This mosaic starts from a photo. We drive up the coast, and this being her first time at the Pacific, Christine wants to dip her toes. The water is cold, so knee-deep was as far as she gets. I take the photo with my cheapie digital camera. Avec sa robe blanche elle ressemble à une aquarelle de Marie Laurencin.

I crop the image and tweak it a bit in Gimp, then play with different parameters to my Python program. I had 2000 black 12mm dice; this, and the image's aspect ratio, dictates the mosaic's size - 25x77. Here is one of several layout variants the program generates.

I notice surprise when I find that the dice I receive from Koplow are not entirely cubical, nor the same size. There is enough variation between them that no two lines or columns are the same length if I lay the dice in tight rows. I madk a jig from two straight-edges and which I join with masking tape. A printout is visible on the left.

A complete mosaic is more than strong enough to carry its own weight, but not nearly strong enough to survive in checked luggage and too large to take as a carry-on. I make it in 6 pieces, slicing the image horizontally into 25x13 tablets. 3 tablets are ready; masking tape temporarily holds the dice together. The heap contains 600 of the dice waiting for their turn.

I make the jig wide enough for the widest 25 dice; I fill a few rows, then wiggle the dice until they sit in neat rows, gaps between them compensating for variation in size and shape. It is important that columns line up not only within a tablet but also between tablets. I check each new one against the ones that are already complete.

Christine's head is clearly visible in this, 4th tablet from the bottom. After one last check, I apply wide masking tape to temporarily fasten dice together. The tape makes it possible to flex a fragment to spread adhesive between dice without distorting their layout.

Koplow dice are high-density acrylic that is very smooth and quite inert chemically; finding a glue that would hold them securely is an unexpected challenge for me. After some experimentation, I find that polyurethane caulk holds the plastic well. I use a small wooden paddle to apply the adhesive first across the columns, and then across the rows.

My friend Eugene helps photograph the complete mosaic. Eugene has a better camera and a better eye for lighting. He has me set the tablets on my kitchen table, moves some lamps around, then climbes on a chair and photographs the piece. The mosaic's 3' length is clearly visible. Complete, it somehow looks much smaller than when I am putting it together, one die at a time.