I need your Advice !

4 little squares is a piece I design to illustrate variations of the reverse and direct methods of mosaic. 

I made 4 small mosaics of similar pattern, and will arrange them on a background made of old oak pallet boards. 

Below are 5 pictures of possible arrangements

Arrangement # 1

Arrangement # 2

Arrangement # 3

Arrangement # 4

Arrangement # 5

Please comment :

Which one of them 

do you like 

the best ?

 

Fall Foliage

Fall Foliage is a mosaic commissioned by my friend Becky. She is a gardener, and loves to have breakfast on her deck, enjoying the sight and smells of her plantations.

Fall foliage will be mounted directly on her kitchen wall.

I decided to realize the piece with materials of the same thickness : glasses and mirrors mounted on a fiberglass mesh, according to the direct method. This technique allows for a very light mosaic.

Today I would like to share with you the moment when I separate the mosaic from its support.

Although the moment is not as exciting as the flipping of a reverse order mosaic, it is still an interesting time ! 

In the Direct Method, I use a non water soluble glue,  which adheres much stronger to the support. (You can hear the noise of the mesh getting separated from the plastified support).

Once the piece complete and installed, I'll create a specific post showing the various stages of realization, from design to final and installed product.

You dreamed of a unique decoration for your home, kitchen, bathroom, dining room or garden, or would just want to learn more about my work or the techniques of mosaic ? 

Call (334) 798 1639 or email me at 

frederic.lecut@gmail.com.

We will work together to make your dream come true, or simply chat about the wonders of the ancient musive art!

Attention les Yeux !

"Attention les Yeux" - is French for "Protect your Eyes".

You'll use this expression to warn people that they are going to see something so beautiful and remarkable that their eyes might be hurt by such sight !

As I finally completed my Fall Foliage mosaic, my work benches are now available for new projects. I will create 2 Mariam's Eyes mosaics. One to be delivered in France next June, and the mirror image of it which I will build using an experimental method. More about this later. 

Veiled Black and White is 40 % complete

Sean's Eyes are waiting for a frame and grout.

Lots of EYES can be SEEN at Mosaicblues.

I dreamed of a Show dedicated to  mosaic eyes, I would call it "Attention les Yeux".

If you have contacts who could help make this possible, of would like to help yourself, please contact me at (334) 798 1639 or by email at frederic.lecut@gmail.com.

Romance, the Inspiration behind my Mosaic Eyes

Strange sometimes how inspiration comes up... Here is how I started to my Eyes Mosaics series...

Eye Miniatures or Lovers' Eyes are miniature portraits, usually watercolour on ivory, of the eye or eyes of a loved one or child. They date primarily from late 18th through early 19th century England. Lovers' Eyes were usually commissioned for sentimental reasons and could be worn as bracelets, brooches, pendants or rings, serving the same emotional need as lockets hiding portraits or locks of hair.

They are believed to have originated in 1784 when Britain’s young Prince of Wales fell in love with Maria Fitzherbert, a Catholic widow. Although he was forbidden to marry her, he still pursued her. She rejected his advances and fled to the France where she intended to remain until his feelings would subside. They did not. He wrote to Maria a proposal of marriage, sending along with it a small portrait of his own eye. Impressed by this intimate token of affection Maria returned, and the two wed in a secret ceremony. Later she commissioned the same miniature portraitist to paint for her new husband a tiny portrait of her eye. Thus began an aristocratic trend - which would last for several decades - for exchanging eye portraits.

When my good friend Joe Byers told me the story of these eyes, the Frenchman in me found the idea absolutely so delightful and romantic.. 

Do you realize that each one of these eyes actually belonged to an actual person and that there is probably a secret history of hidden love behind each one of them ? This leaves room for so much imagination !

And so, this inspired me to create Green Eyes, my first mosaic eyes portrait.

Green Eyes - 2011. Marbles, Granite, Mirrors, irridized glass. 13 x 26" . Sold

Since 2010 I have produced 8 large mosaic eye portraits and I am presently working on 3 more. These beautiful pieces are realized according to the reverse method which allows for the use of materials of different thickness such as marbles, granites, ceramics, glasses and mirrors. 

The Afghan Girl's Eyes, 2012, ceramic, marbles, granite mirrors, irridized glasses - 14 x 36". Sold

If you would like to commission an eye portrait of one of your loved one, inquire about the ongoing eyes projects, or simply get in touch, please contact me by email at frederic.lecut@gmail.com or by phone at (334) 798 1639.

More of my Mosaic Eyes are displayed in my Portraits gallery.

Don't Mess with Dyonisos - or the Birth of a Passion

When Thracian King Lycurgus - whose name means : “The one who keeps the wolves away” -  heard that the God of Wine Dionysos was in his kingdom, he decided to attack him. As he tried to kill Ambrosia, one of the followers of the God, she became a vine that twined around the enraged king and restrained him, eventually killing him.

In 1967, in Saint Romain en Gal, a small city 30 km south of Lyon, France, excavations the building site of the new town High School revealed the existence of a Gallo-Roman city. A remarkable find it was indeed ! For years archaeologists and historians believed a Roman settlement had existed on the west bank of the Rhone river, but what they found there was a full size town.

In July of that year – I was 10 – my mother took me to the site were the actual archaeologists were working. We spent several hours of visits – the guide was one of the archaeologists, he was passionate and showed and explained to us houses, temple, theaters...

That very day, I had my first encounter with Roman mosaics. The most beautiful of the pieces found in Saint Romain was a depiction of Lycurgus being smothered by the vine.

Love at first sight...

Life being what happens to you when you plan differently, it took me about 37 years of various endeavours over 3 continents before I could go back to my childhood love.

Although I create different styles of mosaics, I still have a little extra fondness for Classical Roman style.

Last December I delivered in France a very classical piece named “Ubi tu Gaius”.

The classical “Ubi tu Gaius, Ego Gaia” meaning “Where and whenever you are Gaius, I'll be Gaia”was a marriage vow – the wife would pronounce it, and the husband would answer : “Ubi tu Gaia, Ego Gaius”, the reciprocal.

Ubi tu Gaius was a commission – a birthday present to his wife by a loving husband. It was built using the reverse method which allows the use of materials of different thickness and is made of ceramic, travertine and black granite.

If you are like me a lover of everything Roman, and would enjoy a very unique – and almost indestructible -  piece of Art for your home or garden, a mural or a floor mosaic, you can contact me by email at frederic.lecut@gmail.com or by phone at (334) 798 1639.  Together we will discuss your goals and wishes, come up with a design, and I will make your dream come true.

If your preferences are in more contenporary styles, please check my other pieces on my website mosaicblues. 

How to video : Lay your tesserae - Reverse method.

In this short video I demonstrate how to lay your tesserae.  (the little blocks of stones we learned how to make in the 2 previous videos)

We are using the reverse method here: the tesserae's shiny polished face is glued to the model, upside down. so what we see while building the mosaic is actually a mirror image of the final mosaic.

Once all the tesserae are placed, a rigid support is glued with thinset mortar on top of them and left it to set for 36 hours minimum. Then the whole thing is flipped, and the model removed from the top; there appears the final mosaic for the first time ! This will be the object of future videos. 

With a special appearance of Mugen, great destroyers of foxes, grand destructeurs des renards.

Music by the Mokurai Roosters

I've been taking my shower with Sean Connery for the past 3 weeks...

Let me explain...

I build most of my mosaics upside down, this is what us mosaists call the reverse method. Once all tesserae have been laid on the model and a support glued on top of them, you flip the mosaic and before you can further finish it.  Then you have to - painstakingly - remove the glue used to set the tesserae on the model. I tried different ways, but finally figured out the easiest way was to do this in my shower...

I am building a collection of Mosaic Eyes - Eyes are the first thing most of us consider when we first meet a person.

Apparently, nobody has ever done this, at least in mosaics. My good friend Joe Byers - a Viking shipwrecked in Pensacola, FL, told me that during the Italian Renaissance a famous painter specialized in eyes portraying.

Wealthy patrons would ask him to paint the eyes of a person they loved, who they should not have loved... They would keep the portrait in their office, knowing who these eyes belonged to, while visitors could only wonder...

I find it a beautiful idea. I researched it, for reference, but could not find the source. if you know about it, please let me in the dirty little secret !

Since 2010 I have created a few eyes portrait. Two of them are now displayed in the collection of the Alabama College of Osteopathic medicine and one of them shipped in November to Dubai and has now been sold to a collector in Pakistan.

Today, I would like to share with you the magic of unveiling a mosaic. This one is a portrait of James Bond's eyes - Sir Sean Connery.

I have explained before how I use the Reverse method for most of my work. In this method, you build your mosaic upside down and you do not really see it before you flip it.

So it is really a magic moment. Every time I come to this point, I hold my breath ! What is this going to look like ? 

I have never been disappointed so far ! 

And I believe like every sensible person does that Sean Connery is the one and only James Bond ! 

You can see some of my EYES MOSAICS on my Website Mosaicblues. If you would like to commission a Mosaic Eye Portrait of a person of your choice, please contact me by email at frederic.lecut@gmail.com, or by phone at (334) 798 1639.