Vision in Stone
(click image to enlarge)
Here is my latest mosaic creation. I’ve been doing faces in stone and wood mosaics because a large part of the human brain is devoted to recognizing faces, and so it is easier to see than say a landscape. When we look at faces, where do we look? The eyes.
I always pay special attention to the eyes because I know that’s the first place people are going to look. With this piece you can’t help but look into the eye, because that’s all there is.
The reference for the image came from a old photo of a child’s face which I rendered out of 5/8″ travertine and marble.
I thought that by using smaller stones I could make it easier to do. The work was the same, I just got a smaller image. You don’t have to stand as far back to see the image though, which may be helpful for hanging the piece in a confined area.
Here it is next to a larger mosaic for scale.
January 16th, 2010 at 11:18 am
looks great. I never noticed the subtle color shades in the iris before. To my eye the tan/amber colors mixed with the dark shades give it a realistic flecked appearance.
February 7th, 2010 at 6:13 am
Really wonderful stuff Bill. On a practical note, the larger pieces must be enormously heavy. We are having a small debate around here. How do you manage to hang them, both from designing the mechanics of the substrate
back ( I’m guessing it’s not going to be wire) ….and I suppose you are finding multiple studs on the gallery walls. If this is something you choose not to share, that’s highly understandable. Once again though, great stuff. Particularly
like the three dimensionality of the piece on the right.
February 7th, 2010 at 11:28 pm
Hi David,
Thanks for your comments.
Yes, the larger works need multiple studs. This is going to be a problem for my upcoming gallery show as I must use their hanging system which looks like thick fishing line. I might try using multiple fishing lines attached to one piece (3-4) or most likely have them on free-standing heavy duty easels.
I have been doing the larger ones on plywood with steel reinforced beams to the back to prevent warping and to aid hanging, but I’m now trying all perforated aluminum with aluminum braces for the frame. Lighter, stronger and it should will last forever.