Visiting Artists

Kelly Knickerbacker 2012

Kelley works in numerous mediums for architectural clients, but in her personal work she returns again and again to glass. The visual depth and light-handling properties of glass, as well as its seemingly limitless palette of colors, offer up endless possibilities for dimensional exploration. From those explorations Kelley has developed her signature stacked glass techniques, in which glass is layered over itself and set on edge to create unique dimension and color blending. In 2006, after a year of intense study of mosaic technique and installation with professionals across the U.S., Kelly left a 22-year administrative career at the University of Washington to found her Seattle studio, Rivenworks Mosaics, from which she designs, fabricates and installs custom fine art and architectural mosaics for residential, commercial, and public art clients

Laurel Skye 2012

Laurel is the author of Mosaic Renaissance: Reviving Classic Tile Art with Millefiori. and teaches a variety of workshops at her home / studio Skyelab in Arcata, California where she also runs and own Laurel Skye Designs, which is part retail tiles and supplies, part workshops and gallery, and part a mosaic house odyssey. Laurel has taught workshops extensively at locations including The Institute of Mosaic Art (Oakland, CA) Society of American Mosaic Artists Conferences in San Francisco, San Diego, Arizona, and Chicago, as well as classes Texas, New York, Portland, Montreal, and Tuscany, Italy. She has also been featured in books and on television, including, JoAnn Loctov’s Mosaic Art and Style, a segment on HGTV’s Offbeat America, several TV News spots, and has been featured in mosaic art magazines and extensive newspaper articles.

Carol Shelkin 2011

Taking to art as soon as she was able to hold a crayon, Carol started attending Fleisher Art Memorial in Philadelphia. It was made clear at a young age that her life would be centered on her passion for art. She continued her artistic direction with studies at Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. After attending PAFA, she opened an arts nursery school/child care where she continues to work today. Carol teaches a variety of art mediums world-wide, but mosaics are her passion first and foremost. Her works are original and intricate designs that eminent care and attention to detail with hand cut glass. She has been published in several books and most recently is a featured artist in Contemporary Mosaic Art - Mosaic Portraits 2010. Carol has been honored as a juried member of PA Guild of Craftsmen 2010 and is exhibited and collected widely.

Yulia Hanansen - 2010, 2011

Yulia is a second-generation mosaic artist and is owner of Mosaic Sphere Studio, LLC. Yulia is an internationally known artist and is widely exhibited and collected. Many of her works represent her fascination with the cosmos and the connections of human beings to it. Her 2010 workshop at Maverick Mosaics explored her layered mosaic technique.

Debora Aldo - 2011, 2012

Deb Aldo is principal designer of Pietre Dure Design a company that designs, fabricates and installs both interior and exterior mosaics. She has spent the last 7 years rounding out her technical expertise working with masons and wall tillers on commission work. A certified teaching artist in the state of Connecticut as well as a member of the New England Consortium of Artist-Educator Professionals, Deb has been teaching art for almost 20 years. In addition to working at RISD and the Mystic Art Center Deb travels the country teaching pebble mosaics, which is her specialty.

Sherri Warner Hunter - 2009, 2010, 2011

Sherri Warner Hunter’s award winning artwork work is exhibited across the country. Since moving to Bell Buckle, TN in 1994, Hunter has concentrated on large-scale public commissions and community built projects. Hunter is the author of "Making Concrete Garden Ornaments" and "Creative Concrete Ornaments for the Garden." The books were developed from expertise honed through decades of teaching.

Kim Wozniak - 2010, 2011, 2012

Owner of WitsEnd Mosaics and Smalti.com Kim is trained in art and architectural design, and has found her voice in mosaics. After leaving the corporate world Kim reclaimed her creative spirit. Her rule breaking style has lead to her to create both public and private installations throughout United States and her fine art mosaics are exhibited internationally.

Susan Crocenzi - 2011

Susan comes to us from Nevada City, California. As a mixed media mosaic artist it has been said that her works celebrate the natural rhythm and flow of the materials. She dares to relinquish control and simply allows the story she's telling to unfold. She is collected and exhibited widely and teaches her unique art form nationally. Her work has been featured in several publications, including Mosaic: Finding Your Own Voice, and Breakout , Mosaic Art Now Magazine, 2008, and the cover of textbook, Communication Mosaics.

Jane Pettit 2011

Jane has been making and teaching art since she was an adolescent in Vermont. Her art is a unique combination of collage, assemblage and mosaic. She encourages her students to start with a vision and let the art evolve as the materials interact. She is passionate about breathing life into portraits made of recycled bits and blurring the line between realism and abstraction. A resident of Metropolitan Washington, DC Jane's work can be seen in area galleries. She has won awards for originality and excellence and is illustrated in the Capital Area Food Bank calendar.

Brit Hammer - 2010

Brit is well known in the international mosaic community for her bold, abstract fine art mosaics. In addition to her role as artist and teacher, Brit is an independent motivational speaker driven by a passion to inspire everyone to connect with the artist within. In addition, she is the author of the bestselling books Breakout! Your Pathway to Success and Mosaic: Finding Your Own Voice. Brit lives in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Alfredo Rattinoff - 2010, 2011

Born in Argentina Alfredo studied at the National School of Ceramica in Buenos Aires, and then in Madrid, Barcelona and Florence. Alfredo specializes in large murals and has been commissioned extensively throughout the U.S. He is currently a faculty member with the ceramic department at The Smithsonian Institution’s Resident Associates Program in Washington, DC, and artist-in-residence for Lee Arts Center in Arlington, Virginia. Among his many awards in 2004 he was selected by the Embassy of Italy to lead workshops in mosaic at Georgetown University sponsored by a grant from the National Endowment of Humanities in Washington D.C.

Ilana Shafir - 2006, 2007, 2008

Ilana Shafir is known as the master of the “Spontaneous Mosaic,” a marvelous and uniquely intuitive approach to working in mosaic that incorporates traditional tesserae and found objects, as well as signature ceramic pieces created by the artist. Ilana lives and works in Ashkelon, Israel.

Shug Jones - 2008, 2009, 2010

Shug has been creating portraits and representational mosaic art in a variety of mediums since the age of twelve and is adept at capturing a subject’s likeness. Shug Jones founded Tesserae Mosaic Studio in Plano, TX in 2001. She and co-owner, Julie Dilling, provide custom design, fabrication and installation services creating a wide variety of mosaic art. Shug currently serves as President of The Society of American Mosaic Artists.

Gwyn Kaitis - 2009

Gwyn is an instructor of mosaic at both the Chicago Mosaic School and in her studio in Joliet, IL. She displays a special passion for animals and particularly enjoys completing portraits of pets in the mosaic medium. Her Pet Portraiture workshop at Maverick was a memorable and deeply inspirational experience for all involved. Gwyn donates a portion of her business profits to assist homeless and abused animals.

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