6:30 – 8:30pm
VisArts
155 Gibbs Street, Suite 300
Rockville, MD 20850
Cost: $55/person
Includes instruction and materials to complete a mosaic lamp, vase or tray
http://www.visartscenter.org/
First of all, "mosaics" might be one of my favorite words to say, so this activity had that going for it right off the bat.
Secondly, due to Washington metro area traffic and rainy weather, each of the four Dilettantes was late to this class and Eileen (the instructor) could not have been more welcoming or empathetic as we made our way into the room. She patiently went over anything she had already discussed, emphasized that whatever approach we wanted to take (more planned out or more free-form) to our mosaic piece was great, and really made us feel welcome and excited to learn about this art form. (She also tried to hunt down a bottle of wine for us, so basically, she is our favorite instructor, ever.)
The class was just the four Dilettantes and one other woman, so we all got a lot of individual instruction and suggestions. Eileen had many containers filled with different types and colors of glass pieces and glass beads from which we could select what we wanted to use for our design. We all got our supplies together and began laying out our designs -- Dilettantes Nicole, Amanda and Kathleen on trays and Dilettante Amy on a picture frame.
After outfitting us with safety goggles and "Mr. Snippies" (glass cutters), Eileen let us create, while a mix of great music played in the studio. She was truly a perfect balance of creative, talented artist and patient, encouraging instructor. As we worked, we all forgot about traffic and stress and just really got into what we were doing.
It took almost an hour and a half to lay out and glue down our designs. Eileen told us how the grouting procedure worked, but we did not do this part ourselves -- this and the firing she was going to do after we left and then we'd pick them up some other time.
We followed up with some excellent food (and a few pisco sours) at the Peruvian restaurant next door.
(Dilettante Nicole will be picking up the completed mosaics pieces in the next few weeks...she'll be in Rockville anyway for a trip to Buy, Buy baby...) [No pressure, Nicole, but "Mosaic" would make a very nice baby name.]
