Community Mosaic Workshop

Our goal was to get a number of kids together to realize a mosaic at the Wiregrass Museum of Art in Dothan, Alabama.

The design is a traditional decorative pattern used in many Roman mosaics, usually as a border for more figurative parts. It is generally called a "guilloche". You can see below an example of Guilloche around a hunting scene on a Roman Mosaic.

 

Roman mosaic : Hunting Scene with Guilloche Border.

The artwork is  60 x 18" (1.5 x 0.5 m) in size and contains about 1,500 ceramic tile pieces (tesserae). All the preparation was done beforehand so that children could take part in the workshop by sticking the pieces down to the board (the direct method).

I first designed the pattern on a piece of backing board.

Only basic drawing tools are needed : Pencil, Permanent Marker, Eraser, Compass, Ruler.

Once the drawing complete, I cut the backing board to the final dimensioin of the mosaic and mounted it on a wooden frame to increase its rigidity. 

Here you can see the 5 colors of tiles used on this project.

I had glued a few tiles onto the board so people would know which color tile was going where. (Some still did not get it though...)

I had precut all tiles to fit the dimensions of the drawing.

I brought the board, tiles and a few tools from my workshop to the Museum. We had planned to work outside. However heavy rain was threatening and we moved the workshop inside.

The tiles were glued to the board using a regular white tile glue. The setting time is around 1 hour.

I had to adjust the cut of some tesserae. I had brought a diamond blade saw which was really to noisy inside the room. So that I finally only used the nippers. 

We had some very focussed participants...

And Sticky Fingers...

Not only did the kids enjoy it !

But their parents also got their fingers dirty !
Et voila !

It took a little less than 3 hours to complete the work. Several families participated, children and parents had a great time. 

I took the piece back to my workshop to grout it. I waited several days to clean up the glue. That was  mistake, it had seriously hardened and it took lots of time and energy to remove it. 

Make sure the glue is removed during the actual laying of the tesserae. It is very easy to wipe it out with a wet sponge or rag before it dries up, after that, it sticks very strongly to everything !

The Mosaic in display at the Wiregrass Museum of Art

If you are interested in my work, would like to acquire an existing piece or commission a mosaic, or if you would simply like to learn more and about mosaic, please contact me by email at frederic.lecut@gmail.com , or by phone at (334) 798 1639.

You can also 

SUBSCRIBE to my

NEWSLETTER

The Maze of Mosaics

On March 19, 2014, I had the pleasure to give a lecture about the building of the Nativity Labyrinth at the Wiregrass Museum of Art.

In 2004, by an unusual concourse of circumstances, I began building a 42 foot diameter Labyrinth in the cloister of the Church of the Nativity in Dothan, AL.

The Labyrinth is a very ancient symbol. Bronze Age engravings from around 4000 BC are reminiscent of it. Today's labyrinth are used as meditation and prayer path by spiritual seekers and as playground by children.

It took 14 month to complete the work. A great number of stones had to be cut and laid... This long lasting effort triggered something in me; inside and outside.

While working at this project, I met in France Jean Pierre Soalhat. His amazing mosaic work impressed me enormously. 

I decided to give a try at mosaics.

One of the first pieces I produced was a table inspired by the Labyrinth of the Chartres Cathedral.

The rest is history... Over the past 10 years I have greatly improved my technique and produced very different pieces. My first love however is still the Classical Roman style...

More of my mosaics can seen on my website mosaicblues. Some of my work is available for sale. I also work on commission. Together we will design your dream piece. A table, a mural, a floor piece which you and your family will enjoy for a very long time... 

If you would like to discuss the building of a labyrinth or commission a mosaic, please contact me at frederic.lecut@gmail.com. 

Packing a mosaic for shipment.

Last December I shipped Green Eyes to Dubai. 

As I wanted to make sure it would arrive intact I decided to handle the crating myself...

The material I used was : 

• 2" x 4" x 8' yellow pine.
• 1/2" pine plywood.
• Light blue foam insulation (4 x 8' sheet).
• Grey Foam Pipe Insulation.
• Painter's tap.
• 3" nails (to assemble the 2 x 4 frame).
• 1 1/2" screws.

Tools : 

• Electric Circular saw
• Hammer.
• Electric screwdriver
• Carpet knife (to cut the foam)

I built a wooden crate 5" wider and longer and 2" higher (inside) than the mosaic. For the sides I used 2" x 4" pine lumber, for the top and bottom I used 1/2" plywood. 

At the bottom of the crate I placed a piece of 1/2" insulation foam - purchased from Lowes or Home depot.

I placed 3/4" pipe insulation foam around the mosaic frame.

Then added more blue insulation on top of the piece and on its bottom. I held everything together with painter's tape.

Placed the piece inside the crate, and inserted additional blue foam shims between the crate walls and the piece itself.

I added one layer of blue foam on top of the piece.

Then I screwed the plywood on top of the crate.

Screws are safer than nails. They hold things together much more securely. They are also much easier to remove with a screwdriver than nails would be with a pry bar, and this allows for the crate to be recycled for further transportation.

Green Eyes arrived  in perfect shape.

The cost of materials for this crate was $ 67.00, and I had some material leftover.