Sculptural Mosaics with Caitlin Hepworth
Learn a thorough process for creating a sculptural forms and making a mosaic on it
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Mosaic Arts Online is delighted to share with you one of the best in sculptural mosaic art. Caitlin Hepworth brings her years of experience as not only a sculptor and visual arts educator but her amazing talent and skills as a mosaic artist as well. This online course provides a comprehensive step by step introduction to making sculptural mosaics. Caitlin teaches you to go beyond the skills needed to mosaic on a three-dimensional object (such as a pot or pre-made form) and takes you through the process of making your own custom designed sculptural form that communicates something to you. Through this course you begin to understand the important relationship between the form and the mosaic that is applied to it.
We start by looking for inspiration and look to the natural world and poetry for our ideas. Caitlin then shows you simple drawing techniques to work through various representations of your idea in pencil. From here we move into three dimensions investigating possibilities through two separate models. These models are photographed and evaluated before being scaled up to the final size.
From here we build and strengthen our substrate, and while it cures we spend a significant component of the course looking at design elements such as colour and value. We create a colour palette and value scale with our chosen tesserae as well as examine which thinset colours work best for the colour palette. We also take a basic look at andamento and how to plan and explore different andamento ideas on paper including sdoppiamento (line splitting). These investigative planning methods become valuable tools going forward into all forms of mosaic art.
Once your substrate is cured Caitlin guides you through processes and decisions involved in making your mosaic. Colour choice, tesserae choice, evaluation, edging, finishing, cleaning and more.
This course provides a comprehensive scaffold for you to follow and apply to a multitude of mosaic projects. It offers a combination of valuable techniques as well as allowing room for individual creative expression and extension to mosaic artists with a variety of experience.
Our bonus section includes faceting smalti using the hammer and hardie for the purpose of creating textured inclusions in your mosaic.
This course comes with a very detailed downloadable PDF with all the tools, materials and resources for you to get started on your sculptural mosaic.
Your Instructor
Caitlin Hepworth is an Australian artist working in contemporary sculptural mosaic. Her work is thematic exploring narratives of regeneration, resilience and transformation observed through environmental and psychological perspectives.
Graduating from the National Art School in 2000 with a BFA in Sculpture, Caitlin went on to complete a Master of Teaching in Visual Arts at USYD graduating in 2002. She has been included in numerous national and international exhibitions including being a finalist in the Society of American Mosaic Artists Mosaic Arts International Exhibitions 2021, 2017 & 2016, and in MAANZ International Exhibitions 2021, 2019, 2017, 2015, 2013 and in GoCM Chicago ‘Stories we Tell’ exhibition in 2017.
Career highlights for Caitlin include participating in three international symposiums at the invitation of Giulio Menossi. Firstly in 2018 in Ploaghe Sardinia, then a virtual participant during Covid in 2021, and in person in Adana, Türkiye in 2022.
In 2018 the Caitlin was awarded the SAMA Robin Brett Scholarship which assisted her to study under Verdiano Marzi at the Chicago Mosaic School in May 2019 which was an incredible experience.
Caitlin is the founder of Hepworth Studios – School of Visual Art and Mosaic in the Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia and the Co-Director of Art of Andamento, a sequential online curriculum for students of mosaic.
Course Curriculum
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StartIntroduction and personal interview with Caitlin and Tami (9:56)
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StartDownloadable PDF Tools, Materials, and Resources.
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StartInspiration to start. (2:23)
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StartIntroduction to drawing. (1:14)
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StartHow to create a simple drawing from your inspiration. (4:02)
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StartCreating a model aka Maquette with modeling clay. (3:04)
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StartCreating a model aka Maquette with wire mesh. (3:41)
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StartEvaluating the models. (1:58)
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StartEvaluating your models through photography. (0:40)
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StartEvaluating models from photos. (2:11)
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StartScaling up. (2:02)
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StartCutting the diamond mesh or hardware cloth. (4:39)
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StartHow to bend and undulate the wire mesh. (2:23)
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StartPreparing the fiberglass mesh. (2:53)
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StartAdd thinset to the mesh. (10:43)
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StartAdding thinset to back side of the wire mesh. (12:04)
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StartCover the back of the form with plastic wrap. (1:44)
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StartClean and treat edges of sculpture. (8:26)
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StartWrapping edges and finishing the tip of the sculpture. (6:48)
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StartIntroducing the palette. (5:32)
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StartIntroduction of the color wheel. (4:34)
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StartValue Scale and Tinted Adhesive. (5:13)
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StartDrawing Andamento Lesson. (9:04)
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StartCreating a flow drawing. (3:45)
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StartFlow line drawing examples. (3:36)
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StartPreparing to Mosaic. (3:59)
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StartStarting with the Central Line. (4:13)
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StartApplying the Smalti. (3:16)
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StartContinuing to Apply the Smalti. (6:24)
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StartBlending thinset colors. (10:26)
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StartSculptural considerations while creating with the Smalti. (9:57)
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StartStarting to mosaic the edge. (9:31)
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StartContinuing to create. (7:07)
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StartMarrying the edge to the mosaic. (8:09)
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StartFinishing the tip of the sculpture with mosaic. (11:42)
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StartStarting the backside of the mosaic sculpture. (3:17)
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StartProgress on the backside of the mosaic sculpture. (2:27)
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StartAdding lighter colors on the backside. (5:38)
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StartFinalizing the mosaic sculpture process. (6:50)
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StartCaitlin's other works. (6:42)
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StartFinal Cleaning of Mosaic Sculpture and Wrap Up. (5:55)
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StartBONUS SECTION! How To Facet on Italian Smalti. (5:55)
Frequently Asked Questions
TESTIMONIALS:
"Hi Caitlin. I"m so excited to be starting on this course! I've been trying to do some sculptural work on my own, so this is exactly what I need to get me going properly. I've had to cancel my Italy trip and this is going to be a wonderful alternative for me right now. Thank you!" Noelle H.