MOSAIC WORKSHOPS

Mosaic workshops require at least three 3-hour sessions. At the beginning of the first session, I give a 30-minute Power Point presentation on the history, theory and techniques of mosaics, introduce the tools and materials and explain how to use them. The participants then work on their design, transfer it to the surface and, if there is time, start gluing tesserae (that's the technical name for the mosaic pieces: tile, ceramic, glass and beads). During the second session, students finish adhering tesserae. The last session is dedicated to grouting, detailing and polishing the finished piece.

All materials are provided. Workshops are available for all ages, skill levels and group sizes. Groups of more than 10 children or 15 adults require one assistant or more, depending on group size. In school-settings, the presence of the lead-teacher is required at all times.

The students from the newly established Adolescent Program at the Montessori School of Winston-Salem collaborated to plan, design and complete the mosaic mirror during this three-day workshop. The mirror will be displayed in the foyer of the program's new building.

During this workshop, parent volunteers learned about the mosaic process and developed designs. They then worked with elementary school children to create the mosaic benches and mirrors for the 2011 Fundraiser Auction.

This workshop for parents was part of the Summit at Night program for parent enrichment. Participant designed and completed their mosaics in 4 two-hour night-sessions.

This community workshop was open to anyone who wanted to contribute to create Sandra's Mosaic during the May Frolics celebration at Summit School. The finished piece was presented to former Head of School Sandra Adams.

During this workshop first graders at Summit School created trunks for the 2007 Fundraiser Auction. Each child was assigned a color and design area. They then selected tiles within that color family to create their pattern and complete their area.

During this workshop second graders at Summit School created mirrors for the 2007 Fundraiser Auction. After brainstorming as a group to come up with a project design, Monica drew the design on the substrate and each child was assigned a color and design area. They then selected tiles within that color family to create and glue their pattern and complete their area. Once the design was complete, they helped grout and polish the piece.

During this workshop third graders at Summit School created tables for the 2007 Fundraiser Auction. After brainstorming as a group to come up with a project design, Monica drew the design on the substrate and each child was assigned a color and design area. They then selected tiles within that color family to create and glue their pattern and complete their area. Once the design was complete, they helped grout and polish the piece.

To reflect their work on geometric shapes and tangrams in Ms. Ornelas' class, each first grader created a tangram figure with 14 pieces of glass tiles cut in geometric shapes and wrote their names on square tiles with special pens. The name tiles were then baked to make the writing permanent. I designed the borders and glued the tangram figures onto the bench. Once dry, each child filled out the space around their work with glass shards. I then grouted and polished the finished table that was the class' project for the 2005 Summit Fundraiser Auction. See pictures of the different steps under "Process" below. Don't miss the captions with each child's descriptions of their design under the photos of the individual tangrams - they are amazing!

Kindergarten children at the Montessori School of Winston Salem created their name tiles and filled the multicolored area with stained glass shards after Monica designed the border and center. The table was created for the schools 2002 fundraiser auction.