MOSAIC ART CLASSES: past, present and future - 2026-2027
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COMING CLASSES (sign up now!)
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Mosaic SteppingStone Class - Oct. 24-25, 2026, Albuquerque, NM
Saturday, Oct. 24 — 12:00–6:00 pm
Sunday, Oct. 25 — 12:00–2:00 pm
At Jill’s house/mosaic studio in the Albuquerque north valley.
Join us for a creative, hands‑on weekend where you’ll design and build your very own 12" x 12" mosaic steppingstone — a one‑of‑a‑kind piece for your garden, patio, or walkway. This class is perfect for beginners and experienced mosaic artists who want to learn how to create a mosaic art piece suitable for outdoors. No experience needed.
Saturday: I will provide an introduction to mosaic tools, materials, and you will learn two essential techniques. You’ll create your design (you can bring a simple design of your own or use one of the provided templates), choose your tiles, and start bringing your steppingstone to life. Every project is unique, and you’ll get plenty of guidance along the way. If you don’t finish tiling, you can take your stone home to complete it.
Sunday: The exciting part: we’ll grout the steppingstones and then line them up outside to appreciate them all together!
All materials are provided: Steppingstones, tools, tiles, adhesive, and grout.
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Mosaic Coasters Class
Dec. 12, 2026 - Dec. 13, 2026
This should be low-pressure fun and you will go home with great gifts for yourself or others! I provide small ceramic substrates with cork backing, tiles, and all other supplies. In 3 hours, make a few fancy coasters or churn out a lot of simple ones to give as holiday gifts! Come back the next day to grout them.
SATURDAY, DEC. 12, 2026: 12noon - 3pm: Tile your mosaic tile coasters
SUNDAY, DEC. 13, 2026: 12noon - ~1:30pm: Grout them, and we will put them all together to see what they look like as a big quilt!
$80
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MOSAIC BIRDBATH CLASS: Saturday, Jan. 9 and Sat. Jan. 16, 2027
$140
I provide the large, terracotta saucer, all the supplies, technique instruction (including keystone tile cutting, which is useful for a round substrate), some design tips, and you provide the creativity! Check the birdbaths by students in earlier classes on my website (under classes). Many of these spectacular pieces were created by beginners!
Sat., Jan. 9th, 2027: 12 noon - 4pm: Work on design, learn about tools and thinset mortar, get a good start on tiling the birdbaths
Students will take their birdbaths, tiles, cutters, adhesive, home to work on them during the week. There will be an opportunity to meet midweek to continue working and/or replenish tiles and supplies, if people want.
Sat., Jan. 16th: 12 noon - 2pm: We grout the birdbaths and take pictures! I promise you will be impressed. I know I will be (and I may steal some of your ideas!)
PAST MOSAIC CLASSES (that may be offered again in the future!)
MOSAIC MAILBOX CLASS, March 14, 15, & 21, 2026
I have mosaic tiled almost 400 mailboxes, so I know the tricks. If you want to tile your own mailbox, make one for a gift, or even start a Custom Mosaic Mailbox business (believe me, there is a big demand for these), this class is for you!
This class is limited to 12 people and will fill up fast, so register ASAP!
We will meet at my studio in the North Valley.
All supplies, including a medium-sized mailbox, will be provided.
March 14: 1st class Saturday, 12 - 4pm: Prep (sand) mailboxes, learn about and work on design, and start the tiling.
March 15: 2nd class Saturday 12 - 3pm: Learn more, see progress and continue working
March 21: Grout and admire all the fabulous custom mailboxes!
$220. class fee
MOSAIC A SKULL FOR THE DAY OF THE DEAD!
Weekend of Oct. 11-12th (starting at noon both days) and Wed. 15th (evening), 2025
see details and sign up below the pic of my piece in progress..
Pick from my incredible variety of fancy tiles to mosaic tile your own (well, not ACTUALLY your OWN) skull for the Day of the Dead! (I really did mosaic tile an actual human skull one time! Sign up for the class to hear that story..)
When:
Oct. 11: noon till about 5pm
Oct. 12: noon till 2pm
Oct. 15: evening
Where: At my house in the Albuquerque north valley. My house is full of my mosaic art, inside and out in the yard and I’ll give you a tour of the good, bad and ugly.
What: On day one and two, we will work on mosaic tiling our skulls. On Wednesday, we come back together to grout and admire our pieces as a group. You will be creating a family heirloom (“my crazy great aunt Lucia made this mosaic skull in 2025 for the Day of the Dead!”). Wait till you see.
I will provide lightweight, lifesize skulls and all the materials and supplies you need to complete this project.
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Mosaic Birdbath Class
July 19 & 26, 2025
at Jill’s house in the Albuquerque North Valley
This class is full, but contact me if you’d like to get on the waiting list. (Description of this class from last time I taught it is posted below)
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Mosaic Paving Stone Class
Aug. 1 & 4, 2025
at Albuquerque Oasis (click here for a description of the class)
This class is full, but you can contact them and get on the waiting list.
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[[THIS STEPPING STONE CLASS HAS BEEN CANCELLED]] STAY TUNED FOR NEW DATES
Mosaic Stepping Stone Class
Aug. 9 & 16, 2025
There are still openings!
at Jill’s house in the Albuquerque North Valley
This class is appropriate for new or experienced mosaic artists.
Day 1: 12noon - 5pm, We start with a tour of the mosaic pieces all around my house, including a mosaic wall mural, garden sculptures, kitchen backsplash, tables (indoor and outdoor), toasters and many others. I’ll tell you about the processes I used to make them if you are interested.
You will then work on your own design for your 12” x 12” stepping stone (provided). There will be an option to learn and apply the mesh transfer method for part of your design (good to know if you ever plan to do a mosaic wall mural), but you can of course just tile directly on the stepping stone, too. You should be able to get a good start, tiling your stone, and then you can take home all the supplies you need to continue working on your piece at home. There will be an opportunity mid-week to pick up more tiles or get any needed assistance. All supplies and tools are provided.
Day 2, 12noon – 2pm: We will grout the stepping stones and line them up on my walkway to admire them! Depending on class interest, I can demo how mosaic sculptures, wall murals, etc. are created too, using the skills you will already have.
Class Fee: $125.00 Contact me to register or for more information!
Mosaic Coasters
Sept. 6 & 7
at Jill’s house in the Albuquerque North Valley
If this class isn’t a low-stress blast, I will refund your money. A really fun day of mosaic art-making for complete beginners who want to learn OR advanced mosaic artists who want to play (and have access to all my tesserae). You will go home with fantastic gifts for others or yourself! I will provide a big box of 4” square bases and you will have 3.5 hours to make as many – or as few - mosaic coasters as you can or want. Make several simple coaster sets to give as gifts or make a few small, unique art pieces (people LOVE to get handmade mosaic art!) I can’t believe how much fun I had making these and I can’t wait to make more. All materials including mosaic tiles, cutters, adhesive, porcelain tile bases, and cork bottoms will be supplied.
Day 1: 12noon - 4pm, Tile as many coasters as you can or want to
Day 2: 12noon - 1pm, Grout your tiles and we’ll take pictures of them all as a group!
Class Fee: $80 Contact me to register or for more info.
SET UP YOUR OWN MOSAIC CLASS!
Grab some friends or family members and learn to do mosaic! For groups of 4 or more, we can schedule a small group mosaic class at my house in the Albuquerque North Valley. The class fee will depend on what project you’d like to do. A Basic Mosaic Art class fee is $100 each.
Contact me and let’s talk.
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I provide the large, terracotta saucer, all the supplies, technique instruction (including keystone tile cutting, which is useful for a round substrate), some design tips, and you provide the creativity! Check the birdbaths by students in earlier classes on my website (under classes). Many of these spectacular pieces were created by beginners!
Sat., Jan. 9th, 2027: 12 noon - 4pm: Work on design, learn about tools and thinset mortar, get a good start on tiling the birdbaths
Students will take their birdbaths, tiles, cutters, adhesive, home to work on them during the week. There will be an opportunity to meet midweek to continue working and/or replenish tiles and supplies, if people want.
Sat., Jan. 16th: 12 noon - 2pm: We grout the birdbaths and take pictures! I promise you will be impressed. I know I will be (and I may steal some of your ideas!)
Aug. 17th: 12 noon - 5pm
Aug. 24th: 12noon - 3pm
(Sessions a week apart. There will be an open studio night between the classes and you will also work at home during the week)
At Jill’s house in the Albuquerque North Valley.
We will prep a structure (provided) and use thinset as adhesive, so this piece will be outdoor worthy!
Your choice for project:
A Statue Made From a Curved Block I get these at Lowes. I made a Virgen de Guadalupe and am working on a St. Francis. But you could make a seal holding a ball on its nose, a garden dwarf, or ??
A 12” cylindrical column that can be the start of a Garden Totem Pole
A Small Gazing Ball Starting with a styrofoam ball, we cover it with mesh and a coat of thinset, then tile.
Class Fee: $110 (structure/base, tiles and all other materials all provided)
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Dec. 10, 2023: MOSAIC COASTERS - Make Gifts for Yourself or Others!
A really fun day of mosaic art-making for complete beginners who want to learn OR advanced mosaic artists AND you will go home with fantastic gifts for others or yourself! I will provide a big box of 4” square bases and you will have 3.5 hours to make as many – or as few - mosaic coasters as you can or want. Make several simple coaster sets to give as gifts or make a few small, unique art pieces (people LOVE to get handmade mosaic art!) I can’t believe how much fun I had making these and I can’t wait to make more. All materials including mosaic tiles, cutters, adhesive, porcelain tile bases, and cork bottoms will be supplied.
$85
This class will be taught at The Groove Art Space on Dec. 10th. Registration info. is not quite up yet, so contact me to get on the waiting list now. _______________________________________________________________________________
PAST MOSAIC CLASSES
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Day of the Dead Mosaic Calaveras Class (Before and After)
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Make Your Own Mosaic Mailbox
Mosaic Address Sign Class
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MOSAIC MINIATURE AFRICAN HOUSE (SOLD OUT)
(or yurt or hogan or earth ship, alien abode, whatever you want! I was inspired by the women of the Nbdele tribe in South Africa who paint their houses every year. This class is held on two consecutive Sundays, to give time to work on your project over the week.
May 21: 12noon - 5pm: We will assemble, prep the substrates with mesh and thinset and prepare to start tiling our houses.
May 28: 1pm - 3pm: After tiling your mosaic house over the week, we return to grout them and admire the variety of pieces!
Enrollment is limited to 8 students. No experience required, but would be very helpful. All supplies provided.
Please contact me with any questions: JillGat@gmail.com, 505-252-0241
MOSAIC ART: BASIC AND BEYOND in June, 2023 (SOLD OUT)
April 23 & 30, Mosaic Birdbath Class (SOLD OUT)
A large round substrate inspires different kinds of creative designs (check out past student birdbaths here!) Day 1: We prep and begin tiling 16” terracotta plant saucers to make mosaic birdbaths!
Day 2 (the next week): We grout and admire our work!
Will post pictures soon… grouting is this coming Sunday.
March 4: Mosaic Art with Found Objects (SOLD OUT)
Sat.: 12 - whenever: No grouting in this one day class! And tesserae might include shells, beads, keys, nuts and bolts, wood, feathers, beans, single earrings… you name it. I will provide a ton of1 possibilities and you are welcome to bring stuff to share. All gets imbedded in thinset mortar. There are few limits to what you can do. It’s a blast. Lunch included.
Fee: $60, plus tax: $64.65
March 25 & Apr. 1st: Outdoor Mosaics: Stepping Stone (SOLD OUT)
If you are interested in learning to do outdoor mosaics, this is the class for you. We play with thinset mortar! The class is held on two consecutive Saturdays, so that you can work on your own to finish tiling your piece during the week, if needed. No art or mosaic experience required.
Sat., March 25: 12 - 4pm: We go over the basics of design and tile cutting and mix our thinset mortar. Then you will learn two mosaic tiling techniques for your 12” x 12” stepping stone (provided). First, we will tile on mesh and transfer the piece to the stepping stone (this is how most mosaic wall and other large mosaic pieces are done). Next, we will use the direct technique to finish tiling the stone (you might do some of this at home with provided supplies).
Sat. Apr. 1: 12 - 2pm: We return a week later to grout our pieces and I will demonstrate how to do a wall mosaic by adhering a mosaic piece to the side of my house. You can also make a piece to add to my wall or your own, too!
