Professional Member Gallery

Cherie Bosela is an award-winning Orlando based mixed media mosaic artist, exhibiting her work all over the US. These are just a few of the materials she uses in her artwork: sheet glass, ceramics, fused glass and her photography under the glass. Her artwork is inspired by her travels. She likes to capture the essence of the moment, to express something that made an impact on her, and to relate that in her work. This results in images that are almost like a memory, full of life and expression. She takes these memories and recreate them into a mosaic, giving life back to that little moment and giving the experience to all who pass it. Her work has been included in exhibits at The Museum of Glass in Tacoma, WA, 1st Thursdays at the Orlando Museum of Art, Mayor’s Gallery in Orlando City Hall and CityArts Factory to name a few. She was on the Society of American Mosaic Artists Board of Trustees from 2014-2017 and has been a member since 2011. She is the owner of Luna Mosaic Arts in Orlando, FL.

Beauty is not necessarily about something being perfect or whole. Perhaps this is why I am so drawn to the medium of mosaic. Individual fragments, imperfect and broken, are combined in such a way as to reveal a rich tapestry for the senses. This is done by contrasting elements of light and shadow, shape and texture, brilliant color and muted tones, spontaneity and balance through the language of mosaic.

David's mosaics are also influenced by his early years growing up on a small farm in South Texas, his love for nature and wildlife, the history and culture of indigenous people of the Americas and the Sami of Lapland. Other interests include ancient rock art in West Texas, aboriginal art of Australia, shamanism, spirituality, sacred geometry, and storytelling. Most recently, the theme of brokenness from personal loss, healing, beginning anew, and celebrating life is being explored.

David maintains a studio practice in San Antonio.

Carole Choucair Oueijan, is a fine artist whose work in mosaic, watercolor, oil painting and mixed media, have won international honors.
Her art training includes completion of Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the Institut National Des Beaux Arts, Lebanon, a Diploma in Interior Design and a specialization in the Byzantine Mosaic Technique in Greece. Her mosaics have a decidedly “painterly” effect that blends realism with abstract seamlessly. Her artwork is exhibited across the US, Lebanon, Italy, Greece, Qatar and Canada.
Carole is the winner of five public art projects in the City of Santa Cruz, at their historical board walk, the Civic Center in Temecula, in a commercial building in Bellflower, on five locations in the City of Temple City and a mosaic sculpture in the City of Monrovia at their Goldline Station Square.

My inspiration is the natural world. I love seeing the sheen of water and the mica in rocks, seeing reflections in puddles, how rain sparkles on leaves after the morning dew, and how flowers appear in unexpected places. I strive to have these moments depicted in my work.

I use plate shards, stained glass, stones, slate, moss, and natural and upcycled materials to create mixed media mosaic art to form succulent flowers, plants, and forest floor landscapes in both representative and abstract forms.

I find joy in gathering materials (at antique stores, yard sales, on the beach and in the forest), to create my art.

Initially educated and employed as an occupational therapist with a lifelong passion for art, in 2010 I opened Cheryl Cohen Mosaics Art Center, the fulfillment of a lifelong dream to teach art classes in my own studio. Over the years, my studio has grown to 2000 students per year, with tens of thousands of items in inventory.

A Community Invested Public Art Project is one in which the community has a say in what kind of art happens in their public spaces. One of the most exciting aspects of my job as a public artist is to help a community articulate what is special about their place. This articulation process involves bringing folks with potentially divergent ideas together where I facilitate a conversation that not only gives individuals a voice in the process for creating images for their public spaces, but also allows them to make deeper connections with each other.

Art is a non-verbal form of communication; most artists get to choose the topic they feel like communicating, this is not so with the public artist. As a public artist we are called upon to create visual identifiers for a community. We cannot help but reflect the times we live in, which makes creating public art a complex, complicated and at times a difficult-to-navigate process.

I believe the arts have the ability to create social change. Through the process of community based public arts we build community pride and connections, foster creativity, create relevant iconic art, and transform ordinary or neglected spaces into vibrant community places.

Detroit has been an inspiration for my work for nearly 20 years. Over the last few years, I changed my medium from paint to mosaic. Using glass and objects I find in and around the city, I build images of Detroit that parallel the current growth of the city. Utilizing the detritus of the city, I find gratification in creating something beautiful. There is a striking similarity in the transformation of Detroit and the approach to my process: The Un-Shattered Series is a body of work that reflects the change, hope, hard work and multitudes that reflect the rejuvenation of our city. In fact, I am delighted that TCF Center, (formerly Cobo Center), recently purchased and installed my largest mosaic to date for their permanent collection, which reflects a broad cross-section of art and artists from, and around, Detroit. Last year I received the Best of Show Award at the Anton Art Center in Mount Clemens, Michigan fine art competition. The exhibition was juried by Detroit Institute of Arts Director, Salvador Salort-Pons.

I work in mixed media with a strong focus on mosaics. I use a wide variety of materials in my work, including natural, foraged and found items such as sea glass, bone, driftwood and stone. My use of color is widely variable, from muted and earth toned to bright and psychedelic hues. Where mosaic work tends to be structured and planned, I try to incorporate spontaneity and serendipity within my pieces. I am particularly focused on surface design and pushing the boundaries of sculpture with unconventional and re-purposed materials.

Much of my artwork is abstract in style and form, reflecting my lifelong interest in tribal art and artifacts from around the world. I was born and raised in a seaside town, and the ocean has been a powerful, repetitive theme through most every piece of art I have made. In addition, I like to create “color and texture memories” of places I’ve visited over the years, and to explore macro and micro-environments in nature.

Despite the daily realities of poverty, racism and militarism, I still believe the world is infused with grace and beauty. Creating mosaics is one of the ways I participate in these mysteries. Through the slow and repetitive process of cutting and setting pieces of glass and stone in mortar, an image often comes to me as a thing to explore. I create mosaics because they are slow enough to offer me the gift of time to discern a thought, an emotion, an experience, an image or some other curiosity and then make a beautiful expression of it. Artists, in my mind, are uniquely situated to try and try again to bring about an encounter with Beauty.

Kim Emerson has been creating mosaics for public and private spaces in the region of San Diego, CA since 1991. Her work is found as public art and in private collections in California, Arizona, Idaho, Oregon, and Massachusetts. Kim specializes in large scale installations as well as small studio works. She is the founder of the San Diego Mosaic School were she teaches mosaic workshops of all mosaic methods from her own working studio on a regular basis in the Normal Heights community of San Diego.

I have long been drawn to all forms of stonework. Rough, uneven, hand built, stone structures like the asymmetrical stone steps reaching for the sky in the Nepal Himalayas or the labyrinth of rugged dry stack stone walls demarking the Ireland countryside fill me with wonder and joy. The repetition of the irregular stones and their relationship to one another generates a rhythm that moves me and reverberates within my soul. My work is an attempt to reproduce this feeling with my mosaics art.

When creating a new piece, I usually start with a design. I'm excited by geometric patterns, organic shapes, flow and abstraction. A narrative always develops as I work which in turn informs the piece and the two evolve together. I often elect to not explicitly communicate the message, preferring to challenge the observer to develop a personal interpretation without influence although my titles can present a hint. I continue to experiment, look for new ways to express myself and be happy with my work.

I began creating mosaic art 18 years ago. I have a background of painting, stage sets and party decorations but once I found mosaics it was all I wanted to do. I took numerous workshops, with a variety of teachers, at SAMA's annual conferences. I also traveled around the US, Italy and Mexico to attend workshops from teachers I admired. I have received so much from SAMA that I felt compelled to give back. I have served on the Board of Trustees as well as chaired several committees. Volunteering and developing friendships in SAMA has given me more than I can ever express. I continue to create in my home studio and help friends learn the amazing serenity gained from mosaics.

Looking at what has come before is of utmost importance to me. Studying the ancient works is primary in order to learn the language of mosaic. As I continue to build my own body of work, the techniques I use become second nature and my own voice and style comes through.

Yulia Hanansen is a second-generation artist. Having mastered many techniques including printmaking, drawing, painting, mosaics, textiles, and more, Yulia has been professionally involved in mosaic making since 2001. She takes pride in her ability to be able to create art in a variety of media and in a vast array of themes. Her Mosaic Sphere Studio, LLC was the first mosaic studio/gallery in the state of Michigan to show and represent mosaic artwork. Studio is currently located in a charming city of Baltimore, Maryland, USA where Yulia works  and lives. Mosaics are made for commission, or they can be purchased from a thematically extensive collection of ready-made artworks. Pieces include architectural installations, wall pieces, back-splashes, wall art, public and community projects.
 
Yulia is a recipient of numerous awards for her mosaic and printmaking artwork, including "Best in Show" and "Juror's Choice" awards at Mosaic Arts International. Yulia's works have been exhibited in the galleries nationwide and internationally: New York City, Philadelphia, Chicago, Seattle, Tacoma, San Francisco, San Diego, Mesa, Miami, Dallas, Ann Arbor, Grado, Italy, and other locations. Work has been collected by patrons in the USA, Canada, Russia, Lithuania, Uzbekistan, Israel, Australia, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, and South Pole.
 
Yulia's latest works represent her fascination with themes of nature, climate change, cosmos, and a connection of human beings to it. She is interested in depicting places and natural phenomena that often can only be seen with the help of technology.
 
Yulia teaches mosaic art to the public at the mosaic schools and art establishments throughout the US. In addition to mosaic-making Yulia is an adjunct professor at Towson University, Towson, MD instructing classes in printmaking, drawing, art foundations, and artist books.

Born in 1963 in Seattle, Washington, Kelley Knickerbocker has been a fulltime practicing artist since 2006, when she traded in a secure 22-year management career at the University of Washington for the freedom to spend her days combining bits of stone, glass and tile into vibrant abstract compositions. Her ruggedly dimensional mosaic artworks are a textural distillation of her fascination with contrast, material properties and the technical challenges of mosaic construction. Kelley’s work has been featured in numerous solo and group shows in the United States and around the world, and her commissioned pieces grace many residential, commercial and public spaces. In addition to her mosaic studio practice in Seattle, WA, Kelley teaches workshops in mosaic design and technique throughout North America.

"To create is a spiritual journey as I am God's creation. My chosen medium- mosaic , unleashes a radio drama that ordinary paintings could not convey.
Like my life and my films, every piece, color, and texture combined with the play of light is a process with unpredictable outcome.
Hand cut, cannot be altered and resistant, each artwork is a relationship till I move to the next.
I love the reflections- alive pulsating and changeable. Shining splendor! This is when I am most happy.
These are moments I humbly express my gratitude."

Mosaic Arts Online is your source for learning from expert Mosaic artists and instructors through an online source. These online courses can be accessed anywhere at any time through unlimited login access. Each course is designed for students to learn tips and techniques that can be easily accomplished and repeated. These online courses are broken down into sections that make it possible to work "in your own space, at your own pace” and complete projects step by step. Instructors will demonstrate and teach techniques from an over-hands perspective to provide a clear and detailed view with no distractions. Once you complete many of the techniques, you will be ready to get even more creative, and try more ambitious projects. Each purchased Mosaic Arts Online course is always available through the individual account log-in. These online courses are not available for download, so having internet access to log in is required. These courses never expire. There are over 50 courses to choose from, starting with Beginner Mosaics all the way to different levels of Andamento.

I do not remember a moment in my life when I was not creating art but I do remember the moment I decided I wanted to create mosaic art. It is in this process especially, that I find peace, purpose, and a way to say my truth out loud...with many little pieces. I constantly try to find a balance between the simple and the complex in my work. The subject and colors simple...and the movement within that subject...complex. This is what drives and challenges me to keep creating. This challenge to create what I see all around me, in nature, humanity, life and the ironic can be seen in every mosaic I make.

Carol Shelkin is a visual artist and art instructor who also creates contemporary fine-art mosaics. Her original work with hand-cut stained glass is intricate, revealing an attention to detail that distinguishes her among other artists. She has created a style that is defined as: Painting With Glass.
She attended Fleisher Art Memorial in Philadelphia and continued studying painting at Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and mosaics in Ravenna, Italy. Her eclectic approach to surface design—placing glass where a painter would naturally place paint—is the perfect marriage of these two loves.
As a full-time artist, Carol creates one-of-a-kind pieces that make their home in galleries, community centers, libraries, and commercial and residential settings. She is a founding member and past president of the Mosaic Society of Philadelphia and the founder of Worldwide Mosaic Workshops since 2008. Carol, teaches on going workshops in and around Philadelphia, weekend and weeklong workshops helping students turn their creative visions into original works of art.

Making representational art of natural scenes is the best way that I know to bring attention to what we are losing as a result of our insatiable desire to consume for personal gain.

Dianne Sonnenberg is an internationally-recognized mosaic artist based in Austin, TX and Port Carling (Muskoka), Ontario. She has been involved in the global mosaic community for over 12 years, and is a member of The Society of American Mosaic Artists and Contemporary Mosaic Art (CMA). Dianne is passionate about mosaic art, and has taught hundreds of students the wonderful art of mosaics. Her mosaics and sculptural works have won numerous awards, including Best Architectural Mosaic at the 2010 Mosaic Arts International Exhibit in Chicago, IL. Dianne is the Artistic Director at The Austin School of Mosaic Art, a member of the faculty at The Contemporary Austin Art School at Laguna Gloria, and is a sought-after instructor across the US and Canada. She was one of 9 artists worldwide invited to attend the prestigious Clauiano Mosaic Symposium in Clauiano, Italy in June 2017.

I love the deep focus required to
make a mosaic and the process
of cutting and shaping the individual
tesserae of stone and glass.
Each piece has an ancient history
and a subtle beauty.
I hope people will appreciate and enjoy
the unique textures and amazing enduring
quality of the material. Perhaps they will get
lost in the flow as they tell their story,
and sing their ancient song.

"Mosaic, for me, is a meditation, a spiritual reflection. I am writing a story, completing a puzzle with unknown endings. Intuition allows a unique composition to emerge, while multitudes of pieces work collectively in form, texture, and color. Modest fragments beget a resplendent whole. I am perceiving and illustrating life through a kaleidoscope."

Compelled to build, I am driven by the materials and the process of construction, challenging simple elements into unexpected forms. By breaking seemingly unbreakable materials, a voice is given to all that is broken, in me, in others, and the objects that surround us. A window is created and we can see how the cracks and imperfections create a more beautiful and stronger whole. Despite the fractures and deterioration, with age, all things develop beauty, strength and grace that that can not be equaled by youth.

Public and private mosaic commissions provide opportunities for me to create site specific, collaborative art work. Nature and ecological themes feature prominently in my recent public commissions, whether I find inspiration from the dramatic Northern California coastline, an endangered prairie flower, Bay Area wetlands, or migrating butterflies. Project research often leads me to the compelling stories of overlooked plants and animals. We already know about the bold and brilliant. In my mosaics I bring attention to the ones who may be concealed and modest, but have remarkable, inspiring stories of tenacity and industriousness. My goal is that when viewers spend time with my mosaic they experience a sense of curiosity and self reflection. I derive deep satisfaction in having diverse people experience my uplifting art in public places.