I’ve finally started on the new mosaic, the one i’m preparing for BrickCon 2009. I found a picture I quite liked, one that fit the theme of this year’s show (“Imagination in Motion”), and also one that inspired me. This is always the trickiest part of making a new piece, I find. I’ve started a few works that simply didn’t interest me, and I ended up scrapping them before I’d gotten too far. If the picture isn’t inspiring, it’s not worth doing. This makes it tricky sometimes, especially if you depend on your art for your living. Only the lucky ones can make whatever they desire, and not worry about the marketability of their efforts.

I’ve read some comments on various boards, concerning mosaics and styles. It seems like much of the community is very into hiding the studs on their completed works. I’ll confess, i’m not into that at all. In my view, I’m not hiding the fact that i’m working with Lego, and the studs are arguably just that. Also, from the mosaic side of things, the scale engulfs the individual brick, so it’s not really a concern.

The other concern seems to be freehand versus assisted design. Some feel that a “true” mosaic is done freehand, without any computer or paper aid. This is simply nonsense. There have been many fantastic freehand mosaics (many of Sean Kenney’s works are made this way), and many fantastic assisted pieces. i suspect it’s the same as any art form: You like what you like. And really, if everyone’s stuff was the same, ti would get boring pretty quick. The thing I love about Lego (mosaic and otherwise) is the fantastic range of works that people create. Every week there are new things that people build that astound me. Things I would never think to build, or have the first idea how to start on.

If I had to describe my style, it would probably be “mostly grayscale portrait, with a nod to 40’s pulp and art deco styles”. I’ve built some different works that are neither of those, including the Batman and Robin, which is arguably the most “googled” of my works, but it’s certainly not my favorite.

The new piece combines a lot of interesting colors with some new challenges, most notably text, some of it in cursive. I’m still toying with the idea of bringing 2 mosaics to BrickCon, and likely, the second will be a portrait of some kind (which gives a big hint as to what the first is).

More on this as it develops.