Laurie's feature

This is a feature written by Laurie Gilson who came on the mosaic master class
August 16 - 22 2010

I became interested in mosaics as a hobby about two years ago when my oldest daughter Julie left home for college. My son Jim was getting more independent as well, and I found I had more time for my own interests. I started by making the usual mosaic pots with discards of tile, and in my way felt I was helping the environment; I got more serious about it, and soon was interested enough to purchase some books on the subject. My first book was by Martin Cheek, the Weekend Crafter. I bought three more of Martin’s books as I found the instruction was easy to follow and I obtained good results. It was for this reason that when I considered more formal instruction, I wanted to take a course from Martin. As well, I was a bit intimidated by larger course settings, so the Masterclass seemed like the perfect environment for me to learn in. As well, I had always wanted to go to England, and once I read more about the course, I was hooked to go. I was not disappointed; the whole experience was wonderful. In addition to the extensive knowledge and experience of the instructor, the setting was marvelous. A picturesque seaside town on the coast of England, right next door to Bleak House, the home of Charles Dickens seemed literally, painted for a storybook. Each day on my walk to Flint House, which is full of its own history being built in the 1700s, I passed Bleak House while walking along the sea walk. The homes and many Bed and Breakfasts along the walk were lovely to look at because the most beautiful gardens and historic buildings. It is truly a beautiful place.

Once at Flint House, the experience really began. Greeted by Margaret, Martin’s wife, I was brought in and introduced to everyone. I was most excited to meet Margaret, as I am a great admirer of her paintings. She is an exquisitely talented artist, and was warm and receptive. She took time out and showed me a portrait she was working on, and actually cooked the lunches every day for the course participants. We would all sit down to a lovely English meal, many times being shown the recipe and the history of the dish prepared. The hospitality was genuine, and I enjoyed it very much.

We were given a tour of the home the first day. The entire home is filled with works of art by Martin, Margaret, their children, friends and artists they admire and collect. We were invited into the extensive library from which we could borrow books if we liked, or just enjoy the artwork and the setting. I also had the pleasure of meeting Mollie, their 15 year old daughter, who is a talented young artist in her right, and she was very helpful to us! There was hardly an inch in the home that was not touched by the artists living here, including the walls which were stamped by Margaret in bird and animal motifs!

We then toured the garden and the two studios. There is in indoor studio in the house where most of the initial design work and lectures are held. It is also a very inspiring place to work, as it overlooks the garden in the back yard, and there is are spacious tables and lots of natural light. The garden is the home of the huge giraffe, the famous leaping trout, and loads of mosaics and beautiful plantings everywhere you look. I recognized many of the mosaics from Martin’s books and it was a very special feeling to have these “famous” pieces right at my fingertips! I also met Chippy the rabbit and the cat, who were extremely funny to watch and very gentle.

There were fantastic smalti mosaics on the outer walls of the house and the studio, which were very large and stunning to see in person. The second studio is at the back of the garden, and houses the glass and ceramic kilns, and were most of the glass cutting and “messy” work took place.

After the tour of the home, garden, and studios, we all sat down and got to know each other and told about ourselves and our interest and experience with mosaics. We talked about our design plans and what we hoped to learn in the week ahead. There were four students in this course, including myself, and it turned out that we all seemed to have different goals and wanted to learn different things. Fortunately, Martin was able to accommodate all of our hopes and expectations by his broad experience and knowledge. The rest of the day was spent first on the basics of tools and glass cutting, his observations and questions regarding our designs and goals, and getting comfortable with our setting. Each morning was started with a lecture on an aspect of art or design. We had slide shows, book referrals, and lots of discussion on color, tone, adamento, glass making of various types, and the many types of mosaics, both ancient and contemporary. We then continued working on our designs and spent our work time between the studio in the house and the studio in the back. Martin and his family were very generous in allowing us to come early and stay late if we wished, to work on our designs on our own.

In the middle of the week we took Martin’s mosaic tour of London. This was a special treat for me, as I had never been to London, and knew very little about the places one might find mosaics. Our first stop was Westminster Cathedral. We were given an exclusive tour and history of the magnificent religious mosaics inside. We all posed for a group photo outside of the cathedral. We then went on to see the floor mosaics in the National Gallery, which also, were spectacular. We then took a break for lunch which was much welcomed – a fabulous Chinese meal in China town!

We then went to Tottenham Court subway station, and finally, the spectacular Hitchcock mosaics at Leytonstone subway station. It was a wonderful day full of great works of art, great company, and much learning.

There were so many extras and delights, I can’t describe them all. I’ll finish by saying that the Masterclass is a most a rare opportunity in a lovely setting by a very talented and well rounded instructor, in which to grow and learn as an artist. I would not hesitate to go again if given the chance. And it would be well worth the effort, as I can’t imagine a single place that has so much to offer to the person who is wishing to improve their skills and art education. Thank you to Martin and his family for making this such a fantastic experience for me.

After our day in London, we continued working on our mosaics at Flint House. I was particularly interested in learning about ceramics, and Martin helped me learn how to make a mold, which was great because now I can reproduce my tiles again and again, helping me to become more efficient. I had no idea of the process, or of glazes, but after the course I now feel that I can actually pick up and continue this on my own. I also worked on making glass fusions, and learned many applications in which I can use these. There was a wonderful array of materials for us to chose from, including loads of fusions Martin had already completed that could be purchased for our own use. It was incredible to see the many, many ways you can use glass fusions in mosaics, and are really quite beautiful. I also particularly enjoyed the privilege of watching Martin doing some art work while we were there – a clue into the master’s techniques! In addition to this, I got a very good idea as to many tools and processes in the extensive artist’s studio, and observing the organization of tools, materials, and workspace was greatly beneficial to me. Martin’s assistant Bernie was there most days working along side us in the studio, and it was a special experience to watch an experienced professional working on mosaic projects.