 

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Pomegranates, le 8 Mai !

Today is the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. I just wanted to say it. A great number of people died on all sides. A lot of blood and tears were shed. We should remember and honour their lives and death.

My Pomegranate tree is progressing... Yesterday, I completed its blue background. Just this very background took a full 15 hours of work... Very tedious, but well worth the pain ! 

So the main pattern - the Tree itself, is complete. Truth is, the piece is not complete ! I still have to enhance it with the outside border of the niche: a floral vine with green leaves and branches, and red and cream flowers. 

 

The background of this vine will be of-white, contrasting beautifully with the blue background of the Tree.

Pomegranate should be complete in June, and flying to France later this summer.

I am a modern mosaic artist with a deep admiration for ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine Arts. You can see my own mosaics on my site at mosaicblues. 

If you are interested by my work or would like to drop me a line please contact me by email at frederic.lecut@gmail.com or by phone at (334) 798 1639. 

You can also 

 

(and I recommend it !)

SUBSCRIBE to my

NEWSLETTER

Pomegranate

Work in Process : The Pomegranate Tree, April 26, 2015

I love pomegranates so much I planted five of them trees in my garden ! Not only are they delicious, Pomegranates are also is laden with mythological symbolism.

The Greek Goddess Persephone (Roman Proserpine)  got in trouble because she ate some why in Hades where the evil Pluto had taken her !

Proserpine by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

The Pomegranate mosaic is 22 x 24" (55 x 60 cm), made entirely of glass, it is inspired by a 13th century Persian Manuscript. 

Original Persian Manuscript

  

Pomegranate should be available in June 2015. 

Detail of Pomegranate - April 26, 2015

I am a modern mosaic artist with a deep admiration for ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine Arts. I share my passion in my newsletter, as well as the work of other more modern mosaicists working with traditional or non-traditional media.

You can see my own mosaics on my site at mosaicblues  If you are interested by my work or would like to drop me a line please contact me by email at frederic.lecut@gmail.com or by phone at (334) 798 1639. 

You can also

SUBSCRIBE to my

NEWSLETTER