Mixed-Media Mantra Mosaics with Tami Macala
Create Your Way to Happiness
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Mosaic Arts Online is delighted to introduce a new course that will hopefully ease your mind and give you the freedom to create with few rules and very little pressure. Welcome to “Mantra Mosaics” with Tami Macala. The “Mantra Mosaics” online course is designed to inspire and encourage you with feelings of freedom and positive emotions.
Tami starts by sharing her favorite materials for creating her Mantra Mosaics. A mantra is a word or sound repeated to aid concentration in meditation. Some people use affirmational words as their mantras. Tami will guide you in using affirmations or “mantra” words as she creates each unique mosaic piece with polymer clay, stamp letters, and some fun pastes and powders.
Once the words are created and come out of the polymer oven, it is time to create the mosaic. Tami’s whimsical approach to this project highlights how unique and special each one can be while still following some of the elements of art such as color balance, shaping, and focal points.
Tami creates her Mantra Mosaic on an exterior grade substrate using black thin set, but this project is designed to utilize whatever is available in your studio. If you have a wood substrate, some black paint, and PVA or silicone glue, you will be all set. Next, you will be able to dig into your studio stash and create with whatever you have. Tami has included a very in-depth “suggested materials and resources list” for the tesserae and polymer clay materials she has used during this course.
Tami takes you from beginning to end by creating a Mantra Mosaic with the intention of creating a piece that brings peace and joy and allows you to get lost in the creative process. Let’s get started!
Your Instructor
Tami Macala, founder and owner of Mosaic Arts Online and Create Arts Online, has always had her hand in art. She started out at eleven years old as an oil painter, winning awards throughout Southern California. With a fashion and textile design degree, Tami began a twenty-year career in the movie and television industry as a costumer, dressing leading actors and actresses. Not feeling completely fulfilled as a costumer and the long hours, Tami found a new passion in mosaic art and in true fashion, became a self-taught mosaic artist while continuing her successful career in the entertainment world.
In 2000, Tami started her first company, All Cracked Up Mosaics, creating personal and custom-designed mosaic art commissions for clients all over the US.
In 2009, Tami began teaching mosaic art. She founded her second business, The Santa Barbara School of Mosaic Art, teaching her favorite art medium. There, she brought in world-renowned mosaic artists to teach her students, creating a hub of learning and inspiration.
In 2015, Tami retired from the entertainment industry and founded her latest companies, Mosaic Arts Online and Create Arts Online. Tami and her husband, Jerry, now produce online courses with some of the most sought-after artists in mosaic, mixed media, and fine art.
Course Curriculum
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StartIntro to Mantra Mosaics. (2:14)
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StartPDF for Download of Suggested Materials, Resources, and Tools
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StartTami shares some of the materials. (4:07)
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StartSubstrates (2:57)
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StartIntro to Polymer Clay (0:59)
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StartConditioning, Cutting, and Stamping the Clay (8:20)
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StartAdding Pastes and Powders (9:25)
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StartIntro to Polymer Oven (0:51)
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StartTouch Up Before Baking (2:19)
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StartAdhesive Choices (2:54)
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StartFinding Balance While Creating (6:44)
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StartFloating Tesserae (8:32)
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StartWorking Around Obstacles (8:17)
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StartCreating POP (8:48)
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StartPastry Bag Method (8:48)
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StartBalance Considerations (9:25)
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StartCreating in the Zone (6:19)
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StartAdding the Last Pieces (3:27)
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StartClean Up and Wrap Up (8:08)