Mosaic Monday/ Carol Shelkin Workshop

WIP My Dan
© rebecca collins

WIP My Dan
© rebecca collins

This last weekend I took part in  a two day workshop on realism in Mosaic. Our instructor was Carol Shelkin.  This is the second time I have taken from her and she is just so much fun.  Carol comes from a fine art background and she paints with glass. She teaches her students to see the different tonal values in colors and teaches from a very basic design principles background.

Mosaic art is very technique intensive and it has such a rich history.  There are tons of wonderful vocabulary words to learn when you start studying mosaic, many with Italian origins. Too often it is easy to get caught up in everything that is unique to the craft as we go about studying and teaching mosaic art. I guess because I too have entered the world of mosaic through the back door so to speak, approaching it as just another art technique to be used and explored, I really can relate to Carols' teaching methods.

On day one we spent the morning listening to Carol talk about color and composition and we watched her slide show presentation. Even though our hands were itching to nip glass we did not even start working until after the lunch break. Much of the design info she presented was stuff I had already been exposed to because of the many years of art education I have had. Was I bored? Was I wishing I had slept in?  No way! I really believe that no matter how many design courses you have had in life or how far along you may think you are as an artist,  the design principles are our bible. Much of how I work is intuitive at this point in my career and that is why when I hear an instructor go over the design basics with enthusiasm and with a unique perspective on it all, well I feel like I am learning it for the very first time. 

Best Shelkin quote from the workshop: "It is not where we are that matters, but where we are going".  

Everyone in the class really liked hearing her say that. It was almost like you could hear the sound of a big weight being lifted off of our shoulders. Every time you want to beat yourself up over your art not turning out how you imagined you really need to say that out loud. I am very kind to myself in general however I see too many artists, many that are very close to me, beat themselves up over and over again. Try not to get too attached to the work in front of you, love it and give it your all, but know that it is not the last or best project you are ever going to do. Be kind to yourself. Each piece of art we create in life is a learning exercise that gets us further down the road to where we are going.

Funniest Shelkin quote ... hmmm, well it had to do with venues and male _ _ ( censored ). I won't go into the details, you will just have to ask her about it when you take a workshop from her in the future. Did I mention she is funny as hell? Well she is.