This past year we had the priviledge of taking a class at Institute of Mosaic Art with Laurie Mika. Fabulous teacher! Great fun! Delicious class, don't miss it! The insight you will gain from the variety of techniques she uses will be invaluable. We've pulled some of them into our ceramic tiles.
Jan and I have been admirers of Laurie's work for some time. When her book,
Mixed-Media Mosaics: Techniques and Projects Using Polymer Clay Tiles, Beads & Other Embellishments was published, we purchased our copies hot of the press. Helpful hint: don't loan your book out! It's rated 5 stars on Amazon and full of wonderful secrets, not to mention the all the photos of her beautiful art work.
Neither one of us had any experience with polymer clay, but we've been impressed with the range of looks one can get in this medium. What fun to work with all those stamps (we knew we'd been collecting them over the years for a real purpose) and the lovely, shimmering Pearl-X powders, Rub'nBuff, and Staz on Ink.
Here are the pieces we began in her class, finished at home, and hang in the studio...
A close up of Jan's work.
Nothing like getting to grout with beads, beads and more beads!
Forget the traditional gooey stuff...
Happy Birthday Geri! We have a saying in our studio, "Something is never so broken that it can't live again." 
So, when you broke one of your beautiful hand-painted dishes from Taladura, Mexico, inspiration for your birthday gift this year was a piece of cake. Now you will be able to set your table with a matching centerpiece.
Finished pot made to complement Geri's blue and white mosaic garden table. --Jan
Mosaic pot filled with Gerber daisies, and ivy, made for Mother's Day Dinner silent auction hosted by the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. 
...On the table, ready for silent auction...sold for $100! Yipee!! --Julie
