ALL of CMS teachers are professional mosaic artists and members of The Society of American Mosaic Artists.
FACULTY | STAFF | VISITING ARTISTS | VISITING ARTISTS ARCHIVE
Visiting Artists Archive
The Chicago Mosaic School has set the standard of excellence by bringing some of the best contemporary mosaic artists in the world to the school. These include Israeli artist Ilana Shafir, Â British artists Maggy Howarth, Gary Drostle and Martin Cheek, Australian artists Helen Bodycomb,Dominick Johns and Pamela Irving, Italian artists Verdiano Marzi, Carolina Zanelli, Enzo Aiello, Matteo Randi, Â Canadian Artist Sophie Drouin and nationally known artists Bill Buckingham, Shug Jones, Lynne Chinn, Sue Giannotti, Â Yulia Hannensen, Elizabeth Raybee, Sonia King, Lynn Moor, and Sherri Warner Hunter.
Martin Cheek
Martin Cheek is a graduate from Exeter College of Art & Design and for many years Martin was a part time lecturer at the Royal College of Art. He is a former art critic for the Daily Express and now works full time as a professional mosaic artist. He is the well known author of several books on mosaics and teaches classes at his studio in England as well as abroad. (2010, 2011)
Lynne Chinn
Lynne’s inspired fine art mosaics are represented in private homes and in public places all over the United States and Canada. Lynne has been a member of the Society of American Mosaic Artists since its first year in existence. She came to CMS in 2008 to teach a workshop on Abstract Mosaics. Her work has been featured in several mosaic arts publications and she has been the recipient of many exhibition awards, both in the US and abroad.
Gary Drostle
Gary was born in Woolwich in South East London and studied fine art at Camberwell, St Martins and Middlesex Polytechnic. He also studied in Italy at the Cararra School of Marble Sculpture. He is the proprietor of Drostle Mosaics in UK, and presently serving as President of the British Association of Modern Mosaics. His award winning mosaics can be seen around Britain as well as the United States. His “Feather” mural was part of a CMS Workshop in 2007 and is permanently installed at the Drummond Public School here in Chicago. (2008)
Sophie Drouin
Sophie has exhibited in the International Mosaic Art juried show every year since she joined SAMA, and is the 2009 recipient of the Member’s Choice award and has won other awards internationally. Sophie resides in Kitchener, Ontario (Canada) where she pursues a dual career as a mosaic artist and teacher, as well as a symphony musician. (2007, 2008, 2011)
Sue Giannotti
Sue Giannotti is the owner of MosaicOpus studio in St. Louis, Missouri. Sue’s work has been featured in several national art exhibitions and she continues to be one the finest mosaic arts instructors in the United States. (2006-present)
Yulia Hanansen
Yulia is an award winning artist and and owner of Mosaicsphere Studio in Baltimore, Maryland. Her work has been exhibited nationally and she she is known for working both traditionally and experimentally in mosaics. Yulia shares CMS’ passion to build public awareness about the quality of mosaics, and to exhibit the superb qualities of mosaic techniques. (2008,2010)
Maggy Howarth
Maggy Howarth has been the tour de force in developing and perfecting the ancient art of hand-made pebble mosaic paving, combining it with modern techniques and imaginative contemporary design. From her studio in Lancastershire, England, Ms. Howarth creates outstanding installations and has written several books on Pebble Mosaic. Ms. Howarth has taught her expert techniques to students outside of the UK only twice, both times here at The Chicago Mosaic School, and we are honored to have her. (2007, 2009)
Shug Jones
Shug Jones is one of the founders of Tesserae Mosaic Studio in Plano, Texas. Her work continues to be featured in national exhibitions and her public installations has won many awards and accolaides. Ms. Jones serves on the board of the Society of American Mosaic Artists and has contributed much to the development of education in mosaic arts and is a supporter of The Chicago Mosaic School. (2007,2008, 2009)
Sonia King
Sonia is the instructor in mosaics at the Creative Arts Center of Dallas and teaches advanced classes around the world. She is the author of the bestselling book “Mosaic Techniques & Traditions”. Sonia’s award-winning mosaics are exhibited nationally and internationally and represented in private, public and corporate collections. She is a founding member and past-President of SAMA and a director of the Associazione Internazionale Mosaicisti Contemporanei. (2009, 2010)
Verdiano Marzi
Verdiano Marzi became a master mosaicist after studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in his hometown of Ravenna, the cradle of Byzantine Paleochristian mosaics (4th – 5th century AD). On arriving in France in 1973, he enrolled at the Aecole des Beaux-Arts de Paris as a student of the mosaicist Riccardo Licata. He then joined forces with Licata to found the Anaxagoras Group, which included numerous talented artists such as Giovanna Galli. Besides creating mosaics and showing them at his own exhibitions and with other artists, Verdiano Marzi also teaches, in particular at the Louvre, and carries out restoration work. In 1987 he was awarded the Premio Murano prize, an international competition involving glass art in Venice, followed by the Grand prix regional des Metiers d’art in Paris in 1990 is a world renowned artist who was born and educated in Ravenna, Italy. Mr. Marzi moved to Paris in 1973 where he began the artistic group Anaxagoras with fellow artists Giovanna Galli and Gino Signorini. Mr. Marzi’s works can be seen around the world he teaches workshops and studio courses throughout the year in France. (2010,2011)
Matteo Randi
Matteo Randi was born in Ravenna, Italy and began his formal training in mosaic art there at the age of 11. He continued his training at theIstituto d’Arte Gino Severini, then at the National School for the Conservation of Mosaics, both in Ravenna. He currently works at his studio in Arlington, Virginia and creates original mosaic art that has won awards in many art exhibitions throughout the United States. Matteo has been a visiting artist at The Chicago Mosaic School for several years and we are honored to now have him on our faculty. (2006-present)
Ilana Shafir
Ilana Shafir is a renowned Israeli artist who’s work has been exhibited worldwide.Ilana is an active participant in the growing community of mosaic artists throughout the world and often invited as a guest speaker in national and international mosaic conferences. She is a member of AIMC (International Association of Modern Mosaic Artist, Ravenna, Italy) and a member of SAMA (Society of American Mosaic Artists). (2006, 2007)
Sherri Warner Hunter
Sherri Warner Hunter has exhibited her award winning artwork across the country.Hunter is an active board member and president of the Community Built Association (CBA), a national organization of professional designers, architects, and artists who work with communities to design and develop volunteer based projects.She has also written two books on working with concrete; “Creating Concrete Ornaments for the Garden” and “Making Concrete Garden Ornaments”. The books were developed from expertise honed through decades of teaching. Hunter continues to teach workshops at her studio in Bell Buckle and at The Chicago Mosaic School. (2008, 2009, 2010)
