Mosaic Abstract Expressions – Dec. 12 & 13, 2026

Start with one intriguing object. Transform it. Build from there. Create something that could only be yours.

What happens when you start a mosaic with an object that catches your eye—and let that object lead the way.

Mosaic Abstract Expressions is a playful, open-ended workshop that combines mosaic, assemblage, found objects, and unexpected materials. There are no patterns to follow and no “right” way to make your piece. Instead, you’ll find an anchor element and use it as the starting point for a completely one-of-a-kind abstract composition.

Find Your Anchor

We’ll begin by exploring the workshop’s Material Buffet—a wonderfully eclectic collection gathered from years of collecting, salvaging, making, and simply not being able to resist an interesting object!

Choose something that speaks to you. It might be a shell, piece of ceramic, stone, metal fragment, rusty bit, handmade object, or something you brought from home. Your anchor doesn’t have to stay the way you found it.

This is where things get really interesting.

You might transform a clay object with a patina or metallic finish. Alter a shell. Combine several small objects into a new form. Or create modules and clusters from beads, fragments, or other tiny treasures that can become larger elements within your composition. You’re not just selecting materials—you’re turning some of  them into something uniquely yours.

See It. Don’t Name It.

We’ll begin with a short, playful exercise called “See It, Don’t Name It.” Rather than immediately deciding what something is, we’ll look at its shape, line, texture, color, movement, rhythm, and energy. This simple shift can open up new ways of seeing—and help you make creative choices based on what you feel and see, rather than what you think an object is supposed to be.

From there, your anchor becomes the starting point. You’ll experiment, add, subtract, transform, rearrange, and respond to what is developing in front of you. Along the way, we’ll explore composition, color, scale, texture, andamento, contrast, repetition, and editing—including that very important question: When is it finished?

The Material Buffet

WARNING: Bonnie is diving deep into her shed for this one!

You’ll have access to an unusually wide variety of materials, including:

• Recycled and repurposed materials
• Natural found objects
• Shells, rocks, and pebbles
• Dish shards in the pique assiette tradition
• Glass and tile
• Rusty bits and metal fragments
• Hand-built ceramics
• Tempered glass
• Beads and small objects for creating clusters and modules
• And plenty of things that defy easy categorization!

Think of the material buffet from the Mosaic Tapestry Workshop—but on steroids!

You’re also welcome to bring a few interesting objects from home. Bringing materials is completely optional. If you contribute something to the buffet and don’t use it, it goes home with you. Please!

Make It Uniquely Yours

This workshop is about possibility rather than predictability.

You might begin with a single object and discover an entirely different direction. You might transform something ordinary into something unexpected. You might create a small cluster of objects that becomes the focal point of your piece.

There is no predetermined image and no expectation that your finished work should look like anyone else’s. That’s the magic.

Everyone starts with different materials, makes different choices, and follows a different path. The result is a truly one-of-a-kind work of art.

We’ll also explore how to work with unconventional materials using appropriate tools, adhesives, substrates, and cutting techniques. Your project will be built on a lightweight, tile-ready substrate approximately 11" × 14", provided as part of the supply fee.

And not every abstract mosaic needs grout! We’ll consider whether grout enhances or detracts from your particular piece and use it when appropriate.

$100 Supply Fee Includes

• A wide variety of mosaic and assemblage materials (hand-built ceramic, colorful ceramic tiles, broken dish shards, glass tiles, smalti, shells, stone, rusty stuff, beads, and unconventional and unexpected "other"
• Lightweight, tile-ready 11" × 14" substrate or thereabouts
• Hanging device
• Thin-set mortar and concrete colorants
• Silicone adhesive
• Apoxie Sculpt and solvent
• Two-part epoxy
• Specialized hand tools for challenging cuts
• Grout, when appropriate for your project

Students Provide

• Glass wheel nippers, if you own them (loaners available)
• Small spatulas for spreading adhesives
• Tweezers
• Safety glasses
• Apron

Supple fee collected at start of workshop. All levels are welcome.

Come curious. Bring an open mind. Bring an object if you have one—or simply come ready to discover something that catches your eye.

Start with an anchor. Transform it. Build from it. Make something that could only have come from you.

Location:  PROGRESS CLUB  1610 E Jefferson St, Rockville, MD 20852.  Click here for directions.

A note will come to all students a week or so prior with additional details and reminders of what to bring, parking details, etc.

Photo:  by Sylvia Witting includes hand-built ceramic, tempered glass, smalti, stone. Inspired by her longtime mentor Ilana Shafir.

Gallery Images include students’ works by Bonnie in workshops with Ilana Shafir and other students’ works in the spirit of beginning with an anchor element.