2015 Education Program

2015 Education Program: Workshops & Seminars

About the Education Program

Increase the impact of your conference experience by adding workshops and professional seminars to your Conference Registration. SAMA’s Education Committee has designed the American Mosaic Summit Educational Program to address three distinct areas of our member’s development as artists: technical mastery, artistic achievement, and career success.

Register for three or more seminars or workshops and get a 10% discount off your total educational program fees. Use discount code: EDU-2015 at checkout.  NOTE: All registrants selecting THREE or more sessions in the Education System WILL RECEIVE A REBATE of 10% of their workshop fees.  Some workshops also involve a separate materials fee which is included in the course fee. You must ADD the workshop to your registration to register for a workshop.

Please pay close attention to the date(s) and time(s) of your workshop session(s). A session with a session number ending in a letter like (3a, 3b, 3c), indicates the workshop is repeated, not continued, at each session time. Workshops will be held at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel and two (2) off-site locations. There is no limit to the number of workshops you can attend as long as the sessions are not scheduled at the same time. Guests MAY NOT take workshops.

Workshop Wait-list Policy

In order to secure a position in a workshop that is sold out, you must add that workshop to your registration and pay in full at time of check-out. Wait-lists are prioritized in order of purchase time and date. All Filled Workshop Rosters are finalized on March 3, 2015.  If workshop seats do not open for wait-listed registrants by March 1, 2015, the registrant will be refunded the full workshop amount and the wait-list eliminated.

Please do not contact the SAMA office regarding your placement position on the wait-list. Whether it is 1st in line or 12th in line for the next available seat, we have no way of anticipating the number of cancellations we will receive for the conference, or in which of the several potential sold-out workshops seats could appear.

PLEASE READ WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS FULLY.  If you do not take the time to read the descriptions before registering, you run the risk of investing a great deal of time and money on a session that is not appropriate for your skill level or interests and goals.  Click on the Descriptions link and watch the page expand!  It’s fun!

Professional Development Seminars

Broadening the Understanding of the Business of Art.  Providing professional artist’s with best practices and tips to transition from non-art related field to an art business.

bonnie-andrea-2014Tips, Tricks and Revenue Streams for Emerging Artists with Bonnie Fitzgerald and Andrea Taylor

Session 1:   Wednesday, March 11, 2015, 6:00pm — 10:00pm

Cost: $180.00 (Includes $5 Materials Fee)

Level: Intermediate

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There comes a point in time for many artists where what started as a hobby has blossomed into a passion. The artist’s level of expertise has grown, and they find themselves wanting to devote more time to the art of mosaics. Pursuing this passion while earning an income from it is a natural progression, but how does the new or aspiring professional artist get started doing this?

The goal of this seminar is to break down those initial critical steps toward establishing oneself as a professional artist. Topics covered will include:

– Identifying and setting goals
– Writing mission statements and overarching business plans
– Various revenue streams, such as private and public art commissions, consignments, teaching, fabrication, collaboration, restoration, gallery ownership, and others
– Basic marketing strategies
– Nuts and bolts of business, such as transaction processing, insurance, record-keeping, and legal and compliance issues

Topics will be explored through a combination of lecture, Q&A, and breakout sessions with group exercises. At the completion of this seminar, participants should have a plan of action for launching their professional art endeavors, and a greater grasp of the scope of work that it will entail. Most should leave with a general mission statement or road-map planning their transition into the professional art world.

The instructors, Bonnie Fitzgerald and Andrea Taylor have over 30 combined years as professional artists. Each brings to the learning experience their own unique skill sets and wisdom from their income-producing endeavors. Bonnie and Andrea often collaborate and work together on projects and are a dynamic, effective teaching team.

This workshop will be team taught. Bonnie Fitzgerald and Andrea Taylor have been recognized as dynamic, fun and personable instructors who collaborate beautifully in the classroom. With over 30 years combined experience they bring an extensive knowledge base and expertise in a broad range of mosaic materials and techniques.

Bonnie Fitzgerald is the founder of Maverick Mosaics, a working mosaic art studio in metropolitan Washington, DC. Bonnie teaches workshops throughout North America, including the Smithsonian Institution, and leads study tours to destinations in Europe. Additionally, she designs and fabricates architectural mosaics for a wide variety of clients. Mentoring students and creating art are interdependent pursuits that shape Fitzgerald’s artistic voice every day. She is the author of “Guide to Mosaic Techniques”” (2015) and “300+ Mosaic Tips, Techniques, Templates and Trade Secrets” (2012). Bonnie is a former SAMA Board of Trustees Executive Committee member and a longtime SAMA supporter. To learn more bonniefitzgeraldart.com AND maverickmosaics.com.

Andrea Taylor has been a mosaic artist since 2000, and her mosaic art spans from large-scale architectural murals to sculptures to jewelry, but her specialty is animal mosaic portraiture. Her award-winning work has been shown and collected nationally. Her primary professional experience outside of the art world is in media and technical instruction, conducting adult training programs since 1994 and teaching mosaic art since 2004. At last count, she has taught well over 950 adult students and countless children in various topics in the art of mosaic. Andrea is a past Executive Board member and Education Committee Chair of the Society of American Mosaic Artists. She has served as Director of Education and Curriculum Development for Maverick Mosaics Art School and Studio since 2010, and continues to serve in an active consulting role for the school from her new location in northeast Wisconsin.

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DSC_79652Community Mosaics: Planning, Funding, and Creating for a Cause  with Roger Whiting

Session 2: Wednesday, March 11, 2015, 6:00pm – 10:00pm  

Cost: $190.00 (Includes $15 Materials Fee)

Level: Intermediate/Advanced

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Feeling trapped in your studio and want to make a difference in your community? Why not organize a community mosaic project? In the first 2 and 1/2 hours of the workshop we will go over the nuts and bolts of getting a project started. We will learn how to find and partner with organizations that share our values and vision for humanity. We will learn to find appropriate grant applications and write effective proposals. We will learn to use in-kind sponsorships, donations, crowdfunding and grants to create a sample budget that gives us a fair salary and pays for project costs. Finally, we will discuss publicity methods to promote ourselves and create awareness of the issues we deeply care about.

In the next 30 minutes we will learn varied approaches to short-term teaching engagements such as artist visits, festival activities and family art nights. We will learn how to use these shorter events to either develop mural content or to strengthen relationships with contacts in the community.

During the final 60 minutes, we will discuss longer-term models of community teaching, and view specific examples of effective projects that resulted from artist residencies. We will then put on our kid-hats to create designs together for large-scale collaborative mosaics. We will use fun methods of brainstorming, sketching and visual collaging that allow even the seemingly least talented youth to contribute in a a positive, meaningful way to the design of a project.

This session should particularly benefit those who already have experience and knowledge of mosaic art and want to use their expertise as a tool for community enrichment.

Since 2002, Roger Whiting has been organizing and carrying out large-scale community projects with an emphasis on serving low-income and underprivileged populations. He spends much of his time working with foster care programs, special education classes and bilingual immersion schools. Past community partners include Children’s Miracle Network, University of Utah, Seattle Children’s Museum, Boys and Girls Clubs, YouthCity and numerous other nonprofit organizations and schools. His community mosaic projects have been funded by grants from Target, Art Access/VSA Utah, Utah Arts Council and Salt Lake City Arts Council.  Additionally, Whiting has led professional development workshops with the Utah Art Education Association, Murray School District, Salt Lake City School District and the Salt Lake City Arts Council.  Whiting has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration from Rhode Island School of Design.

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Artistic & Technical Development Workshops

Increasing an understanding of general art concepts in relation to mosaic art work.  Increasing the technical skill of the mosaic artist through exploration of materials, techniques, and tools.

 

AielloHow to Draw for Traditional or Contemporary Mosaics with Vincenzo Aiello

Session 3A: Wednesday, March 11, 2015, 1:00pm – 5:00pm

Session 3B: Wednesday, March 11, 2015, 6:00pm – 10:00pm  

Cost: $185.00 (Includes $10 Materials Fee)

Level: All Levels

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Learn the skill of drawing as an essential element of mosaic artistry.  Drawing is an integral part of design; just as important as cutting skills.  This skill will enable students to better recreate an antique mosaic or replicate an instructor’s work.  This workshop will teach you the rules to draw a mosaic so that you can directly apply it to your work.  Emphasis is placed on utilizing the size and shape of the tesserae and the flow of andamento.  Techniques for both Roman and Contemporary mosaic art will be taught so that shadow and light are appropriately represented in your artwork.  This will be accomplished by drawing the various shapes of stone and andamento.

Students will learn to take magazines pictures and identify the main lines of light and shadow in the composition to individualize the andamento and how to draw it.  Furthermore, the you will learn to delineate the main lines and angles through shapes of the subject.  This will engage the student in a very challenging task.  Techniques will be taught both through presentation slides and hands-on experience.  The presentation will be provided to the student as part of the course materials.

At the end of the workshop each student will have a complete knowledge of how to draw Roman and Contemporary mosaic designs, and will leave with a completed project.

Enzo Aiello was born in Petrona, Italy, in 1963. He currently lives and works in both Rome and the US. Enzo creates original works and is also highly-skilled at restoring antique mosaics.  He was trained at the Vatican Studio of Mosaic in 1990 where he learned micromosaic in Smalti, filati and Roman mosaic techniques from the Vatican Old Masters.  In 1991 he moved to Ravenna to attend Albe Steiner Institute for two years where he learned Byzantine technique.  He has also attended the Spilimbergo School of Mosaic in Italy.  After these experiences he returned to Rome to establish a studio.  In 2005 he became a professor at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Ravenna. Enzo continues to work on commissions and creating mosaics for his customers in addition to mosaic restoration projects all over the world. ~aiellomosaics.com 

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Sacred Geometry and Mandala Design with Dianne Sonnenberg

 Session 4: Wednesday, March 11, 2015,(date change)

Thursday, March 12, 2015  8:00am – 5:00pm

Cost: $320.00 (Includes $35 Materials Fee)

Level: All Levels

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Mosaic artists and hobbyists with any level of technical or professional experience will enjoy this hands-on design workshop.  Participants will learn the basics of sacred geometry, a fascinating science with its roots in nature.   These techniques were used and understood by our Byzantine predecessors.  We will learn how to effectively use tools such as compasses, protractors and calipers, and The Golden Ratio to enhance our design capabilities.  The main focus of this workshop will be the elements of mandala design.  A mandala is a round geometric design with, or without, spiritual or religious significance.  Participants will gain the abilities to create beautiful mandala designs, and will have plenty of hands-on activity time during the course.  This session should particularly benefit those who are interested in sacred geometry, the Golden Ratio, and geometric mandala designs.  You will leave the workshop with enhanced design abilities, a different view of the universe in which we live, and some new designs to take home.  All design materials and tools will be provided, along with a copy of the book, “A Beginner’s Guide to Constructing the Universe,” by Michael S. Schneider.

Dianne Sonnenberg is an internationally-recognized mosaic artist based in Austin, Texas. Her work has won numerous awards, including the Best Architectural Mosaic award from Mosaic Arts International in 2010 for “Ocean(egg)raphy”.  Dianne is a member of the faculty at The Contemporary Austin Art School.  She has been teaching mosaic art and facilitating community projects since 2005.  Dianne has a particular interest in sacred geometry, and has created an extensive mosaic mandala series.  Her mandalas have been featured in the “Mandala Page-a-Day Calendar,” by Workman Publishing.

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debaldo

 SOLD-OUT ! Tactile and Temporal Textures with Deb Aldo 

Session 5: Wednesday, March 11, 2015, 8:00am – 5:00pm  

Cost: $321.00 (Includes $36 Materials Fee)

Level: Intermediate

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The goal of this class is to help students observe their world both externally and internally and to determine significant sources of inspiration allowing for the creation of their own signature using textural and temporal andamento. This session will help students who have some basic mosaic experience and want to learn how to boost their know-how by learning to analyze why they are drawn to a particular work of art. We will “un-pack” a series of artworks by examining the framework of the compositions.  Students should bring one printed example of a work they want to deconstruct. This class allows students to see in a new way, and to create texture that will enhance the character of their mosaics by utilizing several methods for creating tactile textures based on both a presentation and hands on work. Each student will execute a set of four (4) samples with surfaces that include spiked or smooth, bumpy, waving, radial, chaotic or calming. These dynamic and dimensional samples are a visual reference for use in future works. The materials provided will be a combination of ceramic, glass, stone and pebbles (limited palette as focus is on texture, NOT color), which are affixed to cement board substrate with thinset. Each student will receive individual attention, there will be explanations/instruction provided to the group at large. The last part of the class will be a group discussion and critique if requested.

No tools are provided- students need to bring nippers, tweezers for moving small pieces, palette knife for applying thinset and any other preferred tools, camera, notebook and pen/pencil for notes.

Debora Aldo has been creating art for decades and has been working in mosaic since 1997. She was selected as a CT state certified teaching artist in 2009. Debora has a BA in Art/Illustration and graduated with high honors with a BS in Landscape Architecture/Horticulture. Her work has been exhibited nationally, most recently at Slater Museum in Norwich during the summer of 2014, and the Museum of Glass, Tacoma, Washington at the 2013 SAMA conference. Her work is in private collections all across North America, Australia, Europe and Mexico.  As the principal designer for Pietre Dure Design, she works with Landscape Architects, Architects, home owners, and collectors creating sculptural installations and fine art for private, corporate, hospitality and health care facilities, and schools across the USA. She has been a student of Maggy Howarth and Verdiano Marzi, KokoMosaico, and Sophie Drouin. ~pietreduredesign.com

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 yulia_portraitSOLD-OUT ! Layered Glass Mosaics:  Space, Details and Andamento with Yulia Hanansen

Session 6: Thursday, March 12, 2015, 8:00am — 5:00pm

Cost: $340.00 (Includes $40 Materials Fee)

Level: All levels

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This highly attractive technique is an alternative to a precision fitting of tesserae on a surface. It is about a free flow of tesserae used in layers creating impressions of overlap, transparency, and volume. May it be a mosaic depicting vast space, a detail of an animal, or a close-up of a flower, your artwork will surely have an extra dimension added to it. This workshop starts with a visual presentation on layered mosaics. Hands-on practice concentrates on technical and optical effects that can be produced with this technique. Individual instruction is supplemented with demos including a demo on cutting brush-stroke (boat) tesserae. Glass, adhesives, substrates, handouts, and other supplies will be provided. Images will be provided by the instructor, or participants may bring their own.

 All the participants must bring their own tools: wheel cutter, goggles, and tweezers.

Yulia Hanansen, an award winning artist, has been instructing mosaic courses for over 13 years. Her Mosaic Sphere Studio, LLC produces mosaic artwork for private and public spaces. Yulia has been a guest artist throughout the United States in locations including Unicorn Art Studio, Maverick Mosaics, Ciel Gallery, Cape Cod Mosaics, and Chicago Mosaic School. In addition, Yulia is a printmaking and art foundations faculty at Maryland’s Towson University. She has taught and assisted teaching at University of Michigan and Columbia University.  Yulia’s artworks have been exhibited in multiple invitational shows as well as in her solo shows. In 2011 Yulia won “Best of Show” at Mosaic Arts International. Her current work focuses on fusion of Earth/Planetary sciences and art. Yulia practices her art in mosaic, printmaking, drawing, and painting media.  ~MosaicSphere.com

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Rachel Sager

Rachel Sager

SOLD-OUT! The Consolations of Andamento: Walking the Line with Rachel Sager 

Session 7: Thursday, March 12, 2015, 8:00am-5:00pm

Location: Off-Site Location – Transportation /Lunch to be provided

Cost: $ 355.00 (Includes $60 Materials Fee)

Level: All Levels

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Can andamento change your life?  Listen to Rachel Sager answer with a resounding, YES! in this uniquely formatted workshop exploring the philosophies of andamento, our basic language as mosaicists.  There can be as many expressions of these pathways as there are artists who work in the medium.  Join Rachel as she asks questions beyond the traditional definitions of what is correct or classical. Explore not just the finer points of the rules and when it makes sense to break them, but more theoretical observations of andamento as a communication tool.  Share in Rachel’s theories on choice, free will and andamento as an allegory of Life.   Discuss things like intention, cutting and looking to nature for understanding and in the process learn valuable methods to craft more sensitive andamento.  This workshop is broken into two parts: talking and doing.  The first half of day is purposely hands-off to enable you to relax and soak up ideas and images without the pressure of creating. Students will have access to multiple real-time examples of Rachel’s andamento explorations.

After lunch, we will begin the doing part of the workshop. You will be led through a precise series of exercises revolving around the ideas of size, space, texture, material, angle and direction. This class is unique in that it disentangles the brain from being distracted by composition and design, and lets you focus on the line in its purest form. As mosaic artists, andamento is our most basic language and form of expression. Rachel will lead you through a dynamic break down of how to build lines with personality, how to build lines that communicate ideas, in short, how to build lines that can stand on their own. Expect to go home with a study substrate, not a finished composition.

Students are highly encouraged to bring their own cutting tools: hammer and hardie, glass and tile nippers and tweezers. There will be piles of raw material in the forms of sandstone, marble, and glass for those who wish to spend time in cutting specific shapes. For those without tools, there will be plenty of pre-cut tesserae. Instructor will also supply substrates and high quality thin-set mortar, mixing tools and palate knives. This class would benefit all levels, particularly those looking to refine their voice or expand their appreciation of andamento as an instrument of communication.

Rachel Sager… Artist, Teacher, Speaker and Fayette County, Pennsylvania native.  Rachel works on the cutting edge of the contemporary mosaic fine art movement. Her innovative work has been represented in cities throughout the U.S. and internationally and has been awarded multiple Best of Shows in juried exhibitions. Her Marcellus Shale Series stands as a true Pittsburgh success story and her work is collected with passion by private clients and corporations all over the world. Rachel’s time spent studying with Italian maestros has shaped her mosaic philosophy, and she brings these classical techniques home to the here and now of Western Pennsylvania’s sandstone, limestone, slate, and coal seams. She teaches her signature brand of, The Forager Mosaicist, and The Scavenger Mosaicist, at Touchstone Center for Craft in Western Pennsylvania. With feet firmly planted in the Allegheny Mountains, Rachel confidently shouts from the rooftops…”look at this beautifully imperfect corner of the world!” ~rachelsagermosaics.com 

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Watercolour_Lacuna_2kWatercolor Translation: Mosaic Collage with Jenni McGuire

 Session 8A: Wednesday, March 11, 2015, 8:00am – 5:00pm

Session 8B: Thursday, March 12, 2015, 8:00am – 5:00pm  

Cost: $320.00 (Includes $35 Materials Fee)

Level: All Levels

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Workshop participants will create individual abstract mosaic collages using the Watercolor Translation method. An outgrowth of creative development research and cross-genre explorations, Watercolor Translation, was adapted primarily from Primitive Painting and direct-method mixed media mosaics. Jenni’s fun teaching style is enhanced by multi-sensory elements, including music, and peeks behind the curtain of creative exploration.

The workshop enables participants to explore cross-pollinating genres, in this case, watercolor painting and mosaic. About as opposite as you can get… One, fluid, flowing, allowing undefined shapes, the other rigid, three dimensional, edges everywhere. By exploring how they can be translated, how one informs the other, a spark of something new ignites. Participants in this fun and powerful workshop will come away with new insights, inspiration, and an abstract “watercolor” collage. Any level mosaic enthusiast welcome. No painting experience required.

Participants are requested to bring their own nippers, goggles, and mixed tesserae to use and share. By pooling materials, all participants have a broader pallet with which to work. All other workshop materials provided.

Jenni McGuire is an award winning mosaic artist whose work is exhibited in various galleries in the US and abroad. She teaches at Sierra College, The Crocker Art Museum, and from her home studio in the Sierra foothills. Jenni developed the Watercolor Translation method of mosaic collage, blending disparate genres and music. She especially enjoys repurposing scrap and recycled materials, and encourages ecological art. ~jennimcguiremosaics.com

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 Kim WozniakBREAKING Loose and Finding your Voice with Kim Wozniak

Session 9: Wednesday, March 11, 2015, 8:00am – 5:00pm  

Cost: $330.00 (Includes $35 Materials Fee)

Level: All Levels

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This lively workshop is designed to inspire and guide students in their pursuit of mosaic nirvana. Through a combination of lecture and hands-on art, this interactive mosaic experience will assist the beginner mosaicist in finding their own voice, while providing the intermediate and advanced level artist with tips and techniques for escaping the black hole of creative block. The vast array of materials and forms of mosaic art can sometimes leave us frozen amid the tesserae. The hands-on portion of this workshop will challenge you to grow through a proven creative exercise created by the instructor that will introduce you to new possibilities and propel your work to a new level.

Each student will be encouraged to share their own personal creative challenges, and through interactive discussion we will explore the barriers that confront artists and techniques that will allow you break through walls that hold back your creativity and talent. In this one-day workshop you will begin to identify the barriers of creative resistance. You will experiment with materials, color, texture and techniques while being individually guided in honing your technical skills.

Everyone will take home a project created in the workshop that will serve as inspiration and help keep you motivated. Be prepared to be challenged, be spontaneous and have fun!

Owner of WitsEnd Mosaics and Smalti.com, Kim Wozniak is trained in art, architectural design, and construction and has found her voice in mosaics. After leaving the corporate world Kim reclaimed her creative spirit by combining her love of art and building materials. Her rule-breaking style was quickly recognized in the mosaic community and has led her to create both public and private installations throughout United States, and her fine art mosaics are exhibited internationally. Kim was one of three Americans representing the United States in Ravenna, Italy at the prestigious 2011 juried biennial exhibition: RavennaMosaico – Works of the World. She has studied the medium of mosaics with masters from Italy, Mexico and the US. Her work has been featured in several publications including The Craft Report, Breakout, Mosaic Art Today and many other publications.  ~witsendmosaic.com 

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abstract-6x12-002Organic Abstract – Listening to your Art with David Jarvinen

 Session 10: 2 Days – Wednesday and Thursday, March 11-12, 2015, 8:00am – 5:00pm  

Cost: $450.00 (Includes $55 Materials Fee)

Level: All Levels

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Join in two days of fun learning to listen to your art! When composing this 6″ x 12″ x 1″ Abstract Panel we will utilize Smalti, wire, beads, findings, ceramic, metals, glass and a myriad of other materials to excite and stimulate your imagination. In this original workshop, expect to learn about movement, repetition, color as well as texture while exploring different materials through practical hands on application. Learn embedding methods and nipping techniques as well. Count on plenty of one-on-one time as we circulate throughout the workshop answering questions, while you create. The goal is to leave with a beautiful piece of art at end of Day 2….Sure to be a great workshop, don’t miss out!

With a 30+ years in the ceramic and glass tile trade and installation business, David Jarvinen began his mosaic career more than 12 years ago through helping clay artists install art murals in Phoenix and Tempe, AZ as well as Las Vegas, NV. Through this avenue David created a network of partners where he teaches, hosts and instructs some of the most diverse mosaic offerings in the Southwestern US. Approachable, humorous and creative in his style of instruction, David builds on a strong technical background and brings a wealth of tips and tricks waiting for you to discover. ~mosaicguys.com 

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Tapestry-Blue-Green3SOLD-OUT!! Bend, Fold & Undulate- Lightweight Dimensional Hand-Formed Substrates with Marian Shapiro

Session 12A: Wednesday, March 11, 2015, 8:00am — 5:00pm

Session 12B:   Thursday, March 12, 2015, 8:00am — 5:00pm

Cost: $325.00 (Includes $30 Materials Fee)

Level: All Levels

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Australian mosaic artist Marian Shapiro is known for her use of three-dimensional hand-formed cement substrates, often giving the illusion of flowing material. Join her in this hands-on session to learn how to make lightweight, dimensional, hand-formed substrates suitable for indoor or outdoor use. This practical course starts off with a presentation showing examples of what can be achieved with this method and offering inspiration to the group. Then, working with fiberglass mesh and thinset, students will create two (2) wall-hanging substrates of their own design. The first will be flat, folded, or undulating (or a combination of all three), and the second will be a hollow shape such as a mask or torso, using the technique of sand casting.  As these substrates are made in two stages, students will complete the first stage for both substrates during the workshop but will finish them in their own time afterwards. Sufficient material will be provided to take away. Participants will also finish off a provided half-made substrate in class to give them hands-on experience in completing the second stage. Discussion of design issues is an integral part of the instruction as well as issues to be taken into account when applying mosaic to a 3-D form. The class is kept small to give students individual attention.  Students are encouraged to ask questions throughout. This session should particularly benefit those who wish to extend their artistic practice by moving beyond the flat surface to make their own custom substrates. Full course notes are also provided.

Adopted Australian, Marian Shapiro has been making art and architectural mosaics since 2003. A multi-award winning artist, her work is shown and collected both in Australia and internationally. She is known for her use of color and her innovative work with dimensional substrates. Public and commercial commissions are in Sydney, and many of her works are in private collections in Sydney, Melbourne, the USA, UK, and Canada. Her work has been featured in a number of mosaic books.  Marian has been teaching mosaics since 2008, and is widely sought after as a teacher and speaker in Australia and abroad. Her teaching style is highly participative and she works with small groups to ensure that all participants benefit fully. ~DarianDesign.com.au

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SOLD-OUT!! Building a Landscape Through Colors and Texture with Laura Rendlen In-the-Slate-Forest

Session 13A: Wednesday, March 11, 2015, 8:00am — 5:00pm

Session 13B: Thursday, March 12, 2015, 8:00am — 5:00pm

Cost: $345.00 (Includes $50 Materials Fee)

Level: Intermediate/Advanced

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This workshop is for artists who want to explore a variety of mosaic techniques to create a representational landscape utilizing different, traditional materials, e.g., glass, stone, shells, and metal.  The instructor will initiate the discussion to consider perspective in foreground and background, and light source highlights and shadows, by beginning with a short presentation and exercises to illustrate general principles.  The beauty of this workshop is that you get to surround yourself by, and then play with, a large variety of tesserae to complete your mosaic.  The workshop emphasizes a hands-on exploration of mosaic techniques.  This allows the artist to discover different textures, color combinations, and ways to transition and form relationships with mixed materials.  Throughout the workshop individual attention and tips are provided to help with the technical aspects of mosaics and to guide each student in the successful completion of the project.

Students are requested to bring wheeled glass nippers.

Laura Rendlen earned her BFA in Sculpture from Kansas City Art Institute and spent 25 years as a scenic painter. Laura has been published in several books, blogs and magazines including Mosaic Fine Art Portraits and Mosaic Art Now magazine. She has also been included four times in the Mosaic Arts International exhibition, and in 2012 she received the prestigious MAI Jurors’ Choice award.  ~LRFinemosaics.com

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Takata.portrait-SAMACreating Substrates in Concrete and Ferroconcrete with Lynn Takata

Session 14A: Wednesday, March 11, 2015, 8:00am – 5:00pm  

Session 14B: Thursday, March 12, 2015, 8:00am – 5:00pm  

Location: Off-Site Location – Transportation/Lunch to be provided

Cost: $300.00 (Includes $25 Materials Fee)

Level: All Levels

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Concrete is a very versatile and inexpensive medium that has huge potential for mosaic artists. It is very durable and can be carved, sandblasted, colored, stamped, polished, stained, etched, cast and hand formed. In this class students will learn a variety of techniques for making concrete substrates for their mosaics. Students will cast a small 4″ x 5″ sculptural relief of their own design using clay to make their mold. This technique can be used with setting indirect mosaics. Students will also create a small 9″ x 11″ 3D ferroconcrete sculpture which is hand formed around a wire armature. The focus of the class is to learn the process and give students skills in how to use the tools and materials to create the forms they desire once they are home. Each process is very different, so students can learn alternate ways of creating work that will last outdoors. We will cover mix design, footings for large scale sculpture and adhesives for mosaic on concrete.  We will mix several types of mortar for different applications and learn to evaluate and alter the mix design.

Students will view a presentation of concrete and mosaic sculpture. Examples of different surfaces in concrete using various aggregates and inclusions will be displayed. There will be an opportunity to ask questions about potential projects.

Students will leave with 2 small concrete projects. The cast project will weigh between 1-3# and the size be about 4″ x 5″ x 2″ or less.  The ferroconcrete project will be about 10# and will be designed to fit in a priority mail box provided at the workshop that can be shipped for about $15. Size for that project will be smaller than 11″ x 9″ x 4.5″.

Lynn Takata is an award-winning artist with over 30 years of experience creating public art in glass, ceramic and concrete. She has created over 300 public mosaics, murals and sculpture for community centers, schools, parks, and zoos. Takata involves hundreds of participants creating their own designs for each project and choreographs these elements as the project design develops so as the mosaic is a dynamic and exciting improvisational process.

Takata teaches glass sculpture and fusing at the Pacific Northwest College of Art and is a consultant on public art projects. ~lynntakata.com

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 KnickerbockerWorkshopSAMA2015_ImageReady, (Thin)Set, Go! with Kelley Knickerbocker and Erin Pankratz – Smith

Session 15: Wednesday, March 11, 2015, 8:00am – 5:00pm  

Cost: $310.00 (Includes $15 Materials Fee)

Level: All Levels

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Through lecture, demo, visual aids and samples Kelley and Erin will demystify the use of cement bonding mortar (thinset) as an adhesive, AND introduce students to the concept of thinset as a design element as integral as tesserae. Students will learn how to effectively use a small trowel to spread/guide/manage thinset, how to work cleanly, different approaches to adhering tesserae, how to tint thinset, how to blend and layer tinted thinset, how to mark, scratch through, and texturize the surface of thinset for visual effects, how to execute Erin’s unique freestanding tesserae technique using perfected multicoloured “blobs,” and how Kelley builds up, embeds and tips tesserae for sculptural and light-handling effects. All without getting your hands dirty! Other tips will include uses for tinted thinset slurries, thinset as tesserae (what?!?!), designing open space into a mosaic composition, smoothing the surface of open areas of thinset, making substrates from thinset and mesh, and much more. Bring your pad and pen to take notes on the lectures and demos, and bring that niggling thinset question for the Q&A session. This workshop is geared to interest and inform all levels of mosaic practitioners. If you’ve been hesitant to work with thinset, this workshop’s for you. If you’ve used thinset for ages and are looking for some new inspiration, this workshop’s for you! Each student will receive two 5” square sample boards incorporating the techniques taught in the workshop.

Visual artist Kelley Knickerbocker began studying mosaic in 2005 with various artists around the US, then left a 22-yr administrative career at the University of Washington in 2006 to found a mosaic studio (Rivenworks Mosaics, Seattle, WA) and began designing/ fabricating/installing mosaic artwork for public, commercial, residential and gallery environments. Kelley’s ruggedly dimensional mosaic artworks – in natural materials, found objects, sometimes even the waste of the studio process itself, such as paper towels and random blobs of hardened cement mortar – are a textural distillation of her fascination with contrast, material properties and the technical challenges of mosaic construction. Her work is widely collected and regularly exhibited in the US and abroad. Believing that interaction with other art makers is key to the freshness and depth of her mosaic practice, Kelley travels extensively speaking, collaborating, and teaching in-depth workshops on mosaic style and technique. ~rivenworksmosaics.com

Erin Pankratz-Smith has been honing her intuitive understanding of color since her childhood in the Northwest Territories. Erin studied ballet until the age of 20, and then art at Alberta College of Art and Design. In 1998 she began to explore mosaic, and in 2011 she “turned pro” with a 436sf mosaic for the Edmonton International Airport. In 2013 Erin received the Innovation in Mosaics Award from the SAMA juried group exhibition Mosaic Art International, and began sharing her innovative approach and techniques in workshops across North America. She continues to create mosaics for public, corporate and private clients and builds a robust body of personal work that pushes color boundaries and blurs the lines between the traditional elements of mosaic: substrate, adhesive, and tesserae. ~erinpankratz.com

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SOLD-OUT! A Lighter Base for 3D Mosaics: Polystyrene Forms and Polymer Fortified Concrete with Sherri Warner Hunter

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Session 16: Wednesday, March 11, 2015, 8:00am — 5:00pm

Location: Off-Site Location – Transportation/Lunch to be provided

Cost: $358.00 (Includes $48 Materials Fee)

Level: All Levels

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This session will be of interest to anyone who wants to learn how to make relatively lightweight sculptural forms to mosaic, from the hobbyist to the professional interested in public art.  In this messy, hands-on workshop you will create your own piece, fully experiencing the subtractive and additive aspects of the process. You will carve polystyrene foam to make a base form and then cover it in fiberglass mesh and polymer-fortified concrete. The instructor will also address the ways in which this process can be adapted for free-standing sculptures, totem elements, and bas relief wall pieces, for both interior and exterior applications. Visual presentations and a Q&A session in the afternoon will round-out the workshop.

Sherri Warner Hunter earned her MA from Claremont Graduate University and BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute with an emphasis in sculpture and drawing. She creates public and private commissioned work, community art projects, and gallery work in her studio in Bell Buckle, TN. , Hunter has authored two books on concrete, the most recent, “Creative Concrete Ornaments for the Garden,” was published by Lark Books. Hunter teaches workshops at her studio, throughout the US and internationally. ~sherriwarnerhunter.com 

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 wall-installationThe ‘Indirect Method’ – Everything You Need to Know with Cynthia Fisher

 Session 17A:   Thursday, March 12, 2015, 8:00am — 5:00pm

Cost: $325.00 (Includes $30 Materials Fee)

Level: All Levels

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The Indirect Method of creating and installing mosaics has many advantages once one is knowledgeable about the steps involved and has gained necessary skills and confidence. It is ideal for:

  • Large-scale work, including community and school projects
    • The ability to easily change design direction during mosaic fabrication
    • Obtaining a flatter final surface
    • Creating mosaics that can be shipped and then installed by a professional tile setter

The workshop will focus on the reverse and double reverse methods using Frosty Contact paper as the temporary adhesive. Hands-on skill development will be emphasized, from laying the mosaic to working with a notched trowel to spread thinset adhesive to the substrate. We will learn how to determine the correct amount and consistency of thinset to apply to the substrate. Common mistakes will be presented as well as how to deal with what can go wrong. Instruction in installation techniques for any indirect method mosaic, from a backsplash to large on-site installations will be addressed. A PowerPoint presentation will be delivered showing numerous examples of different indirect projects the artist has conducted in 15 years of working in this method.

Students are asked to bring their own wheeled glass nippers to the workshop; a notched trowel will be provided for each participant.

Feel free to contact the instructor if you have specific questions on whether the class is a good match for you — cindy@bigbangmosaics.com

Cynthia Fisher has been a professional artist for twenty-five years with a focus on mosaics since 2000. At BIG BANG MOSAICS Fisher creates mosaic installations in public, residential, and corporate settings nationwide. Her diverse body of work ranges from illustrative to painterly to non-representational. Fisher’s abstract mosaics have received prestigious national and international awards, including the Orsoni Prize Honorable Mention in Venice, Italy in 2011. Fisher is self-taught in the indirect method and works 95% exclusively in this method. She teaches indirect method workshops at several renowned art and craft centers across the country.  ~bigbangmosaics.com 

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hopecompletemiddetailSlated for Excellence with Gwyn Kaitis

Session 18: Wednesday, March 11, 2015, 8:00am — 5:00pm

Cost: $330.00 (Includes $35 Materials Fee)

Level: All Levels

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Slated for Excellence will allow students to explore the inner beauty of slate while learning to cut and shape slate by various methods. Students will be introduced to the types of slate readily available; to methods of cutting slate; and how to effectively incorporate slate into their mosaic art. Slate can be used in various ways: slab; rectangular and square cuts; broken edged; and cut into tesserae. It can be laid horizontally, vertically, or at angles. Students will be introduced to these various ways that slate can be cut and used. They will leave class confident in their ability to work with all types of slate and to choose the most appropriate cutting and laying methods. This course is a hands on workshop and students will complete a mosaic using slate, gold, Smalti, and ceramic tile.

Gwyn Kaitis has been creating and teaching mosaic art for more than 15 years. She is a founding faculty member of the Chicago Mosaic School and has been an instructor at the school for the past eight years.  Her work has been selected for numerous exhibitions including five Mosaic Arts International Exhibitions and has been featured in the Exhibition in Print for Mosaic Art Now.  Additionally her work has been shown at the Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art and is in the permanent collection of the S.C. Johnson Company’s headquarters in Racine, Wisconsin. She is also a contributing writer for Glass Art Magazine. ~gwynkaitis.com 

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 tsunamiPet Portraiture: A Tribute in Tesserae with Gwyn Kaitis

 Session 19: Thursday, March 12, 2015, 8:00am — 5:00pm

Cost: $330.00 (Includes $35 Materials Fee)

Level: All Levels

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In this class participants will learn a two step process to creating a portrait of their dog, cat, bird, fish or other pet combining the direct method and the double direct method of creating a mosaic. The emblema (the actual portrait) is created in the double direct method, and the background, created in the direct method. Participants will learn how to use the appropriate tools and materials during this class. This class is appropriate for beginning and intermediate level students.

Gwyn Kaitis has been creating and teaching mosaic art for more than 15 years. She is a founding faculty member of the Chicago Mosaic School and has been an instructor at the school for the past eight years.  Her work has been selected for numerous exhibitions including five Mosaic Arts International Exhibitions and has been featured in the Exhibition in Print for Mosaic Art Now.  Additionally her work has been shown at the Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art and is in the permanent collection of the S.C. Johnson Company’s headquarters in Racine, Wisconsin. She is also a contributing writer for Glass Art Magazine.~gwynkaitis.com 

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 SharraThe Secrets of Mosaicking with Beads with Sharra Frank

Session 20A: Wednesday, March 11, 2015, 8:00am — 5:00pm

Session 20B: Thursday, March 12, 2015, 8:00am — 5:00pm

Cost: $325.00 (Includes $30 Materials Fee)

Level: All Levels

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In this workshop students learn the benefits of incorporating beads into a mosaic. The primary focus is experimenting with effective techniques to apply beads into a mosaic utilizing a magical adhesive.  Also addressed will be how to source, select, and store beads.   Information is shared through lecture, video, and guided hands-on experience. A new video sample highlighting technique demonstrations will be presented this year. Students will create a small mosaic, utilizing a selection of quality beads and bead caps provided by the instructor. Students are welcome to bring a small substrate along or to select one from a variety of small Wedi board substrates and 3D foam shapes provided by the instructor.  Students are encouraged to bring a small selection of tesserae that inspires them and also images of their work. A demonstration on grouting beads within a mosaic will also be included. Time will be allowed for Q&A. This session should particularly benefit those who are interested in mixed media mosaics and those also interested in learning how to successfully incorporate beads into their mosaic work in a fine art manner.

Sharra Frank is an established mosaic artist in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She started her mosaic work in 2002 while an art student at the University of Minnesota.  She began working at her kitchen table and created small pieces to sell in local flower shops. With each small success her artistic vision grew and so did the scale and intricacy of her work. After making the leap to a private studio she continued creating the intricate, whimsical, and inspiring mosaic mirrors, window hangings and panels that are her signature. During this same time, Frank made the transition to full-time artist and never looked back. She has several large scale public art installations throughout the Twin Cities area and has worked with high-end designers and clientele from New York to California. Frank teaches beginning and advanced mosaic classes from her Minneapolis studio, at SAMA conferences, and also offers classes online through her website. ~SharraFrank.com

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 tile2Large Format Ceramic Tiles for Mosaic: Mastering the Material, the Tools and the Fabrication Methods with Bonnie Fitzgerald

 Session 21:   Thursday, March 12, 2015, 8:00am — 5:00pm

Cost: $380.00 (Includes $85 Materials Fee)

Level: All Levels

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Large format, high fire ceramic tiles are well suited for architectural and exterior mosaic art installations. They come in a myriad of shapes, sizes, surfaces and glazes, and colors. Students will learn about the most popular tiles currently on the market and how to properly select the types appropriate for various projects.  This is a hands-on opportunity to process tiles into tesserae using a professional wet saw, a ring saw, table top tile cutter, tile nippers, snappers and other hand tools. Instructor will demonstrate face tape and mosaic mesh mount methods, which are both important techniques when using these beautiful materials for large scale applications.  Each student will make their own 12’’x12” mosaic of a design of their choosing. If your project is not completed during the workshop, ample materials will be supplied to you for finishing and grouting on your own. Workshop fee includes power tool training, prepared substrate, thin-set adhesive and a generous selection of colorful ceramic tiles. This workshop should particularly benefit anyone interested in ceramic as a mosaic material for use in a large scale or exterior application and the workshop is suited for all experience levels. Upon completion of the workshop students can expect to have the knowledge and confidence to use large format ceramic as a mosaic material: identifying the best product for your project, processing tiles into tesserae using appropriate power and hand tools and utilizing the best fabrication method.

Students are asked to bring a ceramic tile nipper.

Bonnie Fitzgerald is the author of 300+ Mosaic Tips, Techniques, Templates and Trade Secrets. Her company, Maverick Mosaics, based in Northern Virginia, is dedicated to creating unique learning experiences. Over the past 15 years she has taught over 20 different art workshop topics to hundreds of students. Additionally, Fitzgerald designs and fabricates architectural mosaics for a wide variety of clients. Mentoring students and creating art are interdependent pursuits that shape Fitzgerald’s artistic voice every day. She is a past SAMA Board of Trustee Executive Committee Member and longtime SAMA member. MaverickMosaics.com

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Apple-grout-Version-2 About Grout with Bonnie Fitzgerald and Andrea Taylor

Session 22:   Wednesday, March 11, 2015, 8:00am — 12:00pm

Cost: $220.00 (Includes $45 Materials Fee)

Level: All Levels

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Grouting a completed mosaic can be intimidating. Grout impacts the appearance of your art, it can appear tricky to mix, installation criteria must be taken into account, and there are so many choices of grouts and assorted additives your head may spin. Through expert instruction, hands-on exercises, and one-on-one coaching you will learn about and work with the various types of grouts (i.e., sanded, un-sanded, epoxy grout), additives, sealants, colorants and learn handling techniques and safety concerns. Instructors will also introduce interesting grout surface embellishments, demonstrate using multiple color grouts, custom color mixing, and more. There are many techniques to “fix” a grout disaster and tricks and techniques will be shown.

Students are encouraged to bring an un-grouted mosaic to complete during the workshop, or a piece that they have grouted and aren’t pleased with the results. The instructors will provide un-grouted mosaics for you to experiment with. For students who bring pieces from home artwork should be no larger than the parameters of the SAMA Salon pieces; basically small enough to fit into a carry-on suitcase. This is an information-rich session that will particularly benefit anyone who uses grout in their mosaic process.

This workshop will be team taught by Bonnie Fitzgerald and Andrea Taylor who have been recognized as dynamic, fun and personable instructors who collaborate beautifully in the classroom. With over 30 years combined experience they bring an extensive knowledge base and expertise in a broad range of mosaic materials and techniques.

Bonnie Fitzgerald is the founder of Maverick Mosaics, a working mosaic art studio in metropolitan Washington, DC. Bonnie teaches workshops throughout North America, including the Smithsonian Institution, and leads study tours to destinations in Europe. Additionally, she designs and fabricates architectural mosaics for a wide variety of clients. Mentoring students and creating art are interdependent pursuits that shape Fitzgerald’s artistic voice every day. She is the author of “Guide to Mosaic Techniques”” (2015) and “300+ Mosaic Tips, Techniques, Templates and Trade Secrets” (2012). Bonnie is a former SAMA Board of Trustees Executive Committee member and a longtime SAMA supporter. To learn more bonniefitzgeraldart.com AND maverickmosaics.com.

Andrea Taylor has been a mosaic artist since 2000, and her mosaic art spans from large-scale architectural murals to sculptures to jewelry, but her specialty is animal mosaic portraiture. Her award-winning work has been shown and collected nationally. Her primary professional experience outside of the art world is in media and technical instruction, conducting adult training programs since 1994 and teaching mosaic art since 2004. At last count, she has taught well over 950 adult students and countless children in various topics in the art of mosaic. Andrea is a past Executive Board member and Education Committee Chair of the Society of American Mosaic Artists. She has served as Director of Education and Curriculum Development for Maverick Mosaics Art School and Studio since 2010, and continues to serve in an active consulting role for the school from her new location in northeast Wisconsin.

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 Photo-2009-01-01-12-04-31-PM-11Precision Mosaic Jewelry with Margo Anton

Session 23: Thursday, March 12, 2015, (date change)

Wednesday, March 11, 2015  8:00am – 5:00pm

Cost: $320.00 (Includes $25 Materials Fee)

Level: All Levels

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The ability to make mosaic jewelry is a fantastic skill that can result in many gifts and sales! Learn how to create high end, precisely laid mosaic jewelry in this full day workshop. The day begins with a comprehensive lecture and slide show on jewelry base selection, adhesive choice, and suitable tesserae, followed by an examination of design for jewelry and how it differs from standard mosaic design. Precision cutting, the key to fine mosaic jewelry, will be discussed, demonstrated, and practiced. Jewelry laying techniques will be thoroughly covered, and students can expect lots of great tips! Class participants will receive lots of individual attention as they work on silver plate mosaic pendants using mosaic gold, Smalti, filati, semiprecious stones, dichroic glass, and millefiori. Students will leave with a finished pendant to show off to their SAMA friends, or with materials to complete the project later. A comprehensive handout will be provided, and participants should expect to depart with the knowledge and skills to create precision mosaic jewelry on their own. This session should particularly benefit participants of all levels who are wanting to learn to cut material more precisely, who want to add high end mosaic jewelry to their repertoire, or who are interested in learning to work in small scale mosaic.

Students in this class will be provided with all materials and tools to create their mosaic pendant except wheeled glass nippers and protective eyewear.

Students are asked to bring wheeled glass nippers and safety glasses to the workshop, as well as any magnifying eyewear or tools if required or desired.

Margo Anton has been working as a professional mosaic artist for over a decade, creating fine art mosaics, mosaic jewelry, and teaching classes. She has exhibited her texture focused art work in her native Canada, the USA, Italy, and in four past SAMA exhibitions. When not creating mosaics and mosaic jewelry, she shares her knowledge and love of the mosaic medium by teaching, from regular classes in Canada, to workshops in the USA, to artist residencies abroad. She has instructed at three past SAMA conferences. In 2009, she created the Mosaic a Day project, creating a small mosaic everyday; her exceptionally precise jewelry was one of the by-products of this enterprise. Her mastery of the tiniest cuts enables her to create outstanding high end mosaic jewelry, which can be seen at www.margoanton-mosaicjewels.com

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Combining Stone and Blenko Glass in Modern Mosaics with Sophie Drouin

 Session 24A: Wednesday, March 11, 2015, 8:00am – 5:00pm  

Session 24B: Thursday, March 12, 2015, 8:00pm – 5:00pm  

Location: Off-Site Location – Transportation/Lunch  to be provided

Cost: $355.00 (Includes $45 Materials Fee)

Level: Intermediate/Advanced

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This hands-on session will focus on the contrasting properties of stone materials in modern mosaic combinations. Each participant will receive assistance in the creation of his/her own small mosaic. Teaching will include the promotion of good andamento discipline within a modern context, using stone, with a choice of simple but effective designs that can be extrapolated at will. This should particularly benefit intermediate or advanced artists who wish to explore new combinations, textures and materials, as well as those wishing to gain more control in the process of creation and translation of designs. Hammer and hardie technique will be taught as part of the class, and thinset will be used as an adhesive, to highlight a range of good spacing options between the tesserae.

Sophie Drouin is an award-winning mosaic artist who specializes in abstract designs.  She first studied with her Italian-trained artist father, and has travelled to Italy and France to learn from mosaic masters such as Verdiano Marzi.

Sophie teaches mosaic throughout North America, at her home in Canada as well as in the US, where she has taught in Miami, Oakland, Chicago, Boston, San Diego, Austin, Lexington and Charlotte. She is an award-winning member the Society of American Mosaic Artists (SAMA), a member of the British association for Modern Mosaic (BAMM) and the International Association of Contemporary Mosaicists (AIMC). She has exhibited in Canada and the United States, as well as Europe where she has also won a number of awards.  Ms Drouin is the English Language editor of Mosaïque Magazine, an excellent publication with a focus on international mosaic events and artists throughout the world.  ~SophieMosaics.com

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 DSC_0515Mosaicking the Human Eye with Antonella Gallenda

Session 25A: Wednesday, March 11, 2015, 8:00am – 5:00pm

Session 25B: Thursday, March 12, 2015, 8:00am — 5:00pm

Cost: $360.00 (Includes $50 Materials Fee)

Level: Intermediate/Advanced

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Often called the “entry to one’s soul” the human eye is one of the most intricate parts of the body.  In this course the student will learn how to replicate the eye.  Through  proper coloring, shading and andamento each student will learn to capture the fine details of a human eye.  Students will translate sketches or photographs of eyes and learn to cut very tiny pieces and proper placement to create depth and realism.

Antonella Gallenda has been working at Angelo Orsoni of Italy since 1981 and is Lucio Orsoni’s trusty assistant.  She teaches the mosaic classes held in Venice at Orsoni and various classes abroad. She manages the mosaic studio at Orsoni and works in the restoration and application of finished mosaics for interiors. For the past five years, Gallenda has intensely studied the techniques of micromosaics, having attended courses in several studios in Rome. Also, she has taught workshops for the past several SAMA Conferences, including Tacoma, Austin, and Chicago. ~Orsoni.com

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SOLD-OUT!!

FDSC_0120ull Immersion in the Venetian Mosaic Technique – Direct Method with Giulio Menossi

Session 26A: Wednesday, March 11, 2015, 8:00am — 5:00pm

Session 26B: Thursday, March 12, 2015, 8:00am — 5:00pm

Cost: $370.00 (Includes $50 Materials Fee)

Level: Intermediate/Advanced

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Students will learn to create a mosaic in the manner of ancient artists.  Traditional cutting tools of hammer and hardie will be utilized to cut Italian Smalti tesserae.  These are the tools that were used throughout history, and using them connects us to the tradition of beautiful and masterful mosaics as well as to those who created them.  The instructor will explain and demonstrate the correct method to handle the hammer and the proper body positioning beside the hardie.  Each student will also receive individual assistance.

From the Italian verb andare, “to go,” andamento refers to the flow and direction of the individual tesserae.  Andamento creates the flow, the visual movement of the mosaic as each tessera is placed precisely to create that flow.  For any design you are making the andamento is very important.  The instructor will describe the principles of andamento, draw diagrams to demonstrate, and also show examples.  The workshop will offer both theoretical and practical sections to enable students to develop and improve their skills in cutting, andamento, and chiselling.  Students will have the opportunity to put the rules of the Venetian technique into practice on a small mosaic created in the direct method.

Students will need to bring notebook, pen or pencil, tweezers and apron.

Giulio Menossi is an internationally recognized master mosaic artist who lives and works in Udine, northeastern Italy.  Menossi’s training, under the tutelage of Maestro Domenico Colledani, started in the mid-1970s in Milan.  That city’s vibrant cultural and artistic community captivated Menossi and exerted a profound influence on him.  Maestro Menossi’s talent and passion for the art of mosaic have earned him an outstanding reputation not only for his copies of ancient mosaics and for his portraits, but also for his “dynamic mosaics,” which he developed through long and painstaking research.  Throughout his artistic career, Maestro Menossi has participated in regional, national, and international exhibitions.  He has received many awards and distinctions.  Since 2009 Maestro Menossi has offered courses in his Udine laboratory, and abroad, to mosaic enthusiasts from around the world.  ~Menossi

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IsaiahZagarCommunity Mosaic Fabrication with Isaiah Zagar

Session 28A:   2 Days – Monday, March 9 & Tuesday, March 10, 2015, 8:00am – 5:00pm

Session 28B:   2 Days – Wednesday, March 11 & Thursday, March 12, 2015, 8:00am – 5:00pm

Location: Philadelphia Magic Gardens

Cost: $475.00 (Includes $50 Materials Fee)

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Award-winning mosaic mural artist and creator of Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens Isaiah Zagar has been adorning the streets of Philadelphia with his work for more than 40 years. Join a two-day workshop with Zagar himself to learn his method and work on an outdoor mosaic from conception to completion. Participants are then equipped with the skills and knowledge to create their own large-scale mosaic murals inspired by Zagar. During the two-day workshop participants will: work with Zagar in his private studio, create handmade clay doily tiles, participate in all aspects of the mural installation, and visit Zagar’s current work in progress not normally open to the public. Help to beautify the neighborhood by creating a permanent piece of public art while learning from a living legend. All materials are included; please bring an apron if possible.

Isaiah Zagar is an award-winning mosaic mural artist whose work can be found on more than 200 public walls throughout the city of Philadelphia and around the world. Born in Philadelphia and raised in Brooklyn, Zagar received his B.F.A. in Painting and Graphics at the Pratt Institute of Art in New York City. When he was 19 years old, Zagar discovered the folk art installations of Clarence Schmidt in Woodstock, New York. Influenced by Schmidt, Picasso, Jean Debuffet, Kurt Schwitters, Antonio Gaudi, Simon Rodia and Joseph Ferdinand Cheval, he was inspired to include the concepts of untrained artists as manifestations of fine art.

Zagar’s largest public installation is the visionary art environment Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens (PMG), which now operates as a non-profit gallery and community art center. PMG inspires creativity and community engagement by educating the public about folk, mosaic, and visionary art, and preserves, interprets, and provides access to Isaiah Zagar’s unique mosaic art environment and his public murals. Zagar’s work is also included in the permanent collections of numerous art institutions, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C., and has been featured in solo exhibitions throughout the Philadelphia area. Zagar has received grants for his artistic excellence from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Pew Charitable Trusts.  ~PhillyMagicGardens.org 

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