
Programs
The NEA award supports our Directed Studies series that brings artists together with residents of Skid Row and South Los Angeles. Visiting artists lead workshops that provide hands-on instruction in advanced mosaic art techniques. This part of our program is also an opportunity for our artists to see different styles and from artists within the US and Internationally.
2013
Deb Aldo is an artist working primarily in pebble mosaic. She led our artists in a collaborative pebble mosaic stepping stone workshop, where artists created their own stepping stone that became part of a larger overall design.
2021
Karen Ami is the executive director of the Chicago Mosaic School and gave our artists a virtual tour of the space and talked about her own mosaic work on a Zoom during the pandemic.
2009 • 2011
Beth is an interior designer who taught some of our first workshops. One class was focused on creating a mosaic table, where artists worked together. The second class was a collage under glass workshop.
2011 • 2012 • 2017
Jolino is a local Los Angeles mosaic artist who focuses on the style of pique assiette, using recycled materials. He has worked with our artists several times, on both individual pieces and a collaborative project.
2020
Linda Biggers is a mosaic artist and eggshell mosaic artist. She led a virtual workshop during the pandemic where our artists reeived kits of materials and created their own eggshell mosaics.
2021 • 2022 • 2024
Monica is a mosaic artist from Northern California and has supported our artists in many ways. During the pandemic, she shared both her artwork and process. She also taught our first live workshop after the pandemic where artists learned to work with natural materials, specifically slate.
2013
Charles Dickson is a renowned sculptor here in South Central Los Angeles. He visited our artists and led them in creating some unique sculptures using a variety of materials.
2011 • 2012 • 2013
Matt owns and operates Topanga Tile Works and works in ceramic tile. He has led our artists is creating specialty tiles for some of our public works, including Villas at Gower and Entangled Bank in Irvine Valley College.
2020 • 2022
Carolyn Elaine is a well-known public artist working in Chicago and visited our artists virtually during the pandemic to share her process and work. In 2022 she gave a tour of her workspace and talked about creating public art—both the technical and collaborative aspects of creating.
2012 • 2013 • 2021 • 2022
Kim Emerson is a public mosaic artist and has taught our artists different techniques for mosaic application. She also joined us during the pandemic to share a presentation on artist Niki de Saint Phalle. In 2022 Kim gave us a virtual tour and historic talk about Niki de St. Phalle, specifically her installation Queen Califia’s Magic Circle in Escondido, CA
2015
Katherine is a southern California artist, specializing in journaling and mosaic. She led a workshop with our artists in making their own journal, creating self-portraits on the cover using collage techniques.
2021 • 2022
Bonnie Fitzgerald is a mosaic and ceramic artist from Washington D.C. She visited our artists virtually during the pandemic and talked about her artistic journey. In 2022, Bonnie gave a talk to Piece by Piece artists shared several of her personal and public works.
2021
Sabrina Frey is a bead mosaic artist. She gave a talk about her personal creative journey and led the group, virtually, in creating their own beaded mosaic artworks.
2014
Susan runs a company called St. Theresa Tile Works and focuses on custom ceramic tile making. She worked with our artists to create their own individual tiles for use in their own projects.
2012 • 2014
Sherri is a sculptor and public artist who worked with our team on our first large-scale work for Villas at Gower, teaching the team how to sculpt from polystyrene foam and create mosaic sculptures. She also led a workshop where artists created their own garden sculptures.
2018 • 2019
Aya, born in Japan, living in Pennsylvania, worked with our artists on collaborative projects, creating artwork that is featured in our new space.
2010 • 2019 • 2022 • 2023 • 2024
Kelley is a mosaic artist from the state of Washington. She has inspired our artists through workshops on using recycled materials and glass on glass.
2018 • 2019
Laura is a fine art painter in Los Angeles and has done two projects with our artists. We collaborated with Laura in interpreting one of her large paintings "FLY" into mosaic. Laura also led our artists in a experimental paint and mosaic workshop.
2009 • 2020
Laura is a Southern California artist working with polymer clay. She has led our artists in making their own polymer clay tiles in several workshops throughout the years.
2021
Argentinian artist Adriana visited our artists during the pandemic, virtually, to talk about her experiences with public and collaborative art.
2011
Janet is an artist working with seashells. She led a workshop making seashell mirrors with our artists.
2021
Noni Olabisi was a well-known and respected muralist here in South Central Los Angeles. She worked with our artists on one of our large-scale commissions, Firestone-Phoenix mural, teaching them painting techniques that were combined with mosaic elements.
2010
Hanoch Piven is an Israeli mixed media artist best known for his celebrity caricatures. He visited our program and led a workshop working with a mixture of all sorts of materials--from plastic to metals--to make whimsical portraits.
2015 • 2017
Anne Marie is a mosaic artist, working primarily in glass and has led workshops working with glass on stone and making mosaic butterflies.
2020
Gila specializes in Pique Assiette, a form of mosaic that makes use of recycled materials. She worked with our artists to create unique pieces using broken plates
2016 • 2017 • 2018 • 2023
Carol is an artist from Philadelphia, working primarily in stained glass. Her workshops with Piece by Piece focus on color theory, impressionism, and portraiture.
2011
Karen Silton is a local artist who works with ceramic and mosaic. She has led workshops on tile painting with our artists.
2009 • 2010 • 2011 • 2016
Lillian Sizemore was one of our first visiting artists. In each of her workshops with our artists, she focuses on mandala making--both drawing and mosaic.
2016 • 2019
Mireille is a world-renowned artist who has worked with our artists on several occasions. She has taught some techniques including the reverse method, and using thinset as a substrate and the group created a large collaborative mosaic.
2010 • 2011
Aida is a well-known mosaic artist from Tijuana who has worked with our artists creating three-dimensional artworks.
2020
Anabella Wewer is a mosaic artist working in stone. She led a virtual workshop during the pandemic, talking about andamento--the flow of pieces within a mosaic.
2023
Julie Williams is a community teaching artist. She has worked with Piece by Piece in many capacities, using her organizational skills as well as providing both thoughtful and fun workshops. She loves the sense of community and collaboration in the Piece by Piece classroom and studio. Her artwork has been exhibited in group shows in the Southern California area.
2021
Wasentha Young is a mosaic artist from Michigan. She led a workshop on small mosaics virtually during the pandemic. Artists were sent kits and then worked alongside Wasentha via Zoom.