From Soot to the Mosaic House
- Michael Jay Tucker's explosive-cargo
- Sep 7
- 4 min read
Okay, I left off last time with the kids and the g’kids arriving at Vincent’s house. Also, I had Soot...a wise cat, indeed...taking off parts unknown. He clearly knew in advance what very young children can be like, and was taking no chances.
Anyway, they arrived. There were hugs all around. The g’kids were delighted with Vincent, as he was with them. Hazel and Miles actually know Vincent rather well. He’s one of the few of the East Coast crew (along with Patty) who visits us regularly in Texas. And he sends the grandkids presents and cards on holidays and birthdays. There’s nothing better than a loving uncle with a gift. Unless its two gifts. One for each.
They came in. David and Emily got to work doing party prep. The g’kids set out to playing. Soot then reappeared. I was concerned that we might have a conflict. But, it didn’t happen. Soot dashed under a sofa...not just to hide, but to play. He would stick a paw out from under the sofa and wiggle it until they noticed. They would dash over and try to touch his foot. He’d zip back inside his fortress, concealing the offending foot, and then, a few moments later, out it would come again at a different location under the couch. They’d dash to where he was. He’d vanish. And, a little after that, they whole thing would start again, this time at a different location.
ABOUT THE PHOTOS: Four today. First, an exterior shot of Mr. Dillard’s Mosaic House. Second, another, similar exterior. Third, an interior shot of one of his structures. And, finally, just because I like the photo, here’s Martha showing off her turquoise at breakfast this morning.
I gotta confess, it surprised me. I hadn’t expected Soot to be so playful (and so careful!) with the children. But he was, and while he did eventually vanish upstairs, at no time was there serious friction between the grandkids and the cat. We avoided what I feared would happen...that is, the animal’s privacy invaded just a bit too much, a paw stepped on or a tail grabbed, then a scratch and a bite, a scream, a sudden flood of tears...
Needless to say, I speak from experience on all that. (I’ve still got a couple of scars. If you look closely enough...) But, this time, whether because Soot was uniquely gentle, or we just got lucky, nothing of the sort happened.
Eventually, we ran out of things to do in Vincent’s house, and so the g’kids and their Dad went for a bit of a walk. I had a destination in mind for them -- a neighbor’s house... just down the street...
We headed out. David and the g’kids walked along. We commented on the weather...which was lovely...and the pollen...which was off the charts. My eyes were watering and my nose was running. Actually, it was more like the 100 yards dash. But we won’t go into that.
Then, we turned around...and...there it was.
The House.
The Mosaic House.
How to describe it? I guess I won’t try. Instead, I’ll put a number of links below to news stories, photos, and even an NPR video about the place. Easier for me, and far more effective for you. A single picture vs. a thousand words, etc. (see footnotes, below)
I will say that you can sort of envision it if you begin with an ordinary house...a house like you’d see in any middle class neighborhood in America. There is a bit of yard. A detached garage. And so on.
Then, take that house and cover it...all of it...every square inch or millimeter...with decorations...mirrors, tiles, bits of metal, paintings, crystals...all of that and more. And, in the yard, dozens of sculptures, ranging from metal abstracts to things like downscaled Easter Island heads.
Hazel said it best when she saw it. “Whooooa.”
This is the home of Vincent’s neighbor and friend, Gene Dillard. Mr. Dillard is a self-taught artist and for the last twenty years or more he has been slowly turning his home into a single, enormous work of art. And, moreover, it is a work of art that is attracting attention both nationally and internationally. People actually come to Durham just to see it...
The g’kids stood staring, understandably. The house is an amazing sight.
I then looked away from the house and up the driveway. There was Gene himself, working on something. I called out a greeting. He turned and smiled.
And, a moment later, we were up the drive and I was performing introductions.
Which is when, of course, things go really interesting.
More to come.
Footnotes:
Gene Dillard himself has an Instagram page devoted to his house. It has some excellent photography. You can see it here: https://www.instagram.com/dillard.gene/?hl=en
There is also a terrific video the house which was made by PBS’s MyHomeNC. You can see it on the PBS site here: https://www.pbs.org/video/the-mosaic-house-in-durham-3ikhsz/.
Or, you can see the same video on Facebook, here: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=922866905630261
About three minutes into the video, you meet Vincent. And, yes, that’s *our* Vincent.
There are several articles about Mr. Dillard’s house on the web. For example, there’s “Gene Dillard's Fantasyland (Durham, NC)” on the Strange Carolinas webpage here: https://www.strangecarolinas.com/2017/02/gene-dillards-fantasyland.html
And you can find more if you just do a search for “Gene Dillard’s House” or “Mosaic House, North Carolina” on the web.
Copyright©2025 Michael Jay Tucker
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