If viewing great mosaics at the exhibition isn’t enough, these classes give you a chance to learn from some of the best mosaic artists in the field today. Artists Bill Buckingham, Lynne Chinn, Sophie Drouin, Pam Stratton, and Nancie Mills Pipgras walk you through the process from design to execution.
 Introduction to Smalti (one day class)
Instructor: Pam Stratton
This class is offered twice:
Date: Class #1: Sept 20 (9am to 5pm)
Date: Class #2: Oct 17 (9am to 5pm)
Location: Rockport, MA
Tuition: $150 plus $25 materials fee = $175
Level: Beginning to Intermediate
Class size limited to 8 students
Smalti is the beautifully colored glass seen in the mosaics of the great
cathedrals throughout the world. Smalti is hand cut from a large slab or pizza
of glass and it's riven edge is used as the surface for the mosaic. This gives
the mosaic a sparkling reflective quality. The class will focus on the
fundamentals of cutting smalti using nippers to create a vibrant, colorful
mosaic. We will make an 8x8 ungrouted mosaic using the direct method. All
materials and a choice of designs will be provided to allow you to use your
newly acquired techniques and skills.
Click here to register.
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 Classic Mosaic Design - The Roman Tradition (Oct 3-4)
Instructors: Nancie Mills Pipgras and Bill Buckingham
Dates: Oct 3 (9am to 5pm) and Oct 4 (9am to 4pm)
Location: Somerville Museum, Somerville, MA
Tuition: $275 plus $25 materials fee = $300
Level: All
Class size limited to 10 students
Rome expanded its empire not just with armies, governors, and roads, but with
the exquisite art of mosaics. Mosaics in the homes of Roman gentry and public
spaces established authority, chronicled conquests, and told stories of gods and
humans at work and play.
In this two-day course, you will create your own Roman-style mosaic using
classic mosaic design techniques that are still being used by today’s mosaic
artists. Be transported as instructors Buckingham and Mills Pipgras take you
back in time to guide you through the same learning process that novice
mosaic-makers experienced from the Roman masters.
Beginners as well as more experienced mosaicists can gain valuable skills from
this class no matter which direction you go with your mosaic art.
And yes, it will be fun. We promise.
Click here to register.
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The Elements of Design for Mosaic: Designing and Creating Award Winning Mosaics
(Nov 7-8)
Instructor: Lynne Chinn
Dates: Nov 7 (9am to 5pm) and Nov 8 (9am to 4pm)
Location: Somerville Museum, Somerville, MA
Tuition: $325 plus $25 materials fee = $350
Level: All
Class size limited to 20 students
What is good design and how do you use it to create a better mosaic? This class
focuses on the basics of design taught by designer, painter and
professional mosaicist, Lynne Chinn. In this class you will begin to develop a
visual language which can aid in artwork creation as well as help you converse
about your artwork in terms of design. Learn and understand the principles,
rules and concepts of basic design so that they can support your personal taste,
sensitivity and aesthetic when creating your mosaic artworks. We will explore
topics like form, positive/negative spaces, repetition, graduation, contrast,
anomaly, and texture, among others.
A presentation of
mosaic images reinforced with a student handout will demonstrate examples of the
elements discussed. Then you will use your own mosaic talents to cement the
ideas being taught. Ideas, art supplies and materials supplied.
Click here to register.
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Abstract Mosaic with Stone - Listening to the Rocks
(Nov 14-15)
Instructor: Sophie Drouin
Dates: Nov 14 (9am to 5pm) and Nov 15 (9am to 4pm)
Location: Somerville Museum, Somerville, MA
Tuition: $325 plus $25 materials fee = $350
Level: All
Class size limited to 15 students
This is a hands-on class where you will learn how to create abstract mosaics
that successfully achieve organic and creative effects of texture and design using rocks, minerals,
and other less traditional materials, including feldspars, calcite, quartz (clear, amethyst, and citrine),
agates, pyrites, marbles, and granites - among others. We will explore the properties, strengths,
and cleaving potential of different rocks and minerals that are compatible with mosaic-making.
We will look at how to broaden the mosaic "languages" that one can speak allowing for more dramatic
results in a wider range of texture, andamento, and design. Once familiar with these materials
and design principles, you will create your own small abstract mosaic,
using materials provided and/or one or more anchor elements from your own collection.
This session should particularly benefit those intermediate to advanced mosaic artists
who are interested in abstract mosaic art using new and unusual materials.
Click
here to see photos from a class that Sophie recently taught in Oregon.
Click here to register.
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About the Instructors
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 Since 2001
Lynne Chinn has been designing, creating and installing large scale, one-of-a-kind mosaic art pieces for designers, architects, public art committees, liturgical clients, art consultants and homeowners. Her most recent installation was a 6’w x 9’h Italian smalti mosaic Icon at Mt. Angel Abbey. Lynne was recently recognized as ‘Best In Show’; Mosaic Arts International 2009, an international juried exhibition of contemporary mosaic art, and was honored with ‘Finalist; for Fine Mosaic Technique and Originality of Expression’ in the coveted Orsoni Prize 2007, International Award for Mosaic Fine Art.
Within this ancient art form, Lynne believes in using the finest materials such as vitreous glass, smalti, marble, natural stone, Millefiori, and shell, in conjunction with the most up-to-date installation tools, products and techniques to create her surprisingly modern and enduring works of art. In her three-dimensional glass mosaic work, she is using the tesserae and it’s andamento to create a beautiful and exciting artwork, keeping motion and texture in mind. She finds enjoyment in the juxtaposition between her natural, soft-edged sculptural forms and the straight and hard reflective glass. Her inspired fine art mosaics are represented in private homes and in public places all over the United States and Canada.
www.lcmosaics.com
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 Since 2001
Sophie Drouin is a second-generation mosaic artist, having first been taught by her Italian-trained father, before going to Italy and France herself to perfect her technique and artistic language. She is now a major North-American mosaic artist, exhibiting widely in the United States and Canada; her mosaics have found homes as far away as Europe and Australia. She has taught in every major mosaic art school in the United States. She has sold out her latest workshops at the Mosaic Summits in Miami and San Diego, at the Mosaic Art Institute in Oakland, California, and at the Oswego arts Festival in Portland, Oregon where she was honoured with the title of featured artist. She has many international, national and local commissions to her credit, including the thank-you gift commissioned by the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony for retiring Conductor Simon Streatfeild in 2007. Ms Drouin has been featured in mosaic art publications, such as Grout (the magazine for the British Association for Modern Mosaic), in 2008, and the new book Mosaic: Finding Your Own Voice by Brit Hammer, as well as the 2008 and 2009 issues of Mosaic Art Now magazine. She has published Listening to the Rocks with co-author Bill Buckingham and was also a contributing writer in the 2009 issue of Mosaic Art Now. Her mosaic “Waves Adrift” was the winner of the Members’ Choice Award at the Society of American Mosaic Artists conference in San Diego in March 2009.
www.sophiemosaics.com
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 Bill Buckingham and Nancie Mills Pipgras are editors and publishers of the internationally acclaimed magazine,
Mosaic Art Now.
In 2004, Nancie Mills Pipgras decided the front of her circa 1924 house needed a mosaic -- and a passion was born. After she completed that first Roman-style mosaic of an egret, Mills Pipgras went on to study with several of mosaic's modern masters. She subsequently served as a Board Member and eventually President of the Society of American Mosaic Artists and currently promotes the art form as a co-editor of magazine Mosaic Art Now and its
blog. Ancient mosaics continue to inspire and delight her.
Bill Buckingham is the founder of Mosaic Rocks, the
Mosaic Yearbook project, and the
Mosaic Atlas website. His mosaics have been exhibited throughout the United States, including the 2008 and 2009 Mosaic Art International exhibitions. Bill has studied with master mosaic artists in Venice, France, and the United States and has served as a Board Member of the Society of American Mosaic Artists. He has taught mosaic classes during the last few years emphasizing classic mosaic design using marble tesserae. |
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 Pam Stratton's fascination with stonework and
mosaics began with learning of Pompeii in ancient history class. Her transition
from admiring mosaics to creating them was triggered by creating a brick patio
of intersecting concentric circles in her backyard. The design was inspired by
the beautiful stonework she saw in the piazzas and churches of Italian cities
and towns. The first simple fish made from leftover brick evolved into intricate
mosaic designs of stone and glass. Pam was hooked! Pam is mostly self
taught--weekends at Mass Art, workshops, and continuous experimentation. She is
a member of the Society of American Mosaic Artists and has shown at the
Somerville Museum, the Chicago Mosaic School and as part of the International
Society of Mosaic Artists exhibit at the Museum of Man in San Diego, CA. Pam has
worked as a licensed acupuncturist on Cape Ann for the last 14 years and is the
owner of the Acupuncture Center of Cape Ann.
www.PamStrattonMosaics.com |
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