You know I love staying on top of the coolest new trends in art and tech. Whether it’s a robot that can draw my picture or a huge photo mosaic on a jumbotron, if it’s creative, I’m all in! But nothing has grabbed my attention (and imagination) like the recent boom in generative Ai.

This year’s PBX was so much fun! There were many new and exciting products debuted. I was very excited to visit the Picture Mosaics Booth to see their new products and the changes they have made to their SketchBot. SketchBot is ‘The AI Robotic Sketch Artist’ that uses the latest mesh of A.I. and machine learning to draw guests’ portraits. I also noticed there was another company has tried to release a similar product. So in this post I will review Sketchbot vs the “other” solution.

I need to put aside our photo mosaic talk for this post because this is just an amazing story that needs to be shared. My New York readers might know him from his work on sidewalks, stoops, and planters; the Mosaic Man’s work is widely acclaimed. After serving in Vietnam, Jim Power briefly worked in construction and lived on the streets, making his first mosaic pole in 1988. He was then coined Mosaic Man by the Village Voice. He’s since designed seven mosaic light poles for his Astor Place community.

Are you familiar with the proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child”? I feel like this can apply to many walks of life; a strong community is important and essential. That’s part of the reason I love huge photo mosaic projects. I love the teambuilding and community support that takes place when creating gigantic works of art! I was recently reading about the work of eL Seed, a French-Tunisian street artist, who created a mosaic mural on a number of buildings in Manshiyat Naser, a suburb of Cairo.

I’m a sucker for massive photo mosaic projects, especially when world records are involved. My most recent discovery is no small feat: British artist Quentin Devine teamed up with The Pokémon Company International to set the new Guinness World Record for largest trading card mosaic in honor of Pokémon’s 20th anniversary!

(Source: Maurice Bennett)

I tend to gravitate towards forward-thinking artists who maintain an appreciation for the classics. A good sense of humor doesn’t hurt, either! I can appreciate an artist who is able to have some fun while crafting their work.

First and foremost, let me say that I was deeply saddened to hear of David Bowie’s passing last week. I’ve been a longtime fan, ever since I saw Labyrinth as a child – what a wonderfully wild movie! His music has been a big part of my life. So when he passed, I spent quite a bit of time reading articles and tributes, as well as seeking out what other artists had to say about Bowie’s impact on the world. Naturally, I was specifically looking for mosaic tributes. Fortunately, that’s exactly what I found: The David Bowie Tribute Photo Mosaic.

I’ve written about so many photo mosaic projects and artists throughout the years that it feels good to stop and take a look back at some favorites. I regret not doing this at the end of 2014, so I’m going to base this blog post around my favorite mosaic and photo mosaic projects from the past two years.

My apologies for veering off the photo mosaic path here, but I just had to share this. I discovered artist Alexey Steshak through his own submission on Bored Panda where he documented the creation of a stunningly simple mosaic. Using everyday ceramic tile, he hand-cuts each piece of tile to suit his source image. As you can see in the photos, he simply sketches his source idea, then adheres the tiles directly to the wall.