It all started with an email "Frederic, we have this Spring festival on the Headland square in 10 days, do you think you could do a mosaic class for some kids ?"
I was not really thrilled at such a short notice, but when I realized this could be a great opportunity to further test some ideas I had had in the back on my mind for a while, It became much more interesting !
Could I take 20 kids, teach them how to make a mosaic and get a decent result out of it ?
In March, I had already experimented at the Wiregrass Museum of Art, with precut glass tesserae.
Each student had taken home their own mosaic. Now was the time to get people to cut their own tesserae. and to use each individual piece as part of a bigger work.
To make things easier, we would use :
- Ceramic tiles much easier to cut than stone, glass or porcelain;
- 2 only colours : Black and White; and
- 2 only basic designs for everyone to follow.
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| I know, these are white and blue... |
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| I could not get blue tiles ! |
On May 19, we set shop on the Headland Square. We had 2 groups of kids, those of ages 7 to 13 accompanied by their parents, and those over 14 by themselves .
At the end of the (long) day, we had 21 small squares mounted on fiberglass mesh.
I took all of them home to my mosaicblues back yard to put them together on a framed backing board.
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| The Panel before grouting. |
On June 19, we had the grand presentation of the Panel at the Headland Municipal building. Some of the kids who participated in the project were present.
Everyone - that includes the kids themselves - was very impressed by what they had been able to do.
One important thing about mosaic, is that you can touch them, this is very important to children who have a very tactile reference to the world.
I had brought the extra mosaic I had not been able to use for the panel (I only needed 20 and I had 21 pieces) and let the children handle it.
This project was made possible because lots of people pulled together. Rhonda Harrison, Executive director of the Headland Chamber of Commerce, Home Depot who gracefully subsidized most of the material and equipment, and the Headland Police Department who financed the rest of the project.
The mosaic is visible in the main hall of the Headland Municipal building on the Headland square.
What's next ?
Bigger projects - first one will be in partnership with Troy University and should involve 80 to 100 participants, I will keep you posted. Nexts are being presently discussed. I have big dreams ... And I'll need help !
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 !)
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