Mosaic Fiesta 2017

 

A unique creative experience !

I developed my Opus Pixellatum technique in 2015 for my Yezidi Eyes series of mosaics. As I refined it this year I came to realize the huge potential of this technique to create mesmerizing and fascinating pieces.

Many of you having enquired about this I am thinking about organizing next February in Atlanta MOSAIC FIESTA : a fun and exclusive event to share with you my experience with this new innovative technique !

The principle of Opus Pixellatum is simple : From a digital picture I create a model grid. Each cell of this grid contains a number, corresponding to one color of mosaic tiles. You glue this tile on the grid. Once all the cells of the grid are covered, your mosaic is ready to grout. It is complete.

Yezidi 37 - from picture to complete mosaic

This sounds very much like “mosaic by number”. It's not ! Opus Pixellatum allows many many beautiful and dramatic variations and I’ll teach, explain and demonstrate them to you during the event.

 

Practically, we'll take a picture of you (Or you 'll bring one you like) and I'll create a model from it. Saturday morning you will build your mosaic on the model. Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning we will glue it and grout it on its support and you will bring it home with you !

We will use recycled glass tiles only, and there will be no cutting involved.


The event, hosted in a beautiful hotel downtown Atlanta would be all inclusive. Rooms, Food, Instructions, Models, all Mosaic Supplies and Tools will be provided and the cost would be approximately of $1,250 for the 3 days.



My good friend Shelley and I are still at the organizing stage and would really appreciate your input or questions on this project.


Please Please let us know your thoughts by email at frederic.lecut@mosaicblues.com or by phone at (334) 798 1639 

Thank you for your help ! 

Yours in Mosaics ...

Mosaic Fiesta 2017 - A mosaic event by Frederic Lecut, International mosaic artist and Renaissance Man.

Wiregrass Mosaic Project - Troy University

On Sunday October 10, and Thursday October 15, I led 4 free mosaic workshops at Troy University Campus in Dothan. October is a gorgeous month in Alabama, and we were working under a tent graciously installed there for the occasion by the University Staff.

Our goal with this project  is to demonstrate the technical feasibility of community mosaic projects by quilting together a great number of small individual mosaics.

Altogether, about 40 people came to enjoy the cutting and laying of tesserae on a mesh.

We had one 3 hours session on October 10, and three 2 hours sessions on October 15.

There were only 2 patterns proposed for these 2 first sessions.  A Traditional Roman geometric one : 

And a Malta / St Andrew's Cross

We actually spent 9 hours tiling and produced 56 individual brightly coloured 6 x 6" mosaics.

The individual pieces at the Library.

The next stage of the project will be the installation of these pieces on the rectangular table and benches in the park.

After that, we will have more sessions to realize the mosaics needed to cover the Round tables and benches. 

We need your help for the next stages !

If you would like to help and participate, or learn more about this Project, please contact :

• Donna Miller by email at dmiller@troy.edu or by phone at (334) 983 6556 ext 1321, or

• Frederic Lecut (me) by email at frederic.lecut@gmail.com or by phone at (334) 798 1639

 

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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Mosaic Project - TROY University

On Sunday October 10, from 2 to 5 p.m., I will lead the first FREE workshop  of our next Wiregrass Mosaics Project at the Troy University in Dothan. A second workshop will follow on Thursday October 15, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Our goal with this project  is to demonstrate the technical feasibility of community mosaic projects  by quilting together small individual mosaics.

In community mosaic projects, often, one big mosaic is realized by a team of individuals working together on a big mosaic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A group snail mosaic

In our case, individuals will realize their own mosaic, which will later be quilted together to realize a much bigger piece. 

An individual snail mosaic

Once we have demonstrated our technical and organizational ability, we will be in a position to launch bigger projects involving much more people in the Wiregrass Area.

In this first stage, our goal is to cover with mosaics concrete furniture installed behind the Malone Hall. 

They include :

4 round tables & 12 round benches

1 rectangular table & 2 rectangular benches

Only the tops of the tables and benches will be covered with mosaics, the rest of the furniture will be painted.

On October 10 and 15, we will hold 5 workshops of 10 to 15 people each, to realize the individual mosaics. The participants will work from printed designs.

Later in October we will set the mosaics on the furniture.

I have organized similar projects over the past 2 years with the Wiregrass Museum of Art and the Headland Chamber of commerce.

• WMA Workshop, March 2015
• Headland Spring Festival Workshops, May 2015.

In May 2015 at the Headland Spring Festival, 20 small (6 x 6”) mosaics were realized by  children between the age of 7 and 12, some of them with the help of their parents.  We only used black and white ceramic tiles.
 

At Troy participants will mostly be adults: students of the University, and volunteers from the outside.  We will use the same type of ceramic tiles we used in Headland, only  in 10 different colours.

As I explained in an earlier post, I believe Art is the best way to develop creativity in people, because they can immediately see the result of their own creativity; and our world will need creators.

What is also very important is to help people realize what they can do as a group. Here, every individual makes a little mosaic, that little mosaic may not look very fancy by itself...

… But when you put side by side in an harmonious way all these little pieces, you get an amazing result.

 

This is why I like the concept of individual mosaics rather than having a group working on one big piece. In a group, the less assertive individuals might not be able to express themselves.


These workshops are open to students and teachers of Troy University AND  to the general public.

We would love to have you come join us, participate, and learn how to do these mosaics.

I will need much more participants for our 2016 projects, and am hoping to train people needed to lead small mosaic teams.

You need however, to REGISTER to participate so we can properly plan the workshops.



 
To Register and/or for more information, please contact :

• Donna Miller by email at dmiller@troy.edu or by phone at (334) 983 6556 ext 1321, or

• Frederic Lecut (me) by email at frederic.lecut@gmail.com or by phone at (334) 798 1639

 See you in October !

Creative Minds

Last Thursday July 9, I received the visit of 17 kids from Creative Minds Learning Center accompanied by their charming instructors ! 

Some of these kids had participated in our Spring Festival Mosaic Workshop.

I had invited their instructors Christy and Tina to bring them to my shop so they could see what a real mosaic studio could look like. 

I am not sure what they will best remember  of their visit between the figs eaten from the tree, petting the dogs, talking to  the chickens, 

... and the actual visit and explanations inside the mosaic studio.

What is important is that they had a great time ! 

I strongly believe that artists should give back to the communities that support them. No one is an island. without patrons or a market to sustain them, artists and other entrepreneurs would not succeed. 

As I explained in an earlier post, Art is the best way to develop creativity in young people, because they can immediately see the result of their own creativity; and our world will need creators. 

As I am little by little progressing in this artistic career with the support of patrons and clients, I intend to spend more time sharing my abilities with people around me. 

If you have suggestions or ideas about what could be done, or if you would like to participate, please contact me. 

I have quite a few projects in mind and will need help and support. 

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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Touching mosaics

One very distinctive characteristics of mosaics versus other media, is that you can touch them. 

If you get in a museum, you cannot touch, actually, you often have people here to prevent you from touching. 

It is understandable, because no painting could be touched by hundreds of people without being destroyed. 

However, when it comes to children, they really need to touch things to fully REALIZE what stands in front of them. For Kids, seeing is not enough.

On June 19, 2015, we unveiled in Headland, Alabama a mosaic made by a group of 20 children. During the workshop, each kids had built a small mosaic with black and white tiles.

Individual mosaics

Later on, I had assembled the mosaics on one only panel. 

The Final Panel

Some of the kids who attended the presentation had not been involved with building. They really loved the final result, but what really was important to them was to be able to touch the final piece, and one small piece leftover from the workshop (I had a total of 21 pieces, and the final panel included 20 pieces).

I really love this picture...

This is a very important point in favour of mosaics as an art media for children. The tactile aspect is very important, this is how they best relate to their environment...

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

If you are interested by my work, my classes 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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Spring Mosaic Workshops - Part I

I will be leading 2 Mosaic workshops at the Wiregrass Museum of Art this coming Friday, March 27. The theme of these workshop will be the Solomon Knot, an ancient pattern often met and used in traditional Roman mosaic. 

Aquileia Basilica, Italy.

Classes will be: 

9 am - 11 am : Kids Class: ages 7 to 13 (children must be accompanied by an adult). Class limited to 15 children.

Each kid will realize a 6 x 6" Solomon knot mosaic according to one of the two patterns below (There will be 7 kits of one pattern and 8 of the other pattern)

6 x 6" Solomon knot - Pattern #1

and 

6 x 6" Solomon knot - Pattern #2

1 pm - 4 pm : Teen & Adult Class: ages 14 – adult. 

Class limited to 10 students, Each student will realize a 10 x 10" Solomon knot mosaic according to one of two patterns (There will be 5 kits of each pattern)

10 x 10" Solomon knot - Pattern #1

10 x 10" Solomon knot - Pattern #2

Pieces will be ready for pick up from the Museum on Saturday afternoon.

For Information and Registration, please contact the Wiregrass Museum of Art (334)-794-3871

I am a modern mosaic artist inspired by the Arts of Classical Rome and French and Italian Renaissance. I design and realize my mosaics in Headland, Alabama, and St Valery sur Somme, France. I hope this kind of action can help young people realize they too can be creative and that art is not some far away thing, only accessible in Museums but that they too can be artists and enjoy it.

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You can also see more of my work at mosaicblues.com.

Lightweight Mosaic !

In June 2014, I delivered in Normandy a mosaic commissioned by long time friend. 

Mariam's eyes, 21 x 39" (53 x 119 cm) , made of stones, ceramics and glasses tiles, weighs 65 lb (31 kg) and bringing her to France with me was a challenging task. 

You see, mosaics last for one reason : They are built of heavy, fireproof materials : stone, glasses, ceramics, embedded in heavier concrete based materials supported by fibers reinforced concrete panels...

The weight of the actual tiles that compose a mosaic is between 35 and 45 % of the total weight of the completed mosaic. In the case of Mariam's eyes, the weight of the tiles was 22 lb. (10 kg)

When I took her to France with me, I carried 43 lb (20 kg) of concrete in my bag, and paid a hefty price for it. 

While I was making Mariam's eyes, I also made Miriam's. 

I made Miriam on a fiberglass mesh. She was an experiment. I wanted to test the feasibility to prefab a mosaic on a very light support, to possibly transport such piece without all the concrete involved.

Mission accomplished, I had to deal with a few technical problems and hungry rodents, but when completed, ready to be mounted, Miriam weighed 22 lb.

Such piece, however, is fragile and  I now had to figure out how to safely ship it and mount it in a foreign country. 

Which I'll address very soon in the next episode of this newsletter ! (Subscribe to it, Share it !)

Miriam's Eyes (to the Right) is Mariam's Twin Sister and is available for sale.

Beautify your life with one of classy mosaic piece from mosaicblues. Purchase an existing mosaic or commission a portrait, a decorative panel, a kitchen backsplash, a shower... 

Together we will design the perfect piece fitted to your home's or business' unique style. 

Or if you simply would like to discuss the wonderful art of modern and ancient mosaics, please contact me by email at frederic.lecut@gmail.com or by phone at (334) 798 1639.

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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.

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