Online Learning Made Simple

This is the basic edition of Kasia's popular Online Mosaic Owl Class. That said, its anything but basic.The class is oriented around a learning project designed to give the students a comprehensive understanding of Kasia's stained glass mosaic process from start to finish. The Owl Design is simply used to aid in demonstrating the vast array of lessons and concepts. Plus it makes a lovely souvenir! The class cost will go up to $150 after the intro offer expires.

This class as well as my other Online Mosaic Classes are available via www.KasiaMosaicsClasses.com

Sign Up For The Class Here

A complete beginner is able to easily follow along each part of the mosaic process while mastering this fun approach to glass mosaics while building a strong foundation in this versatile art form. But the class can be enjoyed by any level mosaic artist wanting to improve their glass cutting skills or to try a fresh approach to mosaics. 

Students have an option to upgrade to the Extended Online Mosaic Owl Class at any time.

Create Substrates for Small/Medium Indoor Mosaic Projects

There are demos for how to create the owl silhouette substrate as well as an attractive rectangular substrate. 

Learn which hanging hardware to use, how to attach it and how to treat the substrate as well as the edges to create a beautifully finished mosaic.

The Owl Project Templates Is Included In The Class

Kasia created this fun, whimsical design specifically with optimal learning in mind. are unique to Kasia's classes. Learning is made easier and more fun when you know you're working on a pattern that has yielded beautiful results over and over.

Mosaic Owls created by Kasia's Students. Students enrolled in the Online Class can purchase additional project templates at 20%off. Additionally any student from this class can upgrade to the extended class by paying the difference.

Learn to Choose a Strong Color Palette

The class has an in-depth lesson on choosing your color palette. It explains how to examine a mosaic design to better approach what some peoples see as an intimidating part of mosaics, something that can sometimes keep folks from getting started. This is just one of the many supplementary color diagrams from that lesson. Kasia likes to uses imagery to help students understand the concepts she uses in her own mosaic art. So there are lots of color swatches in this lesson that don't just address the glass but the grout as well. 

Use Hand Tools to Precisely Cut Glass for Mosaics

The class includes tutorials, demos and practice exercises for how to work each of the 4 basic hand tools Kasia uses to create all of the fun glass shapes in her mosaic art. Additionally, Kasia demonstrates how to use the 4 different types of glass scoring tools popular among mosaic artists. 

Learn Precision Glass Cutting For Mosaics

Kasia designed the class project with teaching precision glass cutting in mind. She demonstrates how to create stencils, how to properly position and trace the shapes onto glass for optimal success in scoring and breaking. She includes not just do's but also don'ts. Students get to see the techniques used practically and can follow along with their own project. 

Kasia applies the same glass cutting theories to her non-template based mosaics. But the class project allows for learning through repetition which is ideal for learning any new skill and can be further applied outside of this class to any future project.

Arrange and Fit Glass Into a Mosaic Composition

The students work on top of the provided template. Kasia demonstrates arranging the glass, giving tips on how to get the best results. There is more to consider than one may realize. The taping method also know as the front-mounting technique will is covered in detail - this is a favorite technique with the students as it allows for more fluid work, there is no need to stop to glue one piece at a time and to interrupt the creative process. 

The Front Mounting Technique For Glass Mosaics

Many beginners glue their mosaic projects one piece at a time. This can be very tedious, messy and interruptible to the creative process. The front mounting technique for stained glass mosaics, more commonly known as the tape method, makes the whole mosaic process much more enjoyable and less time consuming. You get to work on your mosaic without the pressure of gluing as you work. This technique also allows you to change your mind and to edit your project as you make progress. 

Glue A Taped Mosaic in One Step

Learn how to transfer the taped mosaic onto substrate for gluing. For a project this size, it quick, clean and easy! No more gluing one piece at a time =)

Grout Your Mosaic for a Beautiful, Finished Look

Learn about choosing your grout and how to grout your project. 

BONUS: Interact with Students from All Over the World

All Online Students receive access to a private Facebook Group where they can ask questions and to share photos of their work. Kasia visits weekly and always gets back to all questions. Other veteran students also offer advice from years of experience at this point - Kasia has been teaching Online Mosaic Classes since 2015.

What You'll Need to Get Started

Please take a look at the Free Preview of the Needed Materials in the Table Contents of the Class - this is near the bottom of this page. There is a complete outline of suggested materials and tools you will need to create and indoor project. Included are some links to the harder to find items. There is a separate resource list visible only to the online students. 

How to Register

This four minute video will walk you through the website and class registration for the Extended Edition Class but it applies to any of the classes on this website. Remember to save your username and password as that is your key to the class. Once you register for the class and your order is processed by Kasia Mosaics, you will receive a Welcome Email as well as an invite to the class facebook group page. Both will be emailed to the email address associated with the paypal account used to purchase the class. If you would like this info to be sent to a different address, please notify us after you register. 

The Class Table of Contents

Visit the class page on the Kasia Mosaics Classes website to see the table of contents for the class - linked below. The class material is documented in detail and is divided into parts and lectures that consist of videos, supplementary written lessons and photos. Students are encouraged to first follow the class in the order of the Sections and Lessons for best results and upon completion to refer back to specific lessons for refreshment. The class project template is well as the bonus template are also included as a pdf downloads. 

Once enrolled in the class, students have a lifetime access to all the class material and project template from anywhere in the world.

This class as well as my other Online Mosaic Classes are available via www.KasiaMosaicsClasses.com

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Autumn Sunset at Little Molas Lake

 

Angle view in natural light.

  The painting is 12"tall and 24" wide by 2" deep.

Here you can see the side view - the painting is 2" deep.

All of these paintings have sold

See Currently Available Work Here: 

https://www.kasiapolkowskashop.com/

Now with a baby boy under 1 years old and another 3 year old boy, I only have a few hours a day tops to work in the studio. So in February I came up with the idea to explore one theme by creating a mini landscape per week, then to release it via Social Media as an Affordable Art Project. I love all the paintings that I created and each one sold shortly after I announced it. This was a wonderful confidence booster for me.

 

 Yosemite Valley Nightscape, acrylic painting on board finished in gloss varnish, 4"x6", 2021

The first of the minies was inspired by the jaw-dropping Yosemite Valley in California which I enjoyed visiting back in 2015 - can you feel the excitement!  

 

The view of this valley from above was one of those epic moments that really stayed with me. I loved exploring the valley on foot and then thinking back on this view that I saw from above and thinking to myself, how cool to see the different perspectives. 

 

 

Indigo Night at Maroon Bells, acrylic painting on board finished in gloss varnish, 4″x6″, 2021

 

Maroon Bells at Maroon Lake near Aspen Colorado are one of the most photographed mountains in Colorado, maybe the United States in general. 

 

There is an obvious reason - they are magical! I've backpacked here as well as have done some lovely day explorations. Any time you feast your eyes on this view - it feels very special. The mountains are framed perfectly.

Mystic Night Over Blanca Peak, acrylic painting on board finished in gloss varnish, 4″x6″x3/4″ 2021

In this photo I am holding a mosaic I created a couple years back also inspired by Mt Blanca. This region not only has incredible night skies but some of the prettiest sunsets I've seen. I've taken a lot of inspiration from here.

This painting is of one of my favorite views along the trail up to Grinnell Glacier in Glacier National Park in Montana. 

Above is a photo I took of the view is looking down toward Lower Grinnell Lake, and the surrounding, layered mountains that seemed to go on to infinity. This is one of my favorite hikes in the park which I’ve been lucky enough to visit a few times but always daydream of going back to.

When I saw this particular view, I felt like I arrived at my destination, even though it was a lookout from a trail which surpassed my expectations. Above is a photo of my partner Kyle and I at the end point of the hike with Grinell Glacier behind us.

In Glacier National Park, you can look in most directions and think to yourself ‘This is the most beautiful place I’ve ever been and seen’. When I saw the particular vista that I painted here , that’s what I thought. Everything else faded away and I felt like I just won the jack pot. If I wouldn’t have gone another step forward, that would have been just fine with me. This is one of those views that pulls you and won’t let go.

Detail 1

Detail2

Detail3

Detail4

I first conceived the notion for this sculpture installation in the Fall of 2017, right after giving birth to my first son, Ethan. I did a variety of pencil sketches, followed by creating color concepts in photoshop and following up with this scale mock up.

Fast forward to late 2019, just months before I gave birth to my second son, Wesley, in early 2020 and I finally began began to realize this momentous concept. I decided that this large project would be installed at the Mystic Valley Sculpture Park which is a collaborative art project between me and my creative and life partner Kyle.

In the above photo, Kyle is standing in a line of culverts which he eventually dug into the ground and filled with concrete, creating bases for the sculptures. Here they are just set up as markers to help me better envision the future installation as it would relate to the surrounding landscape. I repeatedly walked the property trails we built, evaluating how the feathers would read from various vantage points. There were many great instalation options but I eventually decided that I wanted the feathers set against the14,000+ft Blanca Massif seen in the background. 

Above is a preview of the installation - I will share more finished photos in future posts. Including the pedestal, the tallest feather measures 10ft tall and the shortest 8ft tall. Each of the 6 pieces is a completely handmade sculpture, covered on both sides with a custom mosaic of hand cut stained glass as well as handmade ceramic tiles. 

It has been almost a year since we began the installation process but it is just now that I am finding a moment to look back on the project and to blog about it here. The fabrication of the sculptures and the mosaics began in the third trimester of my second pregnancy and continued into the first months of postpartum. If that wasn't enough to juggle, we also had to scramble to move across the mountains in the midst of it all. Needless to say, I was not able to document this intense, colorful journey in as much detail as I would have otherwise done, but still, I have a few process photos to share.

My initial plan was for all the 12 sides of the sculptures to be covered by the ceramic tiles I would create. But following the creation of the first 2 sides of the first feather, I realized that I'd never be able to complete the project before our move date. So the compromise began quickly - any warped or imperfect tiles were all acceptable - this was a bit hard to swallow at first considering my compulsive, perfectionist personality but it turned out to be an amazing lesson for me as well. Next, I came up with the idea, that the two smallest feathers will still be 100% ceramic, the 2 middle sized feathers would be 100% handmade stained glass mosaic and the 2 biggest ones would be a mix of ceramic and stained glass mosaic. This is a great example of how an impossible deadline forced me to be more flexible and in the end resulted in a more interesting effect.

It can often be nearly impossible to realize the scope of work that some handmade objects require and the seemingly infinite steps necessary. For instance, for the feathers that were fully made of ceramic tiles, I first created a map for each side of each feather. Then I hand kneaded the clay, rolled it out with a rolling pin and then cut out each unique shape - repeat a few hundred times. Then I hand carved patterns in some groups of tiles and used pattern pins to roll out designs into others. Once the clay began drying, each tile had to be trimmed and cleaned up.  To minimize warping, the tiles needed to be dried carefully before the bisque firing. Once dried, I marked each tile with letters and numbers and created a corresponding map for the front and back of each feather as seen above. 

I did take a risky shortcut in the above tile making phase though. This project really required me to create special stencils for all the individual shapes in each feather. These stencils would have needed to be scaled up to account for the shrinkage of clay after the glaze firing ... but I decided to eye ball the whole thing and to size up a bit. I just didn't have time for this meticulous but important step - I had to save time somehow. Still, there was more shrinkage than ideal but I made it work in the end with a couple other tricks.

After each kiln unload, I had the awesome mission of matching up my tiles with my map. This was a bit more mind numbing than I expected. But I was so glad that I decided to map out the whole thing even though it was time consuming. Once I had all the tiles laid out, I examined my color sketches and the sample glazed tiles I created for this project. Being new to creating handmade ceramic tiles for my mosaic sculptures, these were so fun to create.

Above are a few snapshots of a few of the many, many exciting kiln loads/unloads for the glazing of the tiles. I wish I had the time to have documented this part of the process more because it was so magical. I was so tired exhausted though, racing through every step but these reveals of the freshly fired tiles gave me a much needed dose of adrenaline to keep pushing along!

You might be wondering, whats the big deal, why not finish after the move. Well, this past studio was only under 30 minutes from the sculpture park that I am working on building. And we could not find another house with an art studio in the town we lived in or in the vicinity. So we ended up moving 2 hours away over a mountain pass. I did not think that moving this project to the new house while also having a newborn would be a good idea. It probably would have gotten damaged and now seeing how much recovery I needed after the move and how I needed time to just relax and enjoy motherhood, I'm not sure how much time it would have taken to complete this, probably a full year with my current schedule.

With mosaic feathers scattered all over the studio, my work spaces were a bit cramped but my 8ft by 4ft work benches really proved invaluable. Here I was squeezing in the work of 2 feather sides, glazing new tiles while also organizing the already glazed ones, sizing up the shrinkage rate and any final warping. I hurried a bit with the drying of some of the larger tiles and didn't have time for redos but in a strange way, I find the warpy curves fun. I can imagine, actually planning for these type of curves in future projects but for them to be more calculated perhaps. This was another lesson in flexibility which is key when you are not able to do everything as planned.

To account for the added shrinkage, I added flat marbles in a few selected places where I thought they would look good and not take away from the design. I actually thought it added a fun element to the design. Another win, while trying to let go of my regular perfectionist approach. I can imagine in the past, this would have really bothered me and I would have gone to recut the already cut foam feather shapes for each feather to match the slightly small tiled design. But there was not time to do that and I was too pregnant and sleepy to be messing with the jigsaw anyway 

I'll try to share another post about more of this process in the not so far away future. Its interesting to look back at a project that seems to be a blur in my mind but is actually the biggest, most involved art installation I've ever designed and worked on. 

These feathers have now been installed for nearly a year at the Mystic Valley Sculpture Park in Mosca, Colorado near the Great Sand Dunes National Park. The private park is a collaborative art project with my creative/life partner Kyle. We have a 40 acre property with trails we've been building and slowing adding onto as well as 20+ sculptures installed and more coming each year. This Summer (2021) we are hoping to open to a handful of registered guests on the weekends for Plein Air Painting Activities Among the Sculptures. I will lead a group with a step by step process of one of my landscape paintings of the surrounding mountains. Each guest will leave with a beautiful interpretation of the landscape that we find some much inspiration in. We think this would be a fun way for interested people to enjoy our Art as well as the beauty of the San Luis Vally while also supporting its growth, making it possible to one day be open to the general public. 

In 2015, I embarked on the most incredible journey - a nearly full year of cross-country travel while living in a converted cargo van and teaching mosaic workshops all over the United States. 

Looking back at all the places I got to visit, its not possible to choose a favorite. The more I traveled, the more I realized how beautiful every corner of the US is. But Sparks Lake in Deschuetes National Forest in Oregon is one of those places where its possible to forget that the rest of the world exists. 

In my painting I aimed to show that beauty that is present all around us. I loved the reflection of the smaller rocks and the trees in the nearby beach right next to the million dollar mountain view. I thought that it could be just as captivating if examined closely and fully appreciated for it own unique beauty. After all, it is those same rocks and trees that make up the near by mountains. This is just a micro view of sorts. The painting is a glimpse into how I saw my world that evening. 

In those quiet moments during a sunset or a sunrise, I love observing everything around me, how the light changes on all the surrounding environmental features, including people. The morning of the sunset that inspired this painting, the sunrise was equally captivating at this spot. I kept turning 360 degrees because it was such a stunning display of what mother nature prepared for us. And on one of those turns, I fell in love with how my partner Kyle's silhouette looked against the foggy reflected landscape. Every moment at Sparks Lake was pure magic for us and that is what I tried to capture in my painting.

Sunset at Sparks Lake is no longer available but every-once-in-a-while I do add new paintings to my Online Art Shop. Currently I have a 50% Off Sale at the last painting I have in stock from last season - you can see it at this link: https://www.kasiapolkowskashop.com/

This 10ft tall by 40ft wide installation consists of 6 double sided glass and ceramic mosaic feather sculptures. After completing the first side of each feather, I recreated the designs, mostly the same besides it being a mirror image of the first one. I must admit that doing this type of repetition for each sculpture was a bit tough on my mind. Having extreme morning (all day) sickness while being pregnant probably didn't help lol But I liked the idea of the double sided sculptures enough to push through, working on these feathers till the very end of my second pregnancy. 

Looking back on the above photo of me and Ethan, just a couple weeks before I gave birth to Wesley, brings back memories of just how hard I worked to push this project through. For some reason, I imagined this would go much faster. I was so exhausted. I hoped to have it all done before the arrival of the baby but that goal was not really achievable, still I tried. I pushed along, trying to make any little progress I could each day, making some sacrifices on craftsmanship compared to my usual obsessive perfectionism. Letting go of that was actually a really good exercise for me.

As always, my little studio assistant was always eager to come down to the studio and help <3

Here is an example of the two mirrored mosaics next to each other. Pretty cool, right? Worth the extra effort and some frustration lol

Ofcourse, besides having a tiny assistant, I also had tremendous help from my life and creative partner, Kyle. He went above and beyond to help me try to meet my goals with a project. I wouldn't have been able to tackle this on my own during this pregnancy. Kyle created all the feather sculptures. Usually, I would be participating in many aspects of this process but there just wasn't enough time. I am forever grateful to have someone who so freely dedicates his time to help me make my dreams come to life!

Progress on one of the sides of the feathers. This is one of the mixed media ones, part stained glass, part handmade ceramic tiles.

I will try to post another part of my Mosaic Feather Installation Process soon! Thanks for tuning in =)

If you would like to see this installation in person while staying at our private Mystic Valley Sculpture Park while you visit the Great Sand Dunes National Park in the San Luis Valley of Southern Colorado, we welcome occasional guestshttps://www.airbnb.com/users/show/409508044

Serenity, acrylic painting on board – finished in gloss varnish, 12″x24″, 2021 ~SOLD

See other available paintings in my artshop: https://www.kasiapolkowskashop.com/product-category/paintings-drawings/

This painting of one of my favorite  pastoral scenes near where I live in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. These are the San Juan Mountains in the Southwestern part of the State. I moved to this part of Colorado in the Spring of 2020 and each week leading up to the summer I watched the wildflowers bloom in series. I was amazed that the flowers just kept blooming, taking turns to show their beauty to all who would look.

I’ve included a photo I took for inspiration for my painting but as it is with photos, not always will they show the true magic of the landscape. That’s where the artist comes in and is able to try to show what it is that she loved about this place. I love all the purple, pink, violet, yellow and white wildflowers popping from the earth everywhere I looked. This can be best experienced by hiking the local trails which I loved doing this summer. I think about those special days often and when I see more snow in the forecast, I remind myself that it is fuel for the wildflowers to come in just a few more months! 

I wanted to create a fun, colorful representation of one of the images that has brought me the most joy and most sense of wonder in 2020. Every time I looked at these mountains, I was in awe, I was inspired and humbled by the grandeur and beauty of my surroundings.

This photo shows the sheen of the gloss varnish nicely =) And below is a detail shot of the drawn-in details with acrylic paint markers.

Additionally our then 2.5 year old son Ethan was helping daddy prep the installation site which consisted of lots of measuring, then digging/drilling 6 holes for the steel culverts that would line up and be somewhat level =) 

 It is safe to say that Ethan is a mid-level assistant at this point hahahaha

And I must highlight our tiny little nugget here. Wesley was literally a newborn in early Spring 2020 during this time. He was getting a very realistic glimpse into the struggles of artists as we barely pulled this off (I touched upon this more in Part 1 of this series of posts). He was a good sport ... I think ... this whole thing was actually so exhausting, that I don't remember much anymore. At that point, I was still not really sleeping, you know that whole night feeding thing with newborns - wow - that was really intense but we made it!

Sometimes, when people looked at the finished product, and for a large project, it may be difficult to imagine what measures the artists had to take to really make that happen. For us, there was a lot of improvising with this one, mainly due to unforeseen circumstances with an unplanned move to a different part of Colorado and needing to get these feathers out of our old studio. I couldn't do any lifting at this point, still recovering from giving birth. So Kyle strapped on the lifting belt around his waist and did the work of 2 people, lifting and moving everything. And here you can see our high-tech machinery used to move the sculptures to location. If there is a will, there is a wary, right? 

 

I was sooooooo tired and sad and exhausted because of the chapter we were closing in Alamosa but at the same time, I was thankful and happy for the time we had there and all that we accomplished. I'll write more on the meaning of this installation but will just mention that feathers are considered to be a good omen from above and it could not be more appropriate for us to spend our last day living in Alamosa and moving from a place where we had an abusive property manager, probably escaping other abuse from her. We ended up moving to a really beautiful place to a house that is owned by a really sweet woman. I believe it was a gift from the Universe - we'll take it!

With this painting, I worked from my imagination to create a dreamy, night scene of Wyoming's Teton Moubntains that I've been lucky enough to have gotten to visit a few times. Painting this was a meditative process where I enjoyed experimenting with layering acrylic wash until I would arrive at the place I wanted to stand to watch the night sky. I aimed for this scene to feel mystical and awe inspiring. Imagine driving through here on a clear, dark night and being so struck by the beauty of the surrounding mountains and trees and the above milkyway that you'd have to pull over, get out of the car and just stand in the cold, taking in the magic of the night.

With this painting, I worked from my imagination to create a dreamy, night scene of Wyoming's Teton Moubntains that I've been lucky enough to have gotten to visit a few times. Painting this was a meditative process where I enjoyed experimenting with layering acrylic wash until I would arrive at the place I wanted to stand to watch the night sky. I aimed for this scene to feel mystical and awe inspiring. Imagine driving through here on a clear, dark night and being so struck by the beauty of the surrounding mountains and trees and the above milkyway that you'd have to pull over, get out of the car and just stand in the cold, taking in the magic of the night.

This is the 4th our of 5 posts where I tried to share a little bit about my huge mosaic feather installation at the Mystic Valley Sculpture Park in Mosca, Colorado near the Great Sand Dunes National Park. In the previous posts I've touched upon different aspects of creating these sculptures as well as some of the obstacles we had with finishing and installing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This view is from the foot of Mount Blanca which is the 4th tallest mountain in all of Colorado. I took this photo at the Mystic Valley Sculpture Park which is a collaborative project with my life and creative partner Kyle.

There was a downpour and a thunderstorm so Kyle, Ethan and I waited it out in our van (this was before our little Wesley was born). When it was safe to come out, the atmosphere was so unique. I watched the rain clouds move past the mountains as the sun began to light up the surrounding landscape and accentuated the 3D quality of the mountain range. It is one of my favorite memories out there.

Angle View shows the deep 2" board.

Another Angle View.

 

 

 Angle view. The board has a wooden edge that is 2" deep. It has a gloss varnish applied to it.

 

 My partner Kyle holding the painting in a slightly different light.

"Artemis" is one of our most popular sculptures. It was a collaborative project between Kyle and I. This owl stands 7ft tall and is completely hand made. Kyle sculpted it from foam. Then we covered it in mesh and exterior foam coat from Hotwire Foam Factory. I created all the ceramic tiles as well as the hand cut stained glass mosaic to decorate the owl form. 

 

I was very pleased with how all of this came together. It was a long time coming to have Artemis installed. So much work and effort finally paid off!

Kyle and Ethan enjoying the fruits of everyone's labor =)

Artemis is beloved by all our visitors and friends. Here isKyle with our sons and his cousin Tony and partner Katie.