MosaicBlues .entry-content { font-size:25px !important; }

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

July 2012 Work in Process


Exclusive preview : The Eyes of Maribel



The Original - do you recognize her ? Maribel is Spanish...

The Maribel Mosaic being laid in my Headland workshop. I am using the Indirect method, which I like so much better. Even if it is a little more demanding, it allows such a better finish.



When completed, Maribel will be around 42 x 14" She is made of 2 different black granites, glasses and about 8 different nuances of ceramics, with a very few mirror tesserae also....

Stay tuned, if everything goes well, I should complete the laying by the end of next week and flip her next week...



ps : Also on its way this month : the Amazing Amazon Torso... Featuring Zoya the High energy Cat...




Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Quetzal at the 2012 Biennial of the WMA

Quetzal has been selected to be displayed during the 2012 Biennial event organized in July 2012 by the Wiregrass Museum of Art in Dothan, Alabama.




Quetzal was inspired by a Art Deco leather book cover. The original piece was a "Marquetterie" - where leather strips of various colors were inlaid in the main red piece. Quetzal measures 18 x 25" (45 x 63 cm). Quetzal's materials are stained terracotta, irridized glasses and gilded mirrors.





The Replendent Questzal is the national bird of Guatemala. It's name comes from the Nahuatl "quetzalli" and means "Large Brilliant Tail Feather"...



Sunday, June 10, 2012

The Afghan Girl

You know her. Her name is Sharbhat Gula - she is a Pashtun and she lives in Afghanistan.



In 1985, she made the cover of National Geographic. Her picture was taken in a Pakistani refugee camp where she was in 1984. Her parents had been killed by the Russian bombs.



Her face became a world icon...

The Afghan Girl's eyes is 14 x 28".  It is made of glasses, granite, mirror and ceramics.

I am presently working on a series of eyes. Eyes do not lie, they are the first thing we look at when we meet a person for the first time. I have already published "Green Eyes".

After the Afghan Girl will come Maribel, Eva and the Tuareg Lady...

Stay with me !



Wednesday, May 16, 2012

The Kids Mosaic

I delivered last week my last piece : a portrait of 2 happy children. It was a commission - a present for Mother's Day. It was simply the best portrait I have made so far. I had been able to find more nuances of greys for this one, than I had used in the previous ones, and just one nuance makes a difference.

Now in this post I would like to show you how I work from an original picture to the design that I will actually use to lay the tiles :



Above is the original picture I received from the father of these children.


This is the same picture, cropped to only keep the faces, and edited to a limited number of nuances of greys.


On this version, not too different from the previous one, I added the back ground to show my client what the final result would look like.

 
Basically, from the time I receive a picture, and the time I can start laying the tiles, there are between 5 to 7 hours of computer manipulation, manual drawing and printing.


And this is a shot of the piece being made. You can see that I work on the mirror image of the previous picture. This is the technique of the Indirecte Pose, which is a little mode delicate to use than the direct pose, but gives - in my opinion - so much better results that it is well worth the effort.




And here is the final result... 


The frame, which does not appear on this picture, is a simple 1 x 1/2" board, of a dark cherry color, which contrast beautifully with green and blue irridized background.

The Kids Mosaic measures 24 x 24" (60 x 60 cm).

I only employed glass material for it - which makes the Kids Mosaic light enough to be displayed on a sheetrock wall - by using an expandable anchor of good quality available in most hardware store.


Avis aux Amateurs... Please contact me if you would like a portrait made of a loved one - It is a unique gift for a birthday, anniversary or any other occasion to celebrate that person, and it is one that will last a long time...



I also will work with you on a payment plan over several month.





Wednesday, May 2, 2012

April Mosaics

I have been working mostly on 2 pieces in April - one is a commission , a portrait of 2 gorgeous children. Because it is also a surprise, you will understand I cannot display it until it has been actually offered to their Mom, on Mother's day  - May 12. 


You will have to wait until that date to be able to see the whole piece.

I can however, show you a piece of the little girls face... 

I do believe it is the best portrait I have produced so far.









The second April piece are the eyes of the Young Afghan Girl. You have seen her face on the cover of National Geographic years ago, she was in a refugee camp in Pakistan when the Russians had invaded Afghanistan, and a photograph took her picture in 1984, which became famous. There is a great intensity in this little girl's eyes.  Years later, the reporter went back and was able to find the grown woman.



Her name is Sharbat Gula, and she is Pashtun.  Her life has been difficult, but she had survived. She now has children of her own.


Here is the last picture of the piece before I flipped her on Sunday, April 29, And am now working  on cleaning it up before I can grout her. The cleaning is a very long and tedious process, as I have to remove any remnants of the glue used to set the tiles on the model. (I am using the reverse method - Indirect pose - on this piece)


The eyes of Shrabat Gula should be ready by mid May...




Sunday, April 29, 2012

MosaicBlues Show at Troy University in Dothan

These are the times and days to visit the MosaicBlues Show at Troy University in Dothan, Alabama. 22 pieces are displayed in the Library : 

Monday-Thursday: 8-9; Friday: 8-12; Saturday: 10-5; Sunday 1-5.

One eye of the Mystery Lady

The Mystery lady - you'll be able to see her at the show, but she cannot be seen on line...


Green eyes - one of your favourites, is also on display at Troy.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

New Pictures - Feb 2012

My friend Joe Byers was here for 2 days to shoot a video for the promotion of MosaicBlues - I had no clue of the amount of labor involved in such an endeavour!
Joe is really gifted with Lighting - as he was shooting the video per se, I shot a few still pictures  - Enjoy...


 Emma...



Yin Yang behind Buddha




Lio...



Christos...