Mosaic Workshops
“Each year I love to lead a small number of specialised mosaic workshops from my Castlemaine studio in gorgeous central Victoria. I draw from a deep well of practical and academic learning built over 30 years of full time independent arts practice and academic research. My courses are designed to lay solid foundations in mosaic for beginners, and to reaffirm classical mosaic techniques – together with introducing new ways of ‘thinking in mosaic’. So from complete beginners to those seeking a refresher course, for intermediate to advanced mosaic practitioners – there is something for everyone.” Dr Helen Bodycomb
COVID SAFETY – MAXIMUM OF ONLY 6 FULLY VACCINATED PARTICIPANTS PER WORKSHOP
WORKSHOP FEES TRANSFERABLE / REFUNDABLE IN CASE OF CONFLICT WITH COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS
Download the 2022 Semester 2 Mosaic Workshop PDF here

July 2020
Open Access Studio Day – 15 July 2020
Studio 11, Lot 19, McShanag Lane, Castlemaine maximum of 5 places per session Cost: $100 per person, includes tea and coffee, glues, heating, tool use BYO project, lunch, mug and hand sanitiser (Please do not come if you are unwell)
Find out more »August 2020
Open Access Studio Day – 10 August 2020
Studio 11, Lot 19, McShanag Lane, Castlemaine maximum of 5 places per session Cost: $100 per person, includes tea and coffee, glues, heating, tool use BYO project, lunch, mug and hand sanitiser (Please do not come if you are unwell)
Find out more »Open Access Studio Day – 12 August 2020
Studio 11, Lot 19, McShanag Lane, Castlemaine maximum of 5 places per session Cost: $100 per person, includes tea and coffee, glues, heating, tool use BYO project, lunch, mug and hand sanitiser (Please do not come if you are unwell)
Find out more »September 2020
Open Access Studio Day – 9 September 2020
Studio 11, Lot 19, McShanag Lane, Castlemaine maximum of 5 places per session Cost: $100 per person, includes tea and coffee, glues, heating, tool use BYO project, lunch, mug and hand sanitiser (Please do not come if you are unwell)
Find out more »February 2021
Found Objects and Memory
Found Objects and Memory- 3 Day Weekend Course fee includes some materials (does not include found object tesserae - BYO, substrates and glue), morning and afternoon teas, lunch Saturday and Sunday; (self-catering and independent finishing of work on Monday). Helen will lead this course building on memory-ware folk traditions and exploring ideas around kitsch and material memory. Participants are encouraged to bring found object tesserae whose encapsulated memories are significant to them and which will…
Find out more »April 2021
PICASSIETTE – working with ceramic shards
Course fee includes substrates and glue (does not include ceramic shards so please BYO). Includes morning and afternoon teas, lunch Saturday and Sunday; (self-catering and independent finishing of work on Monday). Helen will lead this course building on picassiette traditions ranging from the Catalan tradition of trencadis, to Raymond Isidore’s work (see https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-cemetery-caretaker-covered-cottage-mind-bending-mosaics) and working with central goldfields found blue and white-ware. Participants are encouraged to bring ceramic shards, either lost & found or custom…
Find out more »September 2021
GET A FIRMER GRIP – Beginner Mosaics
Maximum of 5 places per session Course fee includes all mosaic materials (vitreous, porcelain and stone, substrates and glue), morning and afternoon teas, lunch Saturday and Sunday; (self-catering and independent finishing of work on Monday). Helen will help students build on what they have started with her earlier in ‘Get a Grip’ or another beginner mosaic workshop of similar standard. Building on basic cutting skills using sheet glass, unglazed porcelain, vitrified glass and stone, skills…
Find out more »March 2022
STILL LIFE WITH SMALTI – For Intermediate and Advanced Mosaicists – 4 DAYS – OVER 2 WEEKS
4 DAYS - OVER 2 WEEKS Course fee includes glues and timber tray substrates PLUS morning and afternoon teas BYO glass smalti and plate to share for lunch Inspired by recent student works from Spilimbergo photographed by Belgian mosaicist Mireille Swinnen, this workshop for intermediate to advanced mosaicists will see Helen guiding students in the sustained creation of a detailed still life mosaic in smalti (Venetian or Mexican). Two days of workshop, then five days…
Find out more »April 2022
GET A FIRMER GRIP – Beginner Mosaics – 2022
Course fee includes all mosaic materials (vitreous, porcelain and stone, substrates and glue), morning and afternoon teas, lunch Saturday and Sunday; (self-catering and independent finishing of work on Monday). Helen will help students build on what they have started with her earlier in ‘Get a Grip’ or another beginner mosaic workshop of similar standard. Building on basic cutting skills using sheet glass, unglazed porcelain, vitrified glass and stone, skills using hammer and hardie and a…
Find out more »May 2022
Translating Paintings to Mosaic using Smalti
3 Day Weekend with Helen Bodycomb Course fee includes substrates and glue (does not include glass smalti so please BYO). Includes morning and afternoon teas, lunch Saturday and Sunday; (self-catering and independent finishing of work on Monday). Translating a painting to mosaic requires a crucial process of design adaptation, as we seek to balance the strength of the original image with the unique characteristics of mosaic. Strong emphasis on planning andamento, together with nuanced palette…
Find out more »