ONline COURSES
Same concepts as my in-person workshops, but doable at your own pace in your own space.
Click on each course to be catapulted to its page, then click Watch Promo to see me geek out about the thing.
WHAT STUDENTS SAY ABOUT THESE ONLINE COURSES:
“At the risk of being repetitive - another great course from Kelley. Infectious enthusiasm is the kind of contagion we all need right now. Loved this workshop and all the great ideas. Thank you thank you thank you....”
“Another comprehensive and instructive workshop. Loved it!! Love your explanations and examples with artworks. Lots of ideas now percolating.... Thank you for such generous commentary and advice.”
“OH WOW. My birthday present this year was 3 of your courses...Kickassiette, Mind the Gap, and Apoxie Sculpt. BEST GIFT EVER. I sort of feel like I won the lottery...or died and went to Creative heaven! You are a great artist and teacher and a brave experimenter! How you created a whole new art form with this material...and how generously you share it with us.”
“BRAVO...loved it! I learned SOOOO much and I love the way Kelley "let us in her head" and talked us through her entire thought process as she worked. I also appreciated that she showed the reality of not getting everything perfect every time and how she made delicious lemonade out of lemons.“
IN-PERSON COURSES
All my courses are geared to engage and challenge students at any level of mosaic proficiency. No prerequisites required.
Four full days of local sites, local talent, local materials (Bedrock glass!), and creative immersion in a spacious, bright, comfortable, multi-bedroom Airbnb. Come for just the workshop or add lodging so you can roll out of bed and into the studio each morning and work late into the night on your project(s).
2024 ABSTRACT mOFO* SEATTLE:
YOUR SKILLBUILDING MAKE-CATION
If you’ve been looking for a concentrated opportunity to advance your understanding of abstract mosaic design/construction using unique materials and adventurous techniques, this is the workshop for you. You’ll have time to design/build at least one if not more abstract mosaic(s) start to finish, with an inspiring array of materials at your disposal (special concentration on the one-of-a-kind recycled glass of Seattle’s own Bedrock Industries - get a taste in the photos above - but also other glass, ceramic, crockery, stone, wood, porcelain, epoxy putty, and more!). We’ll start with an intro to abstract design principles, cut/prep your substrate, choose your material palette, process your materials, then build your abstract mofo directly into pigmented mortars, maximizing height differentials. I’ll work one-on-one with each student on the way, and you’ll get an extra dose of inspiration with a special guest lecture. Instruction will be via slide show, demos, discussion, exercises, hands-on building, one-on-one guidance, and critique.
*MO(saic)FO(cus)
2024
SEP 5-8 (Th-Sun)
SEP 19-22 (Th-Sun)
(Possibly a third session between or after those if sufficient interest)
WORKSHOP: $550/person (max 8/session)
4-day Abstract MoFo Workshop (instruction, materials, substrates, guest lecture, lunches, snacks, 24/7 studio access)
ON-SITE LODGING: $360/person for 4 nights
Accommodations: One huge shared (2 queen beds) room with its own bathroom; two queen rooms that share a bathroom. Evening studio hours, transportation from/to train station. Extra nights available before/after workshop, not including breakfast/studio; ask for rate.
Email kelley@rivenworks.com to register.
“What a fantastic, creative, heart- and mind-opening weekend in Seattle with 12 amazing women that inspired me beyond what I could have imagined! I’m happy to say that I felt my fear and doubt melt away and in its place a bold new statement emerge. “Do all the things” makes me feel big and confident and capable; things I haven’t felt in a long time and feared were gone for good. Thank you for such a fun, funny, kick ass creative adventure! DO ALL THE THINGS!!”
MASTERING MUD:
IMPROVING YOUR FINE MORTAR SKILLS
Curious about or frustrated with cement mortar as a mosaic adhesive? In this workshop you’ll learn to effectively mix, apply (bed, backbutter, and baggie methods), and maneuver cement to create substrates and strongly hold tesserae of varying heights so that grout isn’t needed. You’ll also learn to think of mortar as a design element, and even as a tessera! As you build a mosaic directly into cement mortar you’ll get a wealth of tips on working cleanly, tinting cement, creating sculptural and undulating effects, and smoothing/texturizing open areas of cement within or around a mosaic design.
NEXT SESSIONS:
Contact me at kelley@rivenworks.com to discuss booking in your area.
THE SHAPE OF THiNGS: fast, fun mosaic design elements
This course offers a fresh twist on working with interesting found objects in mosaic: creating your own unique “found objects” by deconstructing and then reconstructing/recombining shapes of materials (both machined and organic) that you already have (penny rounds, glass blobs, millefiore, river stones, stained glass, and more)!
After creating these new “found objects” directly into mortar, you'll use them as the building blocks or “targets” of a unique mosaic composition.
Here’s what you’ll be learning in this course:
How to assess ordinary shapes for new possibilities
How to effectively deconstruct various shapes into interesting sub-shapes
How to mix and match the sub-shapes into unique new abstract design elements
How to use your newly created abstract design elements to form a appealing visual composition on a substrate.
How to build a background mosaic around the compositional targets you’ve laid down, adding nuance and texture while balancing the design
How to compose and build a signature block
Instruction will be via slide show, handouts, demos, discussion, exercises, hands-on building, one-on-one guidance, and critique.
NEXT SESSIONS:
Contact me at kelley@rivenworks.com to discuss booking in your area.
Shard logic: finding rhythm in the random
Wondering for the nth time what to do with that pile of random scraps and shards of material in your "crap library?” Leftover tesserae, offcuts, accidents, samples and bits we pull out of the floor sweepings because they're expensive, rare, meaningful or just beautiful. Not much of any one thing, and none of it "matches" the rest (curved, straight, jagged, right angles, different sizes, colors, etc.).
Let me show you how to assess random scraps, see (or create) the rhythm in them, and join them together in one cohesive, vibrant, active mosaic. You'll discover that the unruly dissonance of your shards is actually their visual/textural strength!
Through building a sample board and then a Mosaic from your shards, you will learn this and more:
• How to see (or create) the corresponding aspects of various similar scraps
•How to choose a neutral unifying material that pulls your discordant scraps together
•The importance of dissonance in creating energy and interest in an andamento
•The importance of contrast, value, shape and texture in the success of a mosaic
•How uniformity can make areas of “chaos” really pop
•How to effect a "chaos gradient,” and why you might want to
2024
MAR 29-30, Ann Arbor, MI (Double-header with Kickassiette)
Courtesy of Mosaic Artists of Michigan
$395 ($345 if registering for both workshops)
Contact Virginia Stevens at vls48@charter.net to register
AUG 3-4, SEATTLE, WA
$350
Contact me at kelley@rivenworks.com to register
FUNdamento: Shape + direction = flow
Andamento is the order and arrangement of the pieces (tesserae) in a mosaic, and is essential to how a mosaic will “read” to the viewer. Through a fun, fast-paced combination of lecture, slideshow, discussion, drawing, and hands-on practice, students will learn to execute three modern field andamenti:
One-day session:
random circles (“Circlemento”),
random squares/rectangles (“Squaretangular”),
linear quadrangles (“Linear”)
Two-day session:
random circles (“Circlemento”),
random squares/rectangles (“Squaretangular”),
linear quadrangles (“Linear”)
working out from a curve ("Big Bangamento")
nearly triangles ("Accordionamento")
Students will gain understanding and proficiency by discussing and then drawing each andamento and creating a 6” x 6” paper (one-day) or hard material (two-day) mosaic in their choice of one of the given andamenti. Additional topics discussed: choosing an appropriate field andamenti for a mosaic, fun with interstices, and adapting/inventing/customizing andamenti.
NEXT SESSIONS:
Contact me at kelley@rivenworks.com to discuss booking in your area.
MINd the gap: space as a mosaic design elemenT
There are many approaches to incorporating open space into mosaic design. Through slides, demos, and discussion, this workshop introduces you to at least six of them. For hands-on practice, you’ll choose an approach and execute at least one space-centric mosaic.
It’s because mosaic is so dense that incorporating space can be so effective. Dense areas appear denser, and the void space(s) deeper, calmer. Like juxtaposing two complementary colors: density and space enliven each other like no other combination can.
NEXT SESSIONS:
Contact me at kelley@rivenworks.com to discuss booking in your area.
SERIOUS ABOUT SERIES
If you’re looking to develop a cohesive body of mosaic work to show, this course is for you.
If you’re looking to develop a recognizable personal style or “voice,” this course is for you.
If you have a favorite subject/idea/color/style you want to explore, or a longer story to tell, this course is for you.
Too boring, you say? Like to change things up with every new work? That approach can fuel one of the most exciting and satisfying successes of a series: maintaining continuity while changing a lot of things up!
In this course, as you build a series of works, you will learn:
To explore beyond your first (reflexive) idea
How a series differs from a multipart artwork
How to choose a cohesive, design-supporting color/material palette
How to compose/design for a series
When spontaneity in execution can complement pre-planning
What unifying elements will link your series works together
How to riff off of “master” or “anchor” design elements in each work
How working on multiple artworks at the same time aids continuity and efficiency
NEXT SESSIONS:
Contact me at kelley@rivenworks.com to discuss booking in your area.
LINE, SHAPE, AND SPACE: ABSTRACT DESIGN FOR MOSAIC
Using the three basic elements of line, shape and space, Kelley provides practical starting points and working strategies for conveying ideas and concepts abstractly. Mosaic materials and andamento are inherently expressive; Kelley will demonstrate how keeping your underlying design structure simple supports and enhances their eloquence. Students will build at least one mosaic in class; Kelley will work with each student to ensure understanding of and facility with the concepts/techniques taught.
In this course you’ll learn:
· Eight basic principles of art and design
· Multiple functions of line and space in design
· How to see/create relationship and story in basic lines and shapes
· Some of the many ways lines and shapes can occupy space
· How a balanced underlying structure can inform design
· How to balance planning and spontaneity in your approach to design
· How to use representational objects/scenes as a springboard to abstractions
If you tend to overthink your plan, never fear; we’ll do some fun exercises to give you something unexpected to respond to and keep spontaneity alive in your compositions. As we discuss underlying design framework, you’ll learn to ask yourself leading questions and make effective choices toward conveying an idea or mood and bringing it to life with the texture and rhythm of mosaic.
NEXT SESSIONS:
OCT 19-20, RENO, NV (Double-header with Kickassiette: Blowing the Lid Off Crockery Mosaic)
$395, or $345 if taking both 2-day courses.
Registration info will be forthcoming here.
KICKassiette: blowing the lid off crockery mosaic
Picassiette* is the process of transforming crockery and found objects into mosaic. What makes crockery so tempting and ideal for mosaic is not only its availability, ease of cutting, and varied glazes, but its unique curvatures, bumps and protrusions that translate to gorgeous dimensionality in tesserae.
In this technique-rich, hands-on workshop, Kelley ramps picassiette up an innovative notch with her unusual methods of cutting/setting not only the flat surfaces of plates and other ceramic ware, but the lips, feet, rims, handles, lids, spouts, and more, including the exposing/tinting of the inner clay body. Students will learn cutting tools and techniques; setting in mortar to maximize sculptural/dimensional possibilities; building a cohesive color/material palette, and composing with crockery’s challenging curves and bumps.
*Thought to be derived from the French slang “piquer” (to steal) + “assiette” (plate).
NEXT SESSIONS:
MAR 27-28, ANN ARBOR, MI (Double-header with Shard Logic)
$395, or $345 if taking both 2-day courses
Contact Virginia Stevens at vls48@charter.net to register
JUN 1-2, SEATTLE, WA
$350
Contact me at kelley@rivenworks.com to register
OCT 20-21, RENO, NV (Double-header with Line, Shape, and Space: Abstract Design for Mosaic)
$395, or $345 if taking both 2-day courses.
Registration info will be forthcoming here.
Contact me at kelley@rivenworks.com to discuss booking in your area.
WHAT STUDENTS SAY ABOUT IN-PERSON WORKSHOPS:
“Wow, Kelley Knickerbocker’s FUNdamento class is amazing. I have learned so much from this class including many techniques and really clever ideas I know I will carry well into my mosaic life.”
" I just finished one of Kelley's classes. Not only was it fun, but it was fast paced, centered on learning new skills and incredibly inspirational. I could look at her work all day. She has opened my eyes to a whole new relationship with materials."
"Great class. I have taken classes where the instructor has in their mind what they want you to create, which I find very difficult because I see the project completely different from what they see. This class lets you choose how your composition will look. Thank you for the freedom to create from your own mind an art piece. And I hadn't realized that you can use mortar/thinset as part of your piece. Very interesting and inspiring ideas and techniques.”
"I really enjoyed the class, and I appreciate how much time you obviously put into preparing for it. I also appreciate your generosity in sharing your knowledge. I thought my head might explode from all the info! I was a little concerned that I wouldn't remember much, but then I saw what a great job you did of recapping in your handouts."
"The workshop was excellent! My head is about to burst with ideas how to use all the techniques I learned."
VISITING ARTIST WORKSHOPS, Seattle
Hosted in a spacious, bright, comfortable, 3-bedroom Seattle Airbnb.
Come for just the workshop or add lodging so you can roll out of bed and into the studio each morning and work late into the night on your project(s)
MORE IN THE WORKS…CHECK BACK OFTEN or get on my mailing list for advance notice of all the drops!