Ever broken your favourite coffee mug and wished you could give it another life? Well, come try out mosaic art! Spend 4 weeks creating a beautiful round hanging mosaic using a variety of tesserae supplied, whilst also learning all the basic skills and techniques to create your own beautiful mosaics! Fee includes all mosaic tools and materials.

Introduction to Mosaic and Tesserae Art

Course Description

Discover the timeless art of mosaic and transform broken ceramics, tiles and glass into a beautiful, handcrafted artwork. 

In this beginner-friendly course, you'll create a stunning round hanging mosaic while learning the essential techniques used by mosaic artists for centuries. 

Whether you're looking for a new creative hobby, enjoy working with your hands or have always wanted to repurpose treasured broken pieces, this course offers a fun and rewarding introduction to this versatile art form.

Working in a supportive and relaxed environment, you'll learn every step of the mosaic-making process, from planning your design and selecting tesserae to cutting, arranging, adhering and grouting your finished piece. 

Along the way, you'll gain confidence using specialist mosaic tools, explore different materials and develop your own creative style. 

By the end of the course, you'll take home a completed mosaic artwork along with the skills and knowledge to continue creating mosaics on your own.

The course fee includes all mosaic tools and materials.

Course Structure

This practical, hands-on course combines tutor demonstrations with guided studio work and individual support as students complete their own hanging mosaic. 

The course begins with an introduction to mosaic art, materials and design principles before exploring how to safely cut and shape tesserae using specialised tools. 

Students will then learn how to arrange and adhere mosaic pieces to create visually balanced designs before preparing their work for grouting and finishing. 

Throughout the course, students will receive practical tips on material selection, planning, finishing techniques and caring for completed mosaics, building the confidence to undertake future mosaic projects independently.

Course Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

• Understand the basic principles and history of mosaic art
• Plan and design a simple mosaic project
• Safely use wheeled tile nippers to cut and shape tesserae
• Select and arrange a variety of mosaic materials to create visual interest
• Adhere tesserae to a mosaic substrate using appropriate techniques
• Mix, apply and finish grout to complete a mosaic artwork
• Complete a decorative hanging mosaic ready to display
• Apply the knowledge and techniques learned to future mosaic projects.

Your Tutor is Rylee Burgess

Rylee Burgess has been teaching at WEA since 2026. 

Rylee is a contemporary artist and experienced mosaic tutor who is passionate about creativity, sustainability and helping others discover the joy of making art. Working predominantly with preloved and recycled materials, Rylee loves giving discarded objects a new purpose through mosaic art while encouraging others to see the creative potential in everyday materials.

After spending four years apprenticing in the art of mosaic, Rylee has gone on to teach mosaic and tesserae art to community groups while completing a Bachelor of Contemporary Art. She creates welcoming and inclusive classes where students of all experience levels can build confidence, explore their creativity and develop practical mosaic-making skills. Rylee hopes every student leaves inspired to continue creating while embracing more sustainable and environmentally conscious artistic practices.