NEWSFLASH: I am very proud to announce that I have been invited to give a lecture plus 2-day Breakout and Find Your Own Voice workshop this September at Maverick Mosaics outside Washington, DC. 

So put 24-26 September 2010 on your calendar!

Maverick Mosaics is the teaching studio of Bonnie Fitzgerald, who currently sits on the board of the Society of American Mosaic Artists (SAMA). Bonnie is, herself, an accomplished artist, with many public projects to her name.

The studio is located in Vienna, Virginia, which is just a hop, skip, and a jump outside Washington, DC. Having grown up nearby, I can tell you that it's a great area and is easily accessible for locals and out-of-towners alike. Hop on the Metro, fly in via one of the three airports (Dulles, National, or BWI), or take Amtrak into beautiful Union Station.

The lecture and meet & greet will be held on Friday night with the workshop to follow on Saturday & Sunday. I'll announce further details in the coming days.

Just a heads-up that a 1-day Breakout & Find Your Own Voice workshop is being planned, to be held in either Rotterdam or in the Antwerp area sometime in the not-too-distant future. I'll conduct it in Dutch, but if any participants need me to speak English, it will be bi-lingual.

In the workshop you’ll be guided towards finding your own voice through personalized coaching and a series of individual and group exercises. You’ll share images of your work and practice communicating your thoughts about both your work and the work of others in the safety of a small group. The day will end with you understanding what your art is saying and how to express what you really mean.

If the above paragraph was not clear, I'll explain further. This is not a "make something" workshop; rather, it's a touchy-feely workshop with a lot of exercises, talking, introspection, and sharing. Students will be asked to send me in advance images of their work plus answers to a questionnaire to help me prepare for the workshop. The workshop will be completely customized to the group and group dynamics. The intention is that students will leave the 1-day workshop with an understanding of what their work says and will have concrete ideas what to further develop and how.

Know that finding and exploring your own voice is a journey that will continue well after the workshop. While I will do everything I can to help you, ultimately it's you who has to do the work. I've done it myself and understand firsthand some of the challenges offered by such a journey, so if you want further coaching after the workshop, that can also be arranged. I will also be happy to add a second day to the workshop, based on demand.

If you're interested to get the details of this 1-day workshop as soon as they're finalized (i.e. date, time, place, and cost), please contact me and let me know if your preference is Rotterdam or Antwerp. It's about an hour's drive between them, and both cities have airports, in case you'd like to fly in from other parts of Europe for the day. Of course, I highly recommend visiting Rotterdam anyway just because of our modern architecture!