Mosaic Muses

The Muses (Ancient Greek: Μοῦσαι Mousai; perhaps from the Proto-Indo-European root *men- "think") in Greek mythology are the goddesses of the inspiration of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, song-lyrics, and myths that were related orally for centuries in these ancient cultures. They were later adopted by the Romans as a part of their pantheon.

The Muses, the personification of knowledge and the arts, especially literature, dance and music, are the nine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne (memory personified). Hesiod's account and description of the Muses was the one generally followed by the writers of antiquity. 

It was not until Roman times that the following functions were assigned to them, and even then there was some variation in both their names and their attributes: Calliope (epic poetry), Clio (history), Euterpe (flutes and lyric poetry), Thalia (comedy and pastoral poetry), Melpomene (tragedy), Terpsichore (dance), Erato (love poetry), Polyhymnia (sacred poetry), Urania (astronomy).

Muse	Domain	Emblem
Calliope	Epic Poetry	Writing tablet, Stylus, Lyre
Clio	History	Scrolls, Books, Cornet, Laurel wreath
Euterpe	Music, Song, Ellegiac Poetry	Aulos (an ancient Greek musical instrument like  a flute), panpipes, laurel wreath.
Aerato	Lyric Poetry	Cithara (an ancient Greek musical instrument  in the lyre family)
Melpomene	Tragedy	Tragic mask, Sword (or any kind of blade), Club, Kothornos  (boots)
Polyhymnia	Hymns	Veil, Grapes (referring to her as an agricultural  goddess)
Terpsichore	Dance	Lyre, Plectrum
Thalia	Comedy	Comic mask, Shepherd's crook (the vaudeville  act of pulling someone off the stage with a  hook is a reference to Thalia's crook),  Ivy wreath
Urania	Astronomy	Globe and compass

It is interesting to note that both words "Muse" and "Mosaic" share the same etymology. Medieval Latin "musaicum" literally meant "of the muses" and was used to designate what we later called "mosaic".

And so we know of many mosaics describing them 9 muses. 

A gorgeous Set was discovered in Zeugma, Turkey in 2014.

And an other amazing set in the Island of Rhodes.

And an amazing one was unearthed much more to the North in the Vilage of Viichter close to Luxembourg. 

In a next Post, I'll show you some individual portraits of our 9 Μοῦσαι.

I am a modern mosaic artist with a deep admiration for ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine Arts. You can see some of my own mosaics on my site mosaicblues.

 

If you are interested by my work

or if you 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

SUBSCRIBE to my

NEWSLETTER

to receive regular updates on my present

Yezidi Eyes Mosaic Project, 

and my work in general.

 

 

The mosaics of the Chapel of the Head of Saint John the Baptist

The Russian Orthodox Convent of the Ascension is located in the village of A-Tur on the Mount of Olives. 

The convent is open to the public on limited hours or for organized groups. The place is inhabited by Nuns.

Mount of Olives is the one on the left.

According to Orthodox tradition it is the site where Jesus ascended to heaven 40 days after the resurrection.

The Russian Orthodox convent and church were built in 1870-1887.

A 64 meter high bell tower was designed to symbolize the ascension to heaven. It added a remarkable landmark in the Jerusalem's skyline. It was the first Christian bell to operate in Jerusalem.

 

A chapel behind the church is dedicated to John the Baptist.

On the site of the convent were two 5th Century Armenian churches. One of them was named after John the Baptist. According to tradition his head was found in a jar hidden in a cavity under its floor. Mosaic floors were uncovered during the construction of the convent, and embedded in the chapel's floor.

 

The mosaic include geometric patterns and depicts Holy Land fruits, birds and animals. 

 

An Armenian inscription dedicates it to bishop Jacob who built it.

Embedded in this mosaic floor is a deep cavity, seen in the photo below. 

This hole is sacred, since according to the tradition it was the place where the head of John the Baptist was found in a jar, hidden by one of his followers in the 1st C, and rediscovered in the 5th C.

I am a modern mosaic artist with a deep admiration for ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine Arts. You can see some of my own mosaics on my site mosaicblues.

 

If you are interested by this project or by my work in general 

or if you would simply 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

SUBSCRIBE to my

NEWSLETTER

to receive regular updates on my work

and my other projects.

 

The Mosaics at Tel Aviv Airport

The first thing you see when you arrive at Tel Aviv Airport is a set of 3 huge mosaics above the gate to the Immigration lines ! 

 

On the Left, a magnificent mosaic floor was discovered in a Byzantine structure (5th-6th C AD) in BethLehem of the Galilee  features animals, birds, trees, grapes, and geometric patterns.

 

On the Upper Right a mosaic floor from Beth-Shean was dated to the Byzantine period, 5-6th Century AD. It is decorated with a pattern of green parrots, each bird wearing a ribbon tied around its neck.  

 

 

 

The Greek inscription at the top reads : "Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out." (Deuteronomy 28:6). This text from the Bible is indeed appropriate for welcoming the visitors to the Holy Land.

On the Lower Right, the 6th Century AD mosaic on display comes from Caesarea Maritima. It is lavishly decorated with birds, geometric shapes, animals and trees, and in its center a woman holds a fruit basket. Her Greek name, Kalokeria, is inscribed around the figure and suggests prosperity.

 

 

 

 

I am a modern mosaic artist with a deep admiration for ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine Arts. You can see some of my own mosaics on my site mosaicblues.

 

If you are interested by my work

or if you 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

SUBSCRIBE to my

NEWSLETTER

to receive regular updates on my present

Yezidi Eyes Mosaic Project, 

and my other projects.

 

Yezidi 021 - All tiles laid

I completed this week end the laying of the black and white tesserae of Yezidi 021. This mosaic is part of a set of Yezidi Kids Eyes I am creating to raise awareness of the suffering of Yezidi Children persecuted in Iraq and Syria.

I am still to lay some different colours tiles for the border. I will do this in January, for I should find some really cool tiles in Europe for this ! 

Now, because I am using a different technique for these sets of eyes, I perfectly know the number of tiles I have used on this piece. And so I have a question for you :  

How many tiles did I use to create this mosaic ?

Answer Next January...

I am a modern mosaic artist with a deep admiration for ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine Arts. You can see some of my own mosaics on my site mosaicblues.

 

If you are interested by this project or by my work in general 

or if you would simply 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

SUBSCRIBE to my

NEWSLETTER

to receive regular updates on 

these Yezidi Eyes Mosaics  
& my other projects.

Mosaic Portaits

Although I create lots of eyes mosaics, I also do full face portraits. my last two were portraits of 2 young talented musician sisters. 

 

Luana on the left plays the Piano, Charlotte on the right plays the Cello 

In Luana's portrait, I was inspired by the "Primavera" painting of Sandro Boticelli. 

I realized Charlotte's in a more Classical Roman style by using a "Guilloche" border, as the one used in this Dionysos Mosaic from Lybia

These pieces had to be delivered in France. I built both of them on a fiberglass mesh and took them with me in a wooden crate. I then completed them in my small studio above the gorgeous Baie de Somme.

St Valery sur Somme

A few times every year I create custom mosaics for my collectors. They often, but not always, are portraits. 

If you were interested in a commission, here is how things typically happen :

• You send me a picture of the space or area where you would like the mosaic.
• You share your idea of what you want.
• I create and share with you a draft drawing or computer rendering of the mosaic, complete in context so you can see it in your space, and you can offer feedback.
• Once we agree on the project, you pay a 60% deposit and I go to work.
• I deliver and install the mosaic in your space and show you how to care for it.

For more information, please contact me 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 some of my own mosaics on my site mosaicblues.

 

If you are interested by my work in general 

or would simply 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

SUBSCRIBE to my

NEWSLETTER

 

If you liked this post, please share it with your friends, if you did not like it, feel free to share it with your enemies...

Yezidis 011 and 021

There are a few things I really do not like. Child abuse is one of them. And so child abuse on a large scale, such as what the Yezidis children is something that deeply saddens me. And I do not like what is happening to the Yezidis women who are systematically raped and sold in slavery by their captors eager to go back to their interpretation of the Arabian 7th century society.

I cannot fix greed, hatred and stupidity, but I can try to help. 

I already have created one portrait of one of these children. This portrait is at the welding shop right now to get its frame made, and I will publish it once it is complete, but you can get some idea from my November 12 post "Yezidi Eyes"

I am presently working on two more portraits. 

Here are the models : 

A little girl

Yezidi 011

And a young boy.

Yezidi 021

I am realizing these mosaics according to a new and very unique method. To my knowledge, nobody ever made mosaics this way. The mosaics are realized in black and white, using only tiny glass tiles of various shades of grey.


The result is unique and stunning, as you will see it very soon once the first piece comes back from the shop. 

For the time being here are 2 pictures taken on Dec 4. As you can see, I am working in a very different way from the usual.

Yezidi 011- December 4.

It is however, a reverse method on mesh similar as what I have done for my last Pomegranate Tree. At the time I am writing (Dec 7) I have progressed some more, but have had to stop for I am waiting for a shipment of tiles ! 

Yezidi 021, Dec 4.

These kids were able to escape the persecution. They are now hosted in camps in Turkey and Iraq, financed by the Free Yezidi Foundation.

My goal is to auction these mosaics sometimes in the spring to raise money to help the foundation. I will donate 50 % of the profit of the auction to this cause.  

I have no idea of the way to organize this, so if you like this project and would like to help or participate, please let me know at frederic.lecut@gmail.com, or call me at (334) 798 1639.

 

I am a modern mosaic artist with a deep admiration for ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine Arts. You can see some of my own mosaics on my site mosaicblues.

 

If you are interested by this project or by my work in general 

or if you would simply 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

SUBSCRIBE to my

NEWSLETTER

to receive regular updates on this

Yezidi Eyes Mosaic Project, 

and my other projects.

 

Delivery !

2 weeks ago I drove from Alabama to Pennsylvania, 16 hours, mostly under  heavy rain...

Riding with me in the car was our Miura Hanshi Mosaic, a piece I was able to build thanks to generous contributions of people who backed my Kickstarter campaign. 

The Miura Hanshi mosaic was presented to Carl Long Hanshi, head instructor of the KNBK, an organization dedicated to the transmission of several traditional Japanese Martial Arts. 

Miura Hanshi was the 19th generation grandmaster in direct line from the founder of one of these arts. The presentation occurred in front of 60 Martial Artists gathered to train together in the Arts Miura Hanshi dedicated his life to transmit to us. 

The Miura Hanshi mosaic was built following the reverse method. It is made of 3 different black granites, ceramic and glass tiles. Its dimensions are 24 x 30" (60 x 75 cm).

I am a modern mosaic artist with a deep admiration for ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine Arts. You can see some of my own mosaics on my site mosaicblues.

 

A few times each year, I take on commission work.

If you are interested by a custom mosaic, 

portrait or an other decorative piece,
please contact me 

by email at frederic.lecut@gmail.com  

or 

by phone at (334) 798 1639. 

   You can also

SUBSCRIBE to my Newsletter

to receive regular updates on the world and techniques

of mosaics in general and on my other projects.