Happy Spring! April flowers bring May Mosaics…? Is that how it goes?! Yes; I think it is!; I’ve scheduled and set up online registration for Outdoor/Garden Mosaics and Beginner’s Mosaics for May! Outdoor/Garden teaches the correct bases/substrates, adhesives, tesserae (materials), grout, and sealers to be used in outdoor mosaic pieces. Come and learn and make a mosaic garden stake, flower pot, stepping stone, small table, or other suitable item during this fun class!  More information and registration for this Wednesday nights class (May 2 and 9th, 5:30-8:30 pm) can be found on the Outdoor/Garden Mosaics Class page!

Speaking of other May events; Sunday, May 13 is Mother’s Day; how about giving Mom a gift certificate to take Beginner’s Mosaics that day and the next Sunday, May 20th? Or, come with her for an even bigger treat for Mom!  Class runs the two sessions; 1:00-4:30 pm; that way she and you don’t miss out on Mother’s Day breakfast or dinner!  I’ve had lots of Mother/Daughter combos take mosaics together, and they’ve really loved it! The Beginner’s class teaches the correct bases/substrates, adhesives, tesserae (materials), grout, and sealers to be used in indoor mosaic pieces. Come and learn and make a mosaic frame, mirror, plaque, tray, small tabletop, or other suitable item in this great class! More information, photos, and registration can be found on the Beginner’s Mosaics Classes page.

I’m VERY excited to share the news that TileMosaicGirl will be moving into its very own space (small but mighty!) by the end of this month (March, 2012)! The new space will house classes, the Mosaic Supply Shop, and Open Studio Time! We will be able to offer a wider range of days and times for classes, the Shop, and Open Studio, which will also enable us to host Visiting Instructor mosaic artists!  The new location is only about 2 miles North on Colorado Blvd., just off Colorado on Kentucky at Birch.  It has Home Depot/Whole Foods to the North and the Glendale Infinity Park to the East.  The shop is located in a wonderful multi-use building called “The Workshops”, and I will be on the 2nd floor, which is the “Arts & Crafts floor”.  The new address (click for map and photo link) is:

4340 East Kentucky Ave, Ste. 244

Glendale, Colorado

80246-2065

It is located in a great little revitalized neighborhood, but when they built the building in 1997, they installed Intercoms for entrance to the elevator, so you will need to buzz the unit # to be let in.  There is plenty of free, lighted parking, wonderful fellow tenants, and many other amenities.  More details and photos to come soon!

Happy New Year! I’m a little late in getting this info. out, so please accept my apologies! Following are the Supply Shop and Open Studio Hours for January:

Sun. 1/15-5-9 pm

Mon. 1/16, 1-5 pm     (MLK Day! 15% off in the Supply Shop!)

Mon. 1/23, 4-8 pm

Thur. 1/26, 4-8 pm

Sun. 1/29, 5-9 pm

Also; please be on the lookout for upcoming posts and registration links regarding the next Tempered Glass & Jewelry Classes in February and the next Outdoor/Garden Mosaics and Beginner’s Mosaics Classes in March.  I will be attending the Society of American Mosaic Artists’ (SAMA) Conference in February, and will be bringing back lots of good information, techniques, and updates from the world of mosaics!  While there, I will also be meeting with several other mosaic artists about coming to Denver as “Visiting Instructors” to teach us their special skills and techniques in a variety of mosaic methods!  This year will be another year of growth for TileMosaicGirl, with more instructors and more classes! Be on the lookout, GO BRONCOS, and See you Soon!

FYI, everyone; I’ve posted the April and May Open Studio & Supply Shop hours on the “Supply Shop” page. Remember that Open Studio Time is available for you to come start a new mosaic or work on an existing piece. You don’t have to have taken a Beginner’s class at all or through me, but you should be operating at a minimum of a beginner’s level, because Open Studio Time does not include teaching. It does, however, include almost everything you need to work on mosaics: ceramic & glass tiles (others available in the Supply Shop at an extra cost), adhesives, tools, supplies, grout, sealer, etc. for only $10 an Hour! Either bring your own base/substrate or buy one there at a nice low cost. I have frames, mirrors, boxes, plaques, decorative birdhouses, etc. available.

If you’re looking for some instructional mosaic time, we can put together a class or a group event or party with as few as 4 people (adults or kids). Contact me and we can discuss your needs and what dates and times will work. This is great for “Girls Nite Out” type events, birthday parties, clubs, etc.  Or, if you and 3 or more friends or family members want your own, private class in one of my ongoing areas or another, we can customize it to your desires.

I’m SO excited to announce that we now have a shop for mosaic classes, studio time, and supplies in Denver…TileMosaicGirl at Pot-Luck, the Pottery Painting Place!  The shop is right on CO Blvd., in the U. Hills area. It’s in the front of the parking lot of the old U. Hills Shopping Center, the one with ACE Hardware and Jo-Ann Fabrics.  TileMosaicGirl at Pot-Luck, the Pottery Painting Place, will offer Mosaic Classes, Open Studio Time, and a Supply Shop. “Opening” date will be Thursday, February 24, 2011. The TMG shop will be the ONLY place in Denver where you can get ALL the supplies and materials necessary to make mosaics in one location.  Until now, mosaic crafters and artists have had to go to a minimum of 4-5 different stores (more if they were watching price), just to get the supplies they needed to make mosaics. Now, you’ll be able to find everything from tiles and goodies to decorate your mosaics to the adhesives and grout to glue ‘em down and finish them off, all in one place!

The Supply Shop will be open during Mosaic Studio Time hours, Mosaic Classes, and by appt. The comprehensive selection will include: glass vitreous tiles, metallic veined tiles, deep color “crystal” glass tiles, glitter tiles, smalto tiles, glass gems and shapes, stained glass tiles, ceramic and Mexican tiles, Van Gogh tiles, millefiori, china, beads, mosaic jewelry supplies, mirror tiles, and misc. found objects and toys. Mosaic bases, adhesives, grouts, tools, colorants, and sealers round out the selection. Prices are very good; much better than ordering online, having to meet order minimums, and paying shipping! Several package sizes of each item will be available so that you don’t have to commit to large quantities of one item.  At the TMG Supply Shop, you can get the materials you want in the sizes you need at an exellent price! Starting date is Thursday, Feb. 24th, after I get back from the natl. mosaic conference with all kinds of new supplies and expertise!

Mosaic Studio Time is open-ended time for you* to work on mosaics in a space besides your home, where all the supplies and materials you need are on hand and you don’t have to worrry about getting your house ‘mucked up’. All basic tesserae (tiles, etc.) included, as well as adhesives, grout, sealer, tools, supplies, etc. Everything is included, except you bring your own base or buy a low-cost one there. Come have space to work, hang out w/ other fun mosaic people, and make a mess somewhere other than in your dining room! Studio time is $10 an hour.

Mosaic Studio Time HOURS are:
Mondays from 11 am to 3 pm and
Thursdays from 11 am to 3 pm
and By Appointment

At least 1 weekend day a month and 2 weeknights a month willl also be scheduled; check out Calendar page for current month’s dates/times.

* Please note: Mosaic Studio Time is not a class and does not include teaching time; participants should have taken a Beginner’s Mosaic class (anywhere) and/or be at least a Beginner’s level mosaic crafter to use Studio Time.

Mosaic Classes offered at the TileMosaicGirl shop are:
Beginner’s Mosaics
Tempered Glass (“Crash Glass”) Mosaics
Mosaic Jewelry

Cutting & Shaping Tiles for Mosaic Design
Continuing Mosaics
Garden/Outdoor Mosaics
Special, Introductory no-artistic-skills-required, “MAKE A MOSAIC!” Sessions!

(These “MAKE A MOSAIC!” sessions will be perfect for those friends and family members you have that think they don’t have an artistic bone in their body but want to get out and do something fun, quick, easy, and inexpensive. Very similar to what they do at Canvas & Cocktails or Sipping & Painting…everyone works on the same simple base and leaves class with a completed mosaic that’s either ungrouted style, they can easily grout at home, or they can leave to get grouted.)

MARK YOUR CALENDARS: CLASS DATES ALREADY SCHEDULED:

(Long-awaited, big demand)…Tempered (“Crash Glass”) Mosaics…Thursday, March 10 & 17th, 5:30 to 8:30 pm

Beginner’s Mosaics…Sunday Evenings, March 13, 20, & 27th, 5-8 pm

There will be a registration function on the “Classes”  page here soon, so that you may register for these classes. Class sizes are kept deliberately small so that Krystie Rose has enough time with each student for the help that they need  to learn the ‘awesome art of mosaics’!

TileMosaicGirl at Pot-Luck, the Pottery Painting Place

2620 S. Colorado Blvd, Denver, CO, 80222

720-435-3057 / tilemosaicgirl@gmail.com

Also on Facebook & Twitter!

New Fair Display Walls!!

OMG! I am SO excited! I found some great stuff today on my latest trip to the Habitat for Humanity Resale Store in Denver.  (They have stores located across the U.S. and Canada, all of which benefit Habitat for Humanity’s excellent program.)  I often find great grout, caulk, and tiles at the Resale Store, much of it donated from home improvement stores when the manufacturer decides the new season calls for a new shade of ‘white’.  This time, I was looking for something to use as a fixture in my upcoming summer fair booth that I could hang my mosaics on; like a vertical wall that’s freestanding.

Well, hallelujah, I’m here to tell ya, I found the PERFECT thing for it and I am SO excited! It’s a brand new set of bi-fold doors; 2 sets of 2 doors adjoined by hinges, that can stand upright very well, but I’ll hit Depot for some kind of L-brackets to mount on the bottoms so they have some support on the floor for the weight of the mosaics.  These ones are perfect because they’re brand new, unfinished, completely flat surfaced, and 6 feet, 8 inches tall!!!  And, for a zippy lil price of $45 for all 4 doors, they more than fit into my fair ‘budget’.  I thought I would share this ‘find’ of both the display option and the Habitat stores, if you weren’t already aware.

Closer-up of new display walls

I also scored an awesome wooden display cube that I can use as a riser or a double shelf for displaying tabletop items.  This one’s great because the depth on it is at least 12″, which is much larger than most riser-type fixtures.  And, at $5.00, ya can’t beat that!One more thing I found myself not being able to leave at the store was the most awesome, super-duper, cool, yummy-rific, bright baby blue, ceramic, completely in great shape, TOILET!  Yes; you heard it here; I AM going to mosaic a toilet and put it in my backyard!  The tank’s going to become a planter and the bowl will either be a birdbath or have a fountain in it!  It was only $35!  I canNOT wait to be able to start gluin’ on that baby after the fair and get it in the yard for summer!!!

'Fish Bowl' by Jean Wells

Barbie Pink Toilet

Garden-y Mosaic Toilet

Fun Sunny Mosaic Toilet!