We will be launching our new website later this month.  Until then, you can get more information on Giulio’s March workshop and keep in touch in Facebook to learn more about the upcoming Portraiture workshop taught by Shug Jones in November. 

New Look, New Studio, New School

After 7 years in Plano, TMS will be relocating to a larger studio in Richardson, Texas to accommodate a brand new mosaic art school, supply store, and small gallery.  We will host on-going weekly classes and specialty & visiting artist workshops while continuing to offer fine mosaic art pieces and custom mosaic commissions.  We will also be launching a brand new website later this month. 

Our new location will be in the Richardson Tech Center at:

661 N. Plano Road, Suite 321

Richardson, TX  75081

Keep an eye out on Facebook for continuing updates and for the announcement of our new website!

Inaugural Visiting Artist Workshop: Giulio Menossi’s “Insider Secrets of the Venetian Mosaic Technique”

 When: February 21, 2011 – March 2, 2011, 9am to 5pm (half-day, Sunday, February 27^th)

Where:  Tesserae Mosaic Studio

                  661 N. Plano Rd., Suite 321

                  Richardson, TX  75081

Workshop Fee:  $1400

Fee Covers: 

                Smalti

                Use of Tools

                Written Material

                 Translator

                 Opening Reception

                 Texas Barbeque Evening

                 Instruction

What better way to discover the secrets of the Venetian Mosaic Technique than from a true insider who has practiced them for 40 years?  Come join us for our first visiting artist workshop at our new studio and school in Richardson, Texas. 

We have many options for accommodations from the affordable to luxury close-by. 

Click here for full details.

For more information or to sign up:

Email: casey@tesseraemosaicstudio.com

or

Call:  972-578-9006

Mosaic Portraiture with Shug Jones

When:  Tuesday, November 16, 2010 – Saturday, November 20, 2010, 9am to 5pm

Where:  Tesserae Mosaic Studio

                  661 N. Plano Rd., Suite 321

                  Richardson, TX  75081

Tuition:  $635/$35 materials fee

Included Supplies/Materials:

                Stained glass & vitreous glass tile

                9” x 12” prepared substrate

                Adhesive

                Use of glass grinder

                Reference photos

                Color wheel

                Proportion scale

                Value scale

                Portraiture notebook

During the 5-day workshop, students will learn to identify facial structure, to see values, recognize colors and blend them to create a realistic portrait.  They will create a mosaic portrait using staned-glass and vitreous tile. 

Students will study mosaic portraits from ancient to contemporary which use numerous techniques and andamento.  Reference photos will be provided by the instructor to ensure that the student has a positive learning experience and will learn how to choose a good photo from which to work.

Students will receive a lot of one-on-one time with the instructor and frequent critiques with the group will help students learn from one another, as well.  Check out our Flickr page with pictures from previous workshops taught by Shug.

For more information or to sign up:

Email: casey@tesseraemosaicstudio.com

or

Call:  972-578-9006

In addition to the workshops, a community project, “Birds of a Feather”, was busy being created in one of the conference rooms.  Members paid $25 to buy a wooden bird cutout which they would then mosaic with a variety of materials donated for use.  Proceeds from the project and the finished mosaics will be donated to the local Ronald McDonald House charity. 

Karen and I were jurors for the 30:30 Vision 2009 “Crusty Oceania” Exhibit on display at the Brisbane Square Library.  We selected 16 works to be included in the traveling exhibit and from those, a first, second, third place where chosen, in addition to 2 honorable mentions.

My last day there, I was invited to drive into the Glasshouse Mountains with a couple of friends, MAANZ President, Nola Diamantopoulos and Rhonda Parry.  The mountains were beautiful and it was a treat to get out of the city and see a little of the countryside.   

The Aussies are a great group.  I hope we’ll be seeing some of the MAANZ members joining us next year at the SAMA conference in Chicago.

We have already had 3 pieces sold since the exhibit went up at the beginning of the month.  If you haven’t yet seen the exhibit, come by and see it – it will definitely prove to be worth your time!  Remember, if you come tonight, you’ll have the chance to discuss some pieces with the actual artist. 

Catalogs of the art displayed in this year’s show will also be available for sale during the reception.  If you will be unable to attend tonight, the catalogs are also available online at Blurb.com.

We look forward to seeing you tonight!

An Ancient Language – A Modern Translation 2009

Artists’ Reception

September 21st, Monday

6:00 – 8:00 pm

Patty Granville Arts Center

300 N. 5th St.

Garland, TX  75044

An Ancient Lan…

A Modern Translation

By Tesserae Mosaic S…

Book Preview

The girls at Tesserae are working hard this week!  Work continues on the restoration of the cross mosaic on the focal wall at Northaven United Methodist Church’s serenity garden for Shug & Julie.  The weather was beautiful today as all of us here in DFW know, so a lot of progress was made.  If the rain stays at bay, we should be finishing up here in the next week or so.  Wish us luck!

Juried Exhibit Goes Up Tuesday at the Granville Arts Center

2009′s “An Ancient Language – A Modern Translation” exhibit is going up first thing in the morning.  Casey has been taking care of things for the exhibit so that Shug and Julie can focus on everything else.  We have 24 exquisite pieces that were accepted into this year’s juried exhibit.  There will also be 2 pieces from Julie, 1 from Shug, and 1 from Karen Ami (this year’s guest juror).  AAL-AMT will be at the Granville Arts Center at 300 N. 5th St. in downtown Garland until September 30th.  Jinet Mosaique of Quebec won the Juror’s Choice Award for her innovative piece, “Concentration”.  If you’d like to see some fantastic mosaic art (or want to impress your date with your high-end culture and class) drop by and take a look.

We’ll be hosting an artists’ reception at the Arts Center on September 21st from 6-8 and everyone is invited to join us.  Several of the accepted artists including the lovely ladies of Tesserae will be on-hand.  Sharon Rankin will be providing one of her famous cakes and chocolate-dipped berries, which are resistible by no one, as well as other refreshments.

In Other News…

Another bit of good news – things are finally moving along for the Fort Worth public arts fire station project!  We look forward to getting started on that project as soon as we complete the two we have for Northaven.  It should be very interesting, not to mention enjoyable, working on a mosaic at a firehouse.  We shall see!

The mosiac was created by John Kimbrle Studio back in 1960 for the Northaven United Methodist Church in Dallas.  The church has decided to create a Celebration Garden and move the focal wall and columnbarium there.  They asked Tesserae Mosaic Studio, Inc. to take care of the rebuilding and restoration of the nearly 50-year-old mosaic mural.  The wall itself is 9′ 5″ x 9′ 5″, which proves to be quite an undertaking, but Julie and Shug are always willing to take on a challenge.

The cleaning of each cinder block was a huge process.  The blocks were dropped off at the studio (96 in all) and had to have the mortar, dirt, dust, and other build up removed.  Once the cleaning was done, the masons were able to pick up the blocks and rebuild the wall.  Julie and Shug are now replacing missing tesserae and covering the block seams.