Part II: Books, forums and experiments
This post is both a source of information about teaching yourself mosaics and a resounding bell-ringing shout-out.
Since I can’t go to the top of a building with a megaphone it’s the next best way to say that self taught mosaic artists are one helluva inspiring bunch.
Until I started a discussion about teaching yourself mosaics on Contemporary Mosaic Art I had no idea that there is a whole sub-category of mosaicists. People who have quietly and doggedly taught themselves everything they needed to know to pursue their artistic vision. Their work and dedication says much louder and clearer than I ever could that great things can be achieved without the help of classes or formal training.
My own experiments
I can’t claim to be a self taught mosaicist myself. I attended weekly classes here in Greece with mastercrafts people who specialised in the making of Byzantine-style icons.
But I was frustrated by the limitations of the methods and approaches of the teachers. They only taught the indirect method, no tessera could be larger than a match head and no spaces were allowed between the pieces. So I went home and experimented.
I read mosaic books and followed step by step projects, I endlessly visited ancient mosaics in museums and sites. In addition, I made an awful lot of mosaics which I am glad that I will never see again.
The path to self teaching
It turns out that almost all of the respondents to the online discussion about teaching yourself mosaics followed a similar path to mines. They used books, forums like CMA and practical experiments to learn mosaic techniques and expand their skills while others took online courses. What struck me while reading the stories of individual mosaic journeys, is how determined and focused the artists were. They found something they felt drawn to and were utterly committed to pursuing their goal.
Reasons to teach yourself mosaics
No other option
Some people decided to teach themselves mosaics because they had no other option. They lived too far away from mosaic classes to make regular attendance a possibility. Others because they wanted to expand on the skills they already knew or to explore new territory. However, in the case of Jyoti Bhargava living in Gurgaon, India, it wasn’t just a question of not having mosaic classes nearby. She also battled against different cultural attitudes as well as a lack of access to materials and hands-on information. Stained glass and ornate floors have long been incorporated into Indian interiors, Jyoti wrote. But the work tended to be done by lowly paid labourers and wasn’t treated seriously as an art form.
Jyoti dug deeper and discovered mosaic workshops in India. However, they seemed to be new enterprises and only offered basic techniques of cutting, adhering and grouting.
Fortunately, she then came across a newly established mosaicist in her region. So she volunteered to help cut the tiles and from then on she rolled up her sleeves and threw herself into the task of learning about mosaics.
She read, scoured Amazon for tools, experimented, joined Facebook groups and used internet resources. She set up her own Facebook group, Mosaic India, to share projects and tips and started writing a mosaic blog.
Working without intervention
At the other end of the self taught spectrum is Solly (John Sollinger) based in Oregan, USA. He makes intricate glass mosaics which take three to five months to complete. Solly actively wanted to learn mosaics his own way and explore the art without intervention from others. ‘I am self-taught. I did not read books (and still have not done so) or learn online. My path has been one of trial and error. I have since learned much from others on this CMA site, but I still follow my own ways.’
Ways of Teaching Yourself Mosaics
There are four main do-it-yourself ways to approach mosaics:
Books, forums, experiments and online resources
Try a mosaic kit: ‘I started making mosaics in 2005 when I found a small mosaic kit at a craft store. I had always wanted to learn but didn’t want to spend a fortune on materials. So this kit was perfect since it had everything I needed for about $15! The instructions actually told me to use a hammer on vitreous glass so that is how I first learned,’ wrote glass art mosaicist Christine Brallier. Since then, Chrstine has had her work installed in public spaces and written a children’s book with mosaic illustrations.
1) MOSAIC BOOKS
As it happens, Jyoti has recently written a post about mosaic books for teach yourself-ers. So if you want specific recomnendations then take a look at her site.
When asked which books people used and liked, the same names come up again and again: Martin Cheek, Sonia King, Tessa Hunkin, Emma Biggs and Bonnie FitzGerald.
J. Elizabeth Wright from Georgia, USA, a self taught mosaic artist who is now teaching mosaics herself, summed up the book preferences shared by many. ‘My first book was a Martin Cheek Design Sourcebook and I’ve continued to purchase his books through the years. I also like The Encyclopedia of Mosaic Techniques by Emma Biggs, The Complete Mosaic Handbook by Sarah Kelly, Bonnie Fitzgerald’s Guide to Mosaic Techniques and Making Mosaics by Angelo Cangemi. I am so happy that mosaic books were available to help me with my learning journey!’
Reference books
Design sourcebooks of all kinds are very helpful. If you are interested in ancient mosaics nothing beats buying at least one of the weighty (and sadly rather expensive) reference books for Roman mosaics. Their detailed, colour plates provide an invaluable source of inspiration and a super-handy resource to study the way tesserae are laid.
2) MOSAIC FORUMS
It goes without saying that nothing beats the online world of Contemporary Mosaic Art. It’s a network of more than 2,000 mosaic artists who each have their own page with a biography and photo bank.
But CMA is also a fantastic source of information about anything mosaic related. This includes exhibitions and mosaic courses as well as information about mosaics people have encountered while travelling. One of it’s many features is that it posts discussion topics so that members can offer advice or share tips on particular issues.
Terry Nicholls, a self taught mosaic artist from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada wrote: ‘to my delight I found that they are a very generous and sharing group of people who don’t mind answering questions and providing opinions. I learned a great deal from them and continue to do so. I thank them for their time, patience and expertise.
Casey Shelley, a self taught artist responded to the discussion about mosaic self-teaching on CMA. She wrote that she signed up for one of Sharra Frank’s online classes and found the Facebook group offered as part of the course was a great help. ‘We can ask her questions and share information amongst ourselves [in the groups]. I’ve found [them] very helpful. I really felt like I better understood her mosaic process in such a way that I could do it, too. (In my own style, of course.)
3) EXPERIMENTS
Being a self taught mosaic artist almost inevitably involves throwing yourself in the deep end and making a lot of mistakes. Several of the respondents mentioned this experimental stage of their learning process. Particularly their horror of trying to figure out grouting on their own. ‘Figuring out how to grout was the hardest and every time I finished a piece, I would dread that process. I would have loved to have someone SHOW me how to do that part. Thankfully I realised that practice would make it less stressful and it did!‘ wrote Janet Farwell on CMA.
4) ONLINE RESOURCES
From online courses to Pinterest and mosaic artists’ sites and blogs, the possibilites for mosaic learning through the internet are extremely diverse. Val McCarry, a mosaic artist of 15 years from Ontario, Canada, uses online resources to develop her own style:
I still consider myself a self taught mosaic artist because I have not had formal training. I use books and the internet to study the andamento of artists I like and learn from their work. Looking at their technique and then trying it for myself. I feel that this is how I have created my own style, which by the way, is still evolving and hopefully always will be.
Melanie Burns from Alaska, USA, has a similar approach.
I’m completely self taught and have never taken a course in any kind of art. I studied a lot of mosaic artwork online to see the different styles of laying tile. As I go on, I continue to develop my style.
The main point, however, about teaching yourself mosaics is that it never stops.
I made the fish below to explore the effects of using an alternative colour for the defining line around the main design. For some reason, probably because I didn’t want the fish to seem suspended in a cream bubble, I didn’t quite close off the line at the tips of the tail. I grouted it today and can see that it doesn’t work. Another one to chalk up to experience!
COMING SOON: Making Roman mosaic copies.