Every other month or so, I teach a mosaic art jewelry class. It’s nice to have a little extra income, but really, I teach mosaic art because I love to! My classes tend to be around 3 to 4 hours in length, and I like to keep the class to a maximum of eight people so that I can provide ample individual attention. Over the years, I also taught mosaic art to children while in my role as therapist. I have also hosted numerous “Mosaic Art Parties” complete with great food and sangria!

Teaching mosaic art is fun!
Below is a list, in no particular order, of why I love to teach mosaic art.

1. Sharing my passion with others.
2. The fascination of watching students evolve.
3. Teaching groups, especially groups of friends and/or families. The energy they bring is often filled with laughter and love, and sometimes a healthy dose of snark.
4. Discovering a student’s process, especially when they are new to the art, is interesting and often educational for me.
5. The joy of helping students fine-tune their work.
6. Bringing strangers together to create art and share themselves with others.
7. Witnessing the proud faces of my students as they show off their work.

​What does a Mosaic Art Jewelry Class Entail? Do I need to be an artist to participate?
This is a question that is asked frequently. The simple answer is, a mosaic art jewelry class is comprised of cutting, breaking, shaping, creating, and setting. And no, you don’t need to be an “artist” to participate. Seriously though, what makes an artist an artist? That’s a question for a future blog post. I consider every person who comes to one of my classes to be an artist in their own right. 
 
As for the class, it’s helpful if you have a steady hand, decent eyesight or good glasses, and the ability to stay focused. That said, I’ve had students who said that they suffer from ADHD, but they have been able to successfully participate in classes.  A typical mosaic art jewelry class starts off with introductions and then an hour or so of instruction, definition of mosaic terms, demos, and examples of different types of mosaic jewelry that one can create.  After the instruction portion of the class, students are set loose on the materials! I typically have a multitude of materials that students can choose from. Students have likened it to being in a candy store. Check out the student work below.

As students work on their projects, I assist them each step of the way and provide design guidance if requested. I am always amazed at how brave some students are; choosing shapes that are challenging or working with materials that are difficult to manipulate.  The last half hour of class tends to be a flurry of activity, as students finish “setting” their pieces. The end results are ALWAYS gorgeous and I am always proud of the work that comes out of the classes.

TRY OUT AN ART CLASS!
Art classes are a great way to learn something new. Check out the Artistic Portland class page for current class offerings which include Crayon Meditation taught by Ben Gilbert of Crayons and Cardboard, Product Photography, and Paper Art Collage Workshop, both taught by Michaela Houston of Meine Werkstatt! I will be teaching a mosaic art jewelry class soon so check back often for new class listings at Artistic Portland!

Many of us have already heard the phrase “shop local” but what exactly does it mean to buy from local artists? To start with, buying from local artists is essential to support their creativity and provides them with much needed support and encouragement to continue creating art. 

Creating art can be a time consuming process which at times comes with struggle and even failure. Personally, I have gone through a lot of struggle in regards to my art. I create with fiber so I’ve unraveled a lot of hats and scarves. It might happen that I discover a wrong stitch at the beginning of my almost finished work. This may not seem like a big problem because for the untrained eye it is barely visible. However, in my opinion, when you buy something handmade it should be flawless! When you purchase one of my pieces, you will also receive a part of me, the artist.

You will receive something so special, something that took hours or days to create. Something you can love and care about as much as I did creating it. It most certainly was created with lots of patience, passion, moments of failure, frustration and experimentation; but when it turns out the way it is supposed to, you will get the pure joy and love as well!

From roving to yarn, as pictured above, to a finished shawl pictured below!

Note from the editor: Below are more examples of Karin's amazing work. She not only creates hats and scarves, but she also creates stuffed creatures and a myriad of other wonderful, fun and functional items! Karin's imagination is limitless!

A common comment that I hear is, “your paintings are so colorful.” I always take this as a compliment and shush the negative little voice that I sometimes hear in my head. Some folks actually prefer gentle subdued colors in art and I respect that. In fact, I like gentle quiet colors too, but usually not in my paintings.
 
When I’m in my creative groove, I find that I’m at my best when I just cut loose and go for it, which means moving quickly. And that’s where my friend the color wheel comes into play, because when I’m in the frenzy of the moment, I’m working from the intuitive side of my brain and a quick look at the color wheel will often ground me enough to carry on.

​I frequently find myself painting with opposites on the color wheel because I enjoy the contrast. Opposites on the color wheel are called complementary colors and the contrast of these colors creates a vibrant look that I love. Examples are orange and blue, violet and yellow, or green and red.   

​There is obviously much to say on this subject but since I’m referring to the color wheel, I’d also like to mention color temperature. Colors are positioned on the color wheel according to their color temperature. On the warm side is the primary color red, think fire; and on the cool side is the primary color blue, think ice. This is a rudimentary way to think about it, but the more red a color has, the warmer it is and the more blue a color has, the cooler it is.