Coming April 11 & 12: Beyond Basics Mosaic Workshop in Olympia, WA

Looking at the calendar, I just realized how quickly the next workshop is coming up!  This will be my first time teaching this class; "Beyond Basics," which will address some of the steps a beginner mosaic artist can take to get to the next level.  I've noticed that most mosaic workshops are either project based (make a mirror frame, a flower pot, a stepping stone) or are intermediate/advanced technique-based classes that go deeply into one specific method that the instructor has mastered.  I recently took a short version of Kelley Knickerbocker's "Fundamento" workshop, which was fantastic for taking andamento to new, mind-boggling dimensions.  And I just took a workshop in Philadelphia from Lynn Takata on building 3-D substrates for mosaic, which builds on one that I took from Passiflora Mosaics near Santa Barbara last spring, on building sculptures with a styrofoam base.  Each of these is very specific, and only useful if you have some experience under your belt to put it into context.

Over the past 5 years, I finally accepted that there are some mosaic fundamentals that will go a long way toward improving the composition and flow of a mosaic design.  Reluctantly, I wrapped my brain around these concepts, and after a few years, I realized how much my work had changed.  And I like it.  To emphasize and understand my growth, I re-made one of my favorite designs with new information.

I think this was 2009.  (Note: I had been working in mosaic for 9 years!)

This was 2014.

I still have much to learn, but I think this demonstrates a shift from beginner to intermediate, and I plan to break down the information I've gained as well as I can for this class.

There is so much a mosaic artist learns through trial and error, and from spending the time and money to take workshops from other experienced instructors, that I'll be covering the essentials in this 2-day class, but it won't be possible to convey my 15 years of experience within 10-12 hours.  I'm going to do my best, including an overview of the wide variety of applications, materials, substrates, adhesives and setting techniques used in mosaic art on Saturday.  On Sunday, I plan to get into some of the terminology specific to mosaic, and to delve into types and uses of andamento.  Students will have two small substrates of different kinds, with some materials samples and adhesives, and will be invited to play with each of these to get a sense of them.  You may choose to make a small project, or just use the time to gain information for future use.  Bring a notebook and pencil to take notes and sketch ideas.  When we get into andamento, this will be especially helpful.

I know I already have some absolute beginners signed up for the Olympia class, so I will try to start at that point, but I planned this originally for those crafters who have been playing around with mosaic, but would like some tools for taking their work to the next level.  I hope I can meet the needs of all participants, and I'll make every effort.

Details can be found at the Arbutus website: http://www.arbutusfolkschool.org/current-classes/
Scroll down to April  11/12.  Then on the upper left is a button for "register for classes."
I look forward to working with some of you!