Blog

Discovery, History & Archeology

Cone mosaics are the oldest known mosaics in the world They were used in Southern Mesopotamia (present day Iraq) to decorate monumental raw mud-brick Palaces and Temples built between 3500 and 3000 BC. Baked clay cones for tesserae, plaster as thinset. Cone mosaics were built with small cones made of…

Volubilis mosaics – Part Deux

25 March 2021

Design & Services, History & Archeology, How to Mosaic

In 2017, I started to travel to see mosaic I had been dreaming of for many years. Twice a year I would go back to Europe and then go to Spain, Portugal, Germany… You realize of course that almost wherever you can find Roman mosaics, there you’ll also find good…

Mosaic models : how to line up things

17 March 2021

Design & Services, How to Mosaic

Accuracy in mosaic models In the same way you do not build houses without blueprints, you should not build mosaics without a mosaic models. Accurate ones… Some brilliant people may be able to create amazing mosaics without models. I am not one of them. Some houses collapse, some mosaics turn…

The Aquitaine school of mosaics

1 March 2021

History & Archeology, Trips & Visits

Roman mosaics of Southwestern France The Aquitaine school of mosaics refers to a regional mosaic style followed by itinerant teams of mosaicists during the 4th and 5th century. Its regional center was located in Gallia Aquitania. Gallia Aquitania, 125 AD A distinctive and evolutive style The style of this Aquitaine…

Mosaic modules

20 February 2021

History & Archeology, How to Mosaic, Process

Modular mosaics Techniques commonly used in digital drawing can be used in mosaic building. You can produce and use mosaic modules in a manner very similar to this Copy & Paste digital technique. And you can later assemble these modules to complete a bigger piece. This is true for geometric…

Mosaic Models

15 February 2021

Design & Services, Frederic Lecut's Mosaics, Life around the Studio, Unclassified, Works in Process

You can’t build mosaics ? Draw mosaic models ! MosaicBlues moves to France After 30 years in Alabama, I decided to move back to France. there are many reasons for this move, but my granddaughter Rose is the most important ! Rose ! And then of course there are also…

The Nika Riots

13 January 2021

History & Archeology

Those who don’t know history are doomed to see it repeated. A little thread about the deadly Nika riots illustrated with mosaics… The Nika Riots : 6th century hooliganism The Nika riots took place against Emperor Justinian I in Constantinople over the course of a week in 532 AD. Constantinople…

Mosaic of the Greek Philosophers, Autun_Anacreon

The Mosaic of the Greek Philosophers in Autun

19 December 2020

History & Archeology, Resources, Trips & Visits

The astonishing 2nd century mosaic of the Greek Philosophers was discovered in 1965 and 1990 in Autun, France. A city founded by the First Emperor Autun (Augustodunum) was founded during the Principate era of the early Roman Empire by Emperor Augustus to give the powerful Gallic people Aedui a Roman…

Permanence of Patterns – the Swastika symbol

6 December 2020

History & Archeology, Resources

This is my second article about permanence of patterns illustrated in mosaic art. In this one, we will review the Swastika symbol. A very ancient symbol The earliest known use of the swastika symbol was discovered in Ukraine carved on a 11,000-year-old ivory figurine of a bird made from mammoth…

All Frederic Lecut's Mosaics18 Works in Process9

Mosaic Models

15 February 2021

Design & Services, Frederic Lecut's Mosaics, Life around the Studio, Unclassified, Works in Process

March at MosaicBlues

29 February 2020

Frederic Lecut's Mosaics, Life around the Studio

March in Rome Martius was the first month of the early Roman calendar. The original Roman year consisted of 10 months and counted 304 days followed by an unnamed winter period which length was not clearly defined. This calendar, borrowed from the Greeks, was introduced around 700 BC by Romulus,…

February

7 February 2020

Frederic Lecut's Mosaics, History & Archeology, Works in Process

The original Roman calendar had only 10 months, and February was not one of them ! March the first month of the year and December (Latin decem=10) the last. This calendar was based on both lunar and solar cycles and was not accurate. It included extra days or month when…

Roman Tile – 002

1 February 2020

Frederic Lecut's Mosaics, History & Archeology, How to Mosaic, Process

An other gorgeously simple Roman mosaic pattern. This is an other simple and elegant pattern. Plain bicolor, it has been used in many places. Roman tile-02, 3 x 2 elements It could be made of 2 different stones, a pale marble and a dark blue stone for example. I used…

Letting Go !

21 January 2020

Frederic Lecut's Mosaics, Unclassified

It is not always easy to let go ! Like most artists I put a lot of myself in my art. Because what I try to express, consciously or not, is deeply meaningful to me, I can sometimes get deeply attached to the pieces I have created. It feels like…

Hybrid Mosaics in 2020

3 January 2020

Design & Services, Frederic Lecut's Mosaics, Life around the Studio, Trips & Visits, Wearable Mosaics

Happy new year you all ! Here is my first design for 2020. 26 Radiant Sectors, January 2020. It is inspired by the desk I am writing this article: a beautiful mosaic designed by Jean Pierre Soalhat, the man who inspired me to get into mosaics. Opus Sectile desk I…

Redbubble printed Gifts

27 December 2019

Frederic Lecut's Mosaics, Others, Resources, Wearable Mosaics

On Redbubble, high quality products derive from my mosaic creations and studies. Amba Aradam floor pillow The present Mosaic-Blues site is mostly dedicated to showcasing my own mosaics. It is designed for this particular purpose : Promoting my original works of Art. On my Redbubble page you will find products…

Wearable Art at MosaicBlues

30 November 2019

Frederic Lecut's Mosaics, Life around the Studio, Wearable Mosaics, Works in Process

No Big Piece in the tube ! I have not been working on big pieces in a while. Carola Sexta has been waiting in the Yard since last spring and I have been concentrating wearable art. These smaller pieces may require just as much effort to produce as big ones,…

Yezidi Mosaics in DC

20 October 2019

Events, Frederic Lecut's Mosaics, Shows & Events

A genocide. When ISIS started their eradication campaign against the Yezidi people in 2014 they murdered a great number of boys and men and systematically enslaved and raped women and girls. Several hundreds of them are still missing. Many Yezidi escaped the terror by trekking through arid lands and became…

Lepus Vexus, Corinium’s style

17 June 2019

Audrey GAUNE

Frederic Lecut's Mosaics

Once upon a time in Britannia The Corinium Beeches Road Hare mosaic dates from the 4th century. It was excavated in Cirencester in 1971. The Beeches Road Hare mosaic Hares and rabbits are often shown in other Roman mosaics, either part of hunting scenes, or feeding from grapes. We…

All How to Mosaic25 Technical Videos5

Volubilis mosaics – Part Deux

25 March 2021

Design & Services, History & Archeology, How to Mosaic

Mosaic models : how to line up things

17 March 2021

Design & Services, How to Mosaic

Mosaic modules

20 February 2021

History & Archeology, How to Mosaic, Process

Roman Tile – 230 – Italica Shuriken

6 September 2020

History & Archeology, How to Mosaic, Resources, Trips & Visits

Italica Shuriken is the name I gave to one elementary design pattern often met in the Roman mosaics of Spanish Andalucia. The Roman ruins of Italica, with remarkable mosaics and an impressive amphitheater, are located 9 kilometres to the north of the city, just outside the town of Santiponce. Italica…

How to create Color Gradients in Mosaics – Part 1

16 April 2020

How to Mosaic

One of the main problem of the mosaicist is to find the right color Even if some manufacturers of glass tesserae now propose amazing palettes, we do not have the ability to mix hues as a painter would. We seldom have more than 6 or 7 variations from one main…

Roman Tile – 203 – Lalonquette

2 April 2020

Design & Services, History & Archeology, How to Mosaic, Resources, Unclassified

The Gallo-Roman villa of Lalonquette Close to the Roman road from Aire-sur-l’Adour (Vicus Iluii) to Lescar (Beneharmun), on the edge of the Gabas river, the Villa of Lalonquette is a well preserved example of an aristocratic establishment from the late antiquity of Aquitania. The site was occupied from the 1st…

Roman Tile – 04

24 March 2020

Design & Services, History & Archeology, How to Mosaic, Resources

An other gorgeous but no so simple Roman pattern This Roman Tile 04 is quite elegant and gives an impression of volume. Here is an example using the 3 basic Red, White and Yellow colors Roman Tile – 04, 3×2 elements This pattern, or some variations of it, has been…

Roman Tile – 003

17 February 2020

Design & Services, History & Archeology, How to Mosaic, Resources

An other gorgeously simple Roman mosaic pattern. This is an other simple and elegant pattern. Plain bicolor, it has been used in many places. Roman Tile – 003, 3 x 2 elements It could be made of 2 different stones, a pale marble and a dark greyish-blue stone for example,…

Roman Tile – 002

1 February 2020

Frederic Lecut's Mosaics, History & Archeology, How to Mosaic, Process

Roman Tile – 001

26 January 2020

Design & Services, History & Archeology, How to Mosaic, Resources

In this post I will show you how to create a geometric background based on a Roman mosaic pattern. The method is simple, and you will be able to use it later for many other patterns I will later publish in this blog. This particular Roman mosaic pattern has been…

All History & Archeology50 Life around the Studio8 Trips & Visits5

Unemployed

12 April 2021

History & Archeology, Life around the Studio

Cone mosaics

1 April 2021

Discovery, History & Archeology

Volubilis mosaics – Part Deux

25 March 2021

Design & Services, History & Archeology, How to Mosaic

The Aquitaine school of mosaics

1 March 2021

History & Archeology, Trips & Visits

Mosaic modules

20 February 2021

History & Archeology, How to Mosaic, Process

Mosaic Models

15 February 2021

Design & Services, Frederic Lecut's Mosaics, Life around the Studio, Unclassified, Works in Process

The Nika Riots

13 January 2021

History & Archeology

The Mosaic of the Greek Philosophers in Autun

19 December 2020

History & Archeology, Resources, Trips & Visits

Permanence of Patterns – the Swastika symbol

6 December 2020

History & Archeology, Resources

Opus Signinum

16 November 2020

History & Archeology, Resources

Opus Signinum, a very old floor covering Opus signinum (‘cocciopesto’ in modern Italian) is a mortar made of tiles broken up into very small pieces, mixed with mortar, and then beaten down with a rammer. This very resilient and waterproof floor covering has been used since at least the 7th…

Zellige mosaics

25 January 2019

History & Archeology, Technical Videos

A tradition dating back 12 centuries Zellige is the name given to the ornate and colourful mosaics that can be admired in many elegant buildings around North Africa and the Middle East. Temple Mount mosque in Jerusalem The craft originated in Fez, Morocco, in the late 8th century and it…

Mounting a Mosaic on Wood.

27 May 2018

How to Mosaic, Technical Videos

Ancient mosaics were directly built or mounted on stone and concrete substrates. I usually mount my mosaics on framed concrete boards, Hardi Backer in the USA and Vedi boards in Europe. I glue the mosaics on their support with thinset mortar and later fill up the gap between the tesserae…

How to Mosaic : Create a Grayscale Mosaic Model on your computer

14 February 2018

Design & Services, How to Mosaic, Technical Videos

In 2017 I created this mosaic portrait : Claire’s Mosaic Portrait I described the way this mosaic was actually built in my post : “Claire’s Portait” As I was using my Opus Pixellatum technique, I created a specific model by pixellizing my original picture : The cropped…

Double color simulations on Asian Face mosaic model

How to Mosaic : Color Simulations on Opus Pixellatum model

5 February 2018

How to Mosaic, Technical Videos

Opus Pixellatum is an amazingly versatile way to create mosaics. From one model the mosaicist can create many different mosaics. The possibilities are practically unlimited. Variations can be as basic as a systematic change of colors (Gray to Bluescale for example) to much more sophisticated manipulations involving other mosaic techniques…

Mosaics look better in Videos

12 December 2017

Frederic Lecut's Mosaics, Others, Technical Videos

Mosaics reflect light in a unique way Because they are not perfectly level, each one of the many tiles composing a mosaic reflects the light at a very different angle. That’s the magic of mosaics. Under an ideal light, they act like a Mirror ball ! Mirror ball – technically…

All Classes & Seminars2 Community Projects2 Shows & Events6

Mosaic Show : The Eyes are the Mirror of the Soul

27 July 2020

Events, Shows & Events

Don’t miss the Grand opening of my Mosaic Show ! On Next Saturday August 8, at 2:00 pm I will officially open my next mosaic show : “The eyes are the mirror of the Soul” at Mural City Coffee Company on Foster Street downtown Dothan 40 mosaics displayed, some never…

Yezidi Mosaics in DC

20 October 2019

Events, Frederic Lecut's Mosaics, Shows & Events

The Art of Mosaic

15 August 2019

Shows & Events

I am very pleased to announce that my work will be featured at The Peanut Gallerie From next August 22nd onto September 28th While “The Art of Mosaics” will of course feature many of my mosaics, some of them never seen until now, you will also be able to see,…

Montgomery Art Guild Museum Exhibition

25 May 2019

Frederic Lecut's Mosaics, Shows & Events

One of my mosaics has been selected to show at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts The 43rd Montgomery Art Guild Museum Exhibition will be held June 1 through July 21, 2019. Carola is one of about 100 pieces selected to appear in the show, I feel very honored to…

A Liquid Mosaic

5 October 2018

Community Projects, Shows & Events

2009 – a liquid mosaic In 2009, Alyson Lyons created in Australia a liquid mosaic portrait of Mona Lisa. I reported the event in my previous blog post : Mona Lisa mosaic created with cups of coffee. Mona Lisa liquid mosaic, Sydney, Australia, 2009 3,604 cups of coffee and 564…

9 individual mosaics realized during the workshop

Fun at Bee Auburn Mosaic Seminar

30 June 2018

Classes & Seminars

Introductory Mosaic Seminar Many participants enjoyed building their first mosaic at the Bee Auburn Mosaic Seminar last Friday June 22, 2018 at the beautiful Auburn Arboretum. Texas Red Star Hibiscus at Auburn Arboretum We had set up tables under the pavilion for the seminar due to start at 5:00…

Bee Auburn Mosaic Seminar

15 June 2018

Classes & Seminars, Community Projects, Shows & Events

Bee Auburn Mosaic Workshop I will be leading a mosaic workshop during the next Bee Auburn event from 5:30 to 7:30 pm next Friday, June 22nd at the Donald E. Davis Arboretum in Auburn, Alabama. Participants will build a 6×6″ mosaic on fiberglass mesh and take it home where they…

All Press6 Testimonials5

Testimonial of a mosaic collector – Leda Kendig

24 February 2020

I received this week-end a lovely phone call from Leda Kendig. Leda lives in Ohio and received as a Christmas gift my Christos mosaic, which I made in the style of Greek and Russian Orthodox icons. Christos brings lots of joy in her home. I believe Art should be part…

Starry Night mosaic clutch frame

10 February 2019

Blog from my Supply4bags in Hong Kong January 1, 2019

2018 Press Kit

23 April 2018

The MosaicBlues 2018 Press Kit is now available to download … This Press Kit or Media Kit is designed for Media professional Reporters, Journalists and Bloggers. It provides essential information to get started writing about my Art and Actions . If you love my work and have professional friends who…

Featured Artist Frederic Lecut

8 March 2018

In good company… I am very proud to have my work featured last week by online gallery Artsy Shark. I feel honored and privileged to find myself in the company of so many inspiring artists working in many different media and invite to visit that page and the other artists…

Yoko HAMADA HOLLYFIELD’s Testimonial – Tesshu’s Dragon and Tiger

28 February 2017

yoko

I love Mr. Lecut’s art work very much. These two Chinese characters (tiger and dragon) are originally written by Yamaoka Tesshue, the master of calligraphy, zen, and martial arts. It’s amazing to see that sensitive brush work in calligraphy can be transferred into the mosaics so brilliantly. I am sure…

Nathalie STEPHENS ‘s Testimonial

28 February 2017

nstephens

I love that Fred combined two of my favourite pictures of my children to make one mosaic. Ella Marie was 3 at the time the original pictures were taken and Davis Layne was 4 days shy of his first birthday. I loved both of the pictures because they capture my…

Geri RIPPE’s Testimonial

28 February 2017

grippe

I love this mosaic yin-yang symbol of tai-chi made by Frederic Lecut. I have been a student of tai-chi with Frederic for about 12 years, and when I saw this mosaic, I absolutely loved it. My husband purchased it for me for my birthday and it has hung where I…

Becky SIMKINS’s Testimonial

28 February 2017

bsimkins

Frederic Lecut of Mosaic Blues has completed the installation of my commissioned piece in my kitchen. It is so beautiful and incorporates the colours of my home. Looking forward to sharing it with visitors! Becky SIMKINS, Dothan, Alabama

Made in Alabama

6 May 2016

pussery

Publication: Dothan Eagle Wiregrass Museum of Art exhibit puts spotlight on Alabama art Grenadier Tree of Life by artist Frederic Lecut, mosaic on cement board From Butch Anthony’s funky creations to Katie Baldwin’s woodblock prints and Cal Breed’s glass sculptures, the collection of Alabama art currently on display…

Frederic Lecut – a great mosaic artist (interview)

4 February 2015

rlisac