Programs

Visiting Artists

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.

Deb Aldo

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.

Artist Website 

Karen Ami

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.

Artist Website 

Beth Barror

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.

Jolino Beserra

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.

Artist Website 

Linda Biggers

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.

Artist Website 

Monica Currie-Johnson

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.

Artist Website 

Charles Dickson

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.

Artist Website 

Matt Doolin

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.

Artist Website 

Carolyn Elaine

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.

Artist Website 

Kim Emerson

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

Artist Website 

Katherine England

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.

Artist Website 

Bonnie Fitzgerald

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.

Artist Website 

Sabrina Frey

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.

Artist Website 

Susan Gamble

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.

Artist Website 

Sherri Warner Hunter

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.

Artist Website 

Aya Kinoshita

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.

Artist Website 

Kelley Knickerbocker

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.

Artist Website 

Laura Letchinger

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.

Artist Website 

Laurie Mika

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.

Artist Website 

Adriana Mufarrege

2021

Argentinian artist Adriana visited our artists during the pandemic, virtually, to talk about her experiences with public and collaborative art.

Artist Website 

Janet Nordlinger

2011

Janet is an artist working with seashells. She led a workshop making seashell mirrors with our artists.

Noni Olabisi

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.

Hanoch Piven

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.

Artist Website 

Anne Marie Price

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.

Artist Website 

Gila Rayberg

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

Artist Website 

Carol Shelkin

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.

Artist Website 

Karen Silton

2011

Karen Silton is a local artist who works with ceramic and mosaic. She has led workshops on tile painting with our artists.

Artist Website 

Lillian Sizemore

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.

Artist Website 

Mireille Swinnen

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.

Aida Valencia

2010 • 2011

Aida is a well-known mosaic artist from Tijuana who has worked with our artists creating three-dimensional artworks.

Artist Website 

Anabella Wewer

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.

Artist Website 

Julie Williams

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.

Artist Website 

Wasentha Young

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.

Artist Website