Description
In-person Masterclass, Falkirk, Scotland
Tutor: Mieke Ceusters
Dates: 9.30am-4.30pm, Monday-Thursday, 20-23 July 2025 inclusive (four days)
Price: £550 (includes tuition, all materials and use of tools, tea/coffee/soft drinks/snacks)
In this four-day masterclass, located in the Mosaic & Glass studio in Falkirk, Central Scotland, Belgium mosaicist Mieke Ceusters will guide you to create a modern mosaic that resembles an ancient Roman mosaic. She’ll explain how to cut each tessera (you’ll be using primarily marble with optional smalti accents) manually and place it in the right place. In this masterclass, you’ll:
- Get an understanding of the origins, cultural significance, and traditional techniques used in ancient Roman mosaic art.
- Choose from a selection design options (with options for beginners and advanced) and learn how to consider aspects like colour, balance, and historical inspiration.
- Learn about the properties of marble and smalti, and how to use a hammer and hardie to cut them, to best fit the mosaic design.
- Learn the methods for setting tesserae, including proper placement, spacing, and adhesion techniques.
- Discover the “rules” of Roman mosaic and how to apply them in your work. Learn about andamento, the visual flow or direction within a mosaic and how to use it to best effect in your work.
- Understand the basics of composition, colour harmony, and pattern, as they apply to creating visually appealing mosaics.
- Improve your ability to troubleshoot common challenges in mosaic-making, such as spacing, alignment, and working with irregular shapes
- Cultivate patience and precision, recognising how these qualities contribute to the art form and enhance the final work.
- Work on a 30x30cm Roman-inspired mosaic artwork on a wooden board, to take home as a tangible result of learned skills.
This masterclass will equip you with both the technical skills and artistic appreciation to confidently create your own Roman-inspired mosaics. It’s suitable for beginners and improvers. (Spaces are limited to eight students.)
Important notes
- Bring your own lunch or buy something from the local shops / sandwich bars / restaurants.
- You’ll work best with your own hammer if you have one – please bring it if so.
- The maximum number of students is eight.
- In case of insufficient registrations, the workshop will be cancelled and you’ll get a refund of your workshop fee, but we expect it to go ahead. UPDATE DEC 2025: We can confirm this workshop is going ahead as it has reached the minimum number of participants.
- If you wish to cancel your place, a refund (minus bank charges) will only be possible if someone else takes your place.
About your tutor
Mieke Ceusters was born and raised in Geel, Belgium. She spent eight years studying art and, at age 25, graduated from the Graphic Arts program in Antwerp. After that, there was no room for creativity for a long time due to circumstances. In 2005, the creative microbe had to find an outlet again and Mieke started a five-year mosaic course at the Wilrijk Academy in Antwerp, where she is now a mosaic teacher herself. In 2014, she began to organise workshops with foreign mosaic teachers. That came to an end in 2020 and she found her own style in the series Roman with a Twist, which originated from the question: what would the Romans make if they were still making mosaics today?
About our studio
Our venue Studio 164 is located at 164 Grahams Road, Falkirk FK2 7BY, United Kingdom. It’s a five-minute walk from Grahamston Station and there is a free car park around the corner at 74 Russel Street (FK2 7HP) on the junction of Gowan Street.
It offers an ideal setting for mosaic and glass enthusiasts to immerse yourselves in hands-on learning in a welcoming and well-equipped environment. There are opportunities for learners, whatever your skill level – from beginner to advance – to learn from local creatives and visiting tutors and masters from across the world.
With plenty of accommodation options and eateries nearby, students can easily settle in for multi-day workshops, and its central location makes it a convenient gateway for exploring Scotland’s rich cultural and scenic attractions.
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