Circle of Stone Pebble Mosaics Intro

Introducing people to the world of mosaics is fun! Recently I had the privilege to teach my "Circle of Stone - Pebble Mosaics" workshop at Lyn Belisle's Studio here in San Antonio. Lyn is such an wonderful hostess and her studio reflects her intention of it being a place of creative belonging. We  began the workshop with a brief overview of the history of pebble mosaics, looked at some ancient and contemporary pebble mosaic art, and previewed what we were going to do during our time together.

We had three hours to learn some general information including the importance of a "scratch coat"on a plywood substrate, various shapes of pebbles and how they could be used in a design, local sources of pebbles, thinset and how to apply it with a spatula to form a "setting bed." We discussed design and how important it is to use contrast of size or shape or lightness/darkness/color so that the mosaic design can be "read" easily.

Then it was time to pick a design or sketch their own and select the type of pebbles from the various bins that they wanted to use. But before getting started, each person needed to do their scratch coat and create a smooth setting bed at the correct height. Finally, it was time to place pebbles one at a time. We discussed the need to work "clean" and how to keep the thinset fresh.

After everyone had completed their mosaic it was time to share the results. Everyone talked about their creation, what they liked about it, what they learn or what they would do differently. We talked about how thinset can be tinted different colors and discussed what color(s) we might want to use in the future. I can say that fun was had by all. Thanks to the whole group who made this time possible.