FUGA with Vera Belikova

When you create a mosaic, do you ever feel unsure about the spacing between your tesserae? Do you want to learn how to create a more cohesive, intentional mosaic, one that feels rhythmic, balanced, and alive?

FUGA with Vera Belikova is an in-depth, immersive online course that explores the expressive power of space in mosaic art.

Vera Belikova is a graduate of the Scuola Mosaicisti del Friuli in Spilimbergo, Italy, and we are honored to welcome her to Mosaic Arts Online as one of our newest instructors.

Throughout this course, Vera guides you in learning how intentional placement and thoughtful spacing, combined with a deeper understanding of light and shadow, can transform a mosaic from a collection of fragments into a unified, dynamic work of art.

In Italian, fuga means gap, or interstice. In this course, Fuga becomes our central theme. FUGA is about what happens between the tesserae: the light that travels through openings, the shadow that settles into pauses, and the rhythm created not only by what is placed, but by what is intentionally left open.

Much like a musical fugue is built on both sound and silence, mosaic surfaces come alive through tension, pause, and breath. In FUGA, you will learn how openness can shape perception, transform a flat composition into an architectural surface in miniature, and bring depth, movement, and quiet power to your work.

In this course, you will learn:

• Learning to see space and how it shapes art in all its forms
• Explore the expressive power of tesserae and interstices
• How thin-set can be used as an element of your mosaic artwork
• Eliminating gaps with tinted grout
• How mosaic material and mosaic language work together
• How depth, shadow, and rhythm work together

To help you focus on the essential grammar of mosaic, this course is intentionally designed around monochromatic materials. Vera demonstrates on five separate sample boards how to work with white marble and white thinset. This focused, monochromatic approach allows you to practice the skills and methods she teaches without color as an added element, helping you concentrate fully on spacing, rhythm, light, and shadow.

Vera guides you through creating one 8"x8" mosaic project, with multiple design choices from her Venetian windows sketches.

This course also includes a comprehensive exercise workbook, sketches, a photo series for inspiration, designs available for download to follow along with Vera, and a variety of artists' work to understand fuga better.

What This Course Offers

FUGA is a balance of foundational technique and creative exploration, blending traditional mosaic tools with conceptual thinking. Not only will you learn the methods of FUGA, but with practice, you can adapt them into your own art practice and unique style.

Below is the complete list of modules and sections in the curriculum to help you decide if this course is right for you. This course includes a PDF for download of the list of all the tools, materials, and resources to get started.

Note: In the above video, the artists featured are Nane Zavagno, Tanya Dubovskaya, and Julian Modica. These works works are used strictly for educational purposes.