Mosaic artists gather in Beechworth

Members from a well-known mosaic association gathered in Beechworth for a country destination visit on Sunday with one member giving a talk. Beechworth mosaic artist Debbie Tully hosted the cohort of around 30 craft lovers from Melbourne including locals from around the town and region. Mosaic Association of Australia and New Zealand (MAANZ) Melbourne-based member and guest speaker Amanda Tattam said the group organised meetings in the country too. “This area of Victoria has a great concentration of mosaic artists,” she said. Debbie said the artists had an interesting time with Amanda speaking about topics such as recycling, upcycling and the circular economy adding many ideas for their craft. “For many of us here today we hadn’t thought about some of these ideas along the way as far as mosaics go,” she said. “I think it was a real eye opener for a lot of people.” Three Beechworth mosaic artists Barbara Gray, Meryl Johnson and Jenny Bussell had been impressed with Amanda’s talk about upcycling. "Amanda was very knowledgeable and passionate, and it’s good to recycle as well” Meryl said Mosaic artist Jenny Bussell said meeting everyone and hearing everyone's ideas had been stimulating. Amanda said mosaics is an increasingly popular art form with many people exploring the way different materials can be used. “My background is as a mosaic artist has been using as many upcycled materials as possible and then it doesn’t become an expensive hobby,” she said. “Mosaic can be an expensive hobby because it uses a lot of glass. “High-end materials people often use for mosaics come from overseas. “I shared my insights into how things could be a bit different and how they people can use reclaimed and upcycled materials more in their mosaics.” Amanda said glass can be recycled from shattered windscreen and shower screens “Tempered glass is a is an amazing material that people can use,” she said. “The sky's the limit with what materials can be used.” Amanda also said mosaic art had many applications including in public spaces where local governments and corporations are interested as it’s decorative. “There is a lot of architectural applications such as for floors and walls," she said. Amanda said mosaic is a very ancient art form mainly with its origins from Europe. “Mosaic art is really becoming quite popular in Australia,” she said. Debbie said instead of buying brand new, it's talking and thinking in a different way about materials before being thrown out and can be used in a mosaic. “It's wonderful when like-minded people gather and talk about something they’re all passionate about,” she said. “It was a fantastic way of sharing ideas and broadening outlooks on what actually makes a mosaic.”

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