How to Create a Regional Mosaic Group

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Jessie Maurice Johns
5 years ago
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F a l l 2 0 0 8 Copywrite 2008 by the Society of American Mosaic Artist : www.americanmosaics.

1 F a l l Copywrite 2008 by the Society of American Mosaic Artist : : PO Box 624, Ligonier, PA How to Create a Regional Mosaic Group by Sharon Plummer Starting a regional mosaic group in your area is easier than you think. Here, one of the founders of MOSAICO, Society of Houston Mosaic Artists, shares her success in creating what she calls yearround inspiration and camaraderie. MOSAICO members attend a weekend retreat in Rockport, Texas, just one of the many perks of a regional group. Back row: Susie Curry, Sharon Plummer, Sheri Lapin, Penny Laird, Anne Krum. Front row: Tania DeJohn, Lisa Bonin. Imagine having a team of personal coaches immediately accessible for mosaic inspiration, consultation, technical advice, encouragement, collaboration, and celebration. This seemingly fantasy-world is a reality for mosaicists in Houston, Texas. MOSAICO, Society of Houston Mosaic Artists, is a thriving group organized in September Our fun-filled, educational gatherings have become a monthly highlight and we carefully guard the second Saturday of each month to avoid scheduling conflicts. Frequently someone demonstrates a special tool or technique, then members display recently completed pieces and works in progress. The 20 members come from all experience levels. Meetings average 10 to 12 attendees and take place in our homes and studios. We meet for about two hours and then head to a nearby restaurant

2 MOSAICO s show at the Village Firefly Roxana Nizza showing her award-winning mosaic at a meeting

3 continued from page 1 to continue conversations over lunch. We ve mounted two group shows, participated in another show, and been involved in two community projects. Several members have collaborated on commissions. Another nice benefit is buying supplies in quantity to receive discounts and sharing the products and savings. Last fall we decided to downplay the promotion of individual artists business activities and realigned our goals to become a support and inspiration group only. We ended membership dues and discussed what to do with the funds in the treasury. A member suggested contributing the money to SAMA s Robin Brett Scholarship Fund, and the group immediately recognized the appropriateness of that act in supporting mosaic education and training. That contribution got us thinking about how fortunate we are to have an organization like SAMA that provides such incredible support of our passion for mosaics. The services and opportunities we receive are unmatched by any other professional or arts organization we know of. We decided to show our appreciation by making a group contribution of $1,500 to become a Bronze Circle sponsor of the 2008 SAMA conference. Our collection effort has begun again for the 2009 conference. We feel really good about playing a part in the successful operation of an organization that has promoted our individual development and actively promotes the appreciation of mosaic art to the public and the arts community. Starting a local Group Locate mosaic artists in your area. The new SAMA Member Directory lists members who elected to be included by actively opting-in. Members of the MAO Yahoo group can post information about a regional group in FILES. Review the list of attendees at the annual SAMA conference (included in the registrat0ion packet). Find SAMA members in your state who have websites in the View by Region list on the Member Websites page within the Members Only section. Determine a convenient date, time, and location for an initial meeting. At this meeting, assess level of interest and discuss frequency of meetings, locations, group structure, group goals, etc. Begin meeting on a regular basis and continue discussing group structure and goals. Formal group with officers, reporting of minutes, and membership dues? Casual group with members sharing organizational responsibilities? Occasionally conduct a process review to make sure that structure, goals, and activities of the group are in line with members needs. Decide how to handle group communications, photo posting, sharing of files: Consider setting up a Yahoo group. Recruit new members. Consider a group website. Create group business cards. Publicize group activities and meetings in local publications and online arts calendars. Talk about the group in social settings. Sharon Plummer fell in love with mosaics 10 years ago, works primarily in bright colors of all tesserae types, and especially enjoys creating garden art. To see more MOSAICO images, please visit the SAMA website. For more information about MOSAICO, visit

4 Sheri Lapin s studio - guest, Susie Curry, Lisa Karabatsos, Sheri Lapin, Michele Patrick, Lisa Bonin Sheri Lapin in her studio

5 Sheri Lapin in her studio Work in progress by Lisa Bonin being shown during meeting (Susie Curry and guest)

MOSAICO meeting - Roxana Nizza, Anne Krum, Sheri

entries in the Holiday Box Show (Penny Laird, Sharon

Trip to view recent pool installation by Sheri Lapin

6 MOSAICO meeting - Roxana Nizza, Anne Krum, Sheri Lapin Members with recently completed works and entries in the Holiday Box Show (Penny Laird, Sharon Plummer, Lisa Bonin, Anne Krum, Susie Curry Field Trip to view recent pool installation by Sheri Lapin and Anne Krum - Susie Curry, Lisa Bonin, Mel Bently, Roxana Nizza

7 MOSAICO meeting - Lisa Bonin, Sheri Lapin, guest, Michele and Brian Patrick Lisa Bonin in her studio Storage system in Susie Curry s studio

Annual Program Sponsorship

Annual Program Sponsorship Metro EDGE inspires and empowers its members to drive the culture, development and conversations branding this region as the place for young professionals with a thriving environment