New Mosaic Studio Hours in Canton Arts District

Starting next week on April 20th I'll be open for regular hours in the Canton Arts District! 

Dyanne Williams Mosaics
514 5th Street NW
Canton, Ohio 44703 

Wednesday: 10 AM - 6 PM
Friday: 10 AM - 6 PM
Saturday: 2 PM - 6 PM 

Thank you so much to those of you that came a couple weeks ago to First Friday. It was a lot of fun and I can't wait until next month. Thank you to Brian Keith Matthews for taking these stealth shots of the event and sending them to me because of course I didn't think to take any!

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I'm still in the process of getting things organized but it's coming along well. I was so busy getting stuff moved in that I've just taken the last couple of weeks to try to catch up with some old mosaic projects and prepare for my next project. Hopefully I will get the city council's approval for the commission and I'll be able to start next week. With every day I'm waiting for final approval I just keep doing the math over and over in my head with how much more mosaicking I have to do per day to meet the deadline.

Since I will be on a tight deadline, if anyone knows someone interested in learning about mosaic art that would like to come help, please let me know. I haven't contacted Kent about being approved for artist internships yet, but it still could be useful for someone that has an interest. It would mostly involve basic glass cutting that can be learned in a few minutes but it is a skill that becomes strong with repetition, so it would help anyone that wants to learn and/or practice.

A lot of people have asked me about mosaic lessons. I will plan to have a workshop in July or August in my studio, but in the meantime I'll be teaching a class at Clays Park Resort on May 28th from 12pm-3pm. We'll be making a cute picassiette picture frame. I'll be making sample frames next week, so I'll post more information then. I'm really excited. It will be an awesome class!

Please stop by the new studio and say hello. I would love to see old friends and meet my new neighbors!

Prêt à Décorer

I just put Cherry Blossoms, the first series for my Prêt à Décorer line on my site. It is a ready-to-decorate line which can be ordered in different designs, sizes and colors for the home. Think prêt à porter but for mosaics. Cherry Blossoms consists of the theme piece pictured above and the five 4"x4" pieces pictured below: Bubbles, Bloom, Zen, Flutter & Purity. 

I started the Prêt à Décorer line a couple years ago, but wasn't quite sure what to do with it. The intention was to make small inset pieces to be shipped ungrouted on mesh to be installed in the home for backsplashes, showers, etc. The problem is that everyone saw the 4"x4" mosaics and thought they were coasters. Fortunately I had some brilliant students at the time that suggested that instead of trying to market them that way I should place them in 1'x1' mosaics to be sold as wall hangings. They are still available on mesh for installation, but this way they are also available for people who are not in the process of redecorating their home.

I can recreate any of these mosaics in almost any color or size, using either glass or stone for the background. Just let me know what you'd like in your home!

I'm excited that I've found a practical way to use these designs and excited to start on the next series! I have a few sketches tucked away somewhere but haven't decided on the next theme yet. I'm leaning toward poppies because who can resist their delicious color?

Tiny Tiny Tiny Shards

I hope everyone is having a great week and making amazing art!

I started working on this mosaic of my awesome pug Velvet a while ago. I'm back to work on it, and hopefully I'll have time to finish before I start on my next commission. 

I have to admit, even as someone that fusses over mosaics for a living, this one has been trying my patience! I'm about 80 hours into fighting this battle against these tiny little shards of glass that do not want to cooperate. It will be worth it in the end because Velvet is the best little monkey ever and deserves to be immortalized in mosaic. 

I always get involved in projects and forget to post WIPs (work in progress pics) even though I adore looking at all the ones my friends share of their mosaic projects. So with this project I'm going to start making it a habit to share the progress.