Surrounded by glassy, colorful mosaics, artists from around the world gathered at The Mosaic Workshop Saturday to kick off Austin Mosaic Fest, a weeklong event celebrating mosaics of any style.
Owner and founder of The Mosaic Workshop, Jonathan Muzacz (sociology ‘06) started the festival two years ago to christen The Mosaic Workshop when he first opened the space.
“Austin’s a very creative, active place,” Muzacz said. “I think people want to get together around community, we want to gather, we want to have shared interests, and it’s often around creativity, music and art. (The festival is) a natural extension of that.”
The event features 12 artists from countries including Italy, Mexico and Puerto Rico. The week includes more than 15 workshops, demonstrations and presentations by the invited artists. The artists will also collaborate to install three murals across Austin, Muzacz said.
Dianne Sonnenberg, president of the Austin Mosaic Guild, met Muzacz a few years ago and will lead a workshop on making mosaics on three-dimensional sculptures.
“I am always deeply enriched and inspired by teaching because I see people excited about learning a new skill,” Sonnenberg said. “(My workshop) broadens their creative sparks. I see people get excited.”
Arianna Gallo and her sister Anita Pilotti own Koko Mosaico, an international mosaic studio in Ravenna, Italy. Gallo and Pilotti both studied mosaics. After opening their mosaic studio, they make commissioned works and teach courses.
“Mosaic, I think for me, it’s not a well-known art in the world compared to paintings, photography, (or) sculpture,” Pilotti said. “(The) more people share about mosaic, (the) better it is. … We are all artists. We want to share our work, and so it’s a moment of communion, sharing art and love.”
The pair will teach a workshop this week on the mosaic form they specialize in, a method from Ravenna. Gallo said that mosaics are easy to fall in love with.
“It’s very interesting to meet other people who work with the same medium but (use) sometimes different materials or (a) different technique, and there’s always something new to learn,” Gallo said. “Every artist is different, so it’s very inspiring.”
Jacob Gardinier, a local mosaic artist, hosted the first demonstration on Sunday. Gardinier uses a wet saw to cut tile for his mosaics, which he prefers because it saves time and allows for more precision. He said the festival is important for fostering community and art in Austin.
“It allows visitors to come in to see our city, fall in love with it,” Gardinier said. “Mosaic is beautiful, and I think that the more that we could put it around the city, it would make Austin a better place.”
The festival will continue to host events until Sunday.
“I want to leave the smiles behind because when you’re giving people the tools, and maybe they’re doing something they never thought they could do before,” Muzacz said. “Every time somebody cuts a piece of glass for the first time, it’s like ‘Wow,’ there’s this aha moment, and then you’re hooked.”
