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Tile setters delve into techniques for creating mosaics and medallions in workshop by Master Mosaicist Angie Ré
By Lesley Goddin, Editorial Director and Senior Writer
n 2023, chief mosaicist Angie Halford Ré, owner of Unique Mosaics LLC in South Salt Lake, Utah, held a two-day class in creating mosaic logos for skilled tile setters (read more about the workshop in the Installer story in this issue). This year, she reprised her workshop, with a focus on mosaics and medallions, for a gathering of seven passionate attendees, most of them professional tile setters.
Sponsored by TEC Installation Systems and TileTools.com, Ré said her goal with each workshop is “to teach a different skill, design technique or mosaic technique, to give the class variety.” Already thinking ahead, she said the 2025 workshop will focus on mosaic inlays.
Angie Halford Ré, owner of Unique Mosaics LLC in South Salt Lake, Utah
Students with their completed mosaics at the end of the class, and teacher Angie Ré : (l to r): Thomas Flores, Tommy Floors; Jan Hohn, Hohn & Hohn, Inc.; Hector Ruiz, HR Tile; David Daubenschmidt, Hammer & Sage Tile; Jeff Occhipinti, Columbia River Tile & Stone and Eden Rivas, Rivas Custom Tile. (Not pictured: Melanie Barrett).
But for 2024, she explored the creation of mosaics and medallions, including andamento – the movement and flow of tesserae in a design.
The mosaics were built upside down in the Reverse Indirect Technique – used in ancient Rome – which allows tile artists to work with materials of various heights and thicknesses and achieve a perfectly flat top surface. Students worked with drastic thickness differences such as 1/8" glass paired with 3/8" thickness or more.
“Students built everything upside down, with thinset on top,” Ré explained. “After the thinset dried, the piece was flipped over and it was flat on top.”
TEC – which also provided the “beautifully catered meals” – supplied TEC SuperFlex thinset, which was perfect for the glass, stone, porcelain mixed media mosaics and medallions the class was making. Blanke Permat and Schluter KERDI Board were also used to help build up thin glass areas, and Tiletools.com provided hand tools, hats, sanding pads, and sponges.
Ré introduced the students to new tools, like the Taurus 3 Ring Saw from Gemini that cuts honey onyx like butter, and the Mosaic Chopping Tool from Italy that “makes tile look like Roman style mosaics,” Ré said. The Mosaic Chopping Tool (colloquially known as the “Finger Chopper”) is great for thicker materials like smalti and stone like marble. “It cuts a clean edge and allows you to angle your mosaics for keystone shapes.”
Ré, an NTCA member and NTCA Technical Committee member, said, “I try to teach things from the art world of mosaics but using techniques compatible with tile installation so it stays within the standards of tile installation. I marry the two together.”
Chris Kain, Digital Technical Manager at H.B. Fuller for TEC Installation Systems, said, “Angie provides mosaic tips and techniques designed to save installers time and prevent costly mistakes. This is the class for installers who want to learn all about mosaics before taking the plunge and offering mosaics as an upgrade to potential clients.”
Attendees walked away with one mosaic piece plus frame to take home. Students also worked together on a group medallion project. “I kept it to hang on my wall once it’s grouted,” Ré said.
Added Kain, “As a manufacturer rep, it’s always awesome to see installers come together from around the country not only to gain new knowledge, but to also share their own experiences to make the entire tile family stronger.”
Chris Kain of H.B. Fuller/TEC Installation Systems with Angie Ré . TEC was a major sponsor of the class.
Workshop attendees weighed in: all three of these commenters are NTCA Members and took the Artisans Revolution in Tile (A.R.T.) mosaic workshop at Dragonfly Tile & Stoneworks in Milwaukee, Wis., this year. Hector Ruiz, of HR Tile in Rifle, Colo., called the workshop a “super helpful class. Angie is a down-to-earth girl that teaches from the heart. She did a great job on compressing 20 years’ worth of experience in two days – not an easy task to do giving that mosaic is a broad topic. Loved her class and will definitely miss her. I truly enjoyed her class and will most likely take it again.”
Melanie Barrett, another workshop participant and repeat student of Ré, creates her mosaic.
Jeff Occhipinti, Owner of NTCA Five-Star Accredited Contractor Columbia River Tile & Stone, Inc., said, “This was an amazing training. Angie did a great job putting the class together; it was well planned and organized, packing a lot of information into just two days. In typical fashion when tile artisans get together there is usually going to be some magic with all of the creativity stirring through the air. I was most excited to learn different approaches to creating art with tile, stone, and glass, especially techniques that have been around for thousands of years. I will definitely be using what I learned as I plan my next tile artisan project, and look forward to seeing all of the amazing art the other participants will create.”
Jeff Occhipinti cuts glass strips on the Taurus 3 ring saw by Gemini.
Jan Hohn of NTCA Five-Star Contractor Hohn & Hohn, Inc., in St. Paul, Minn., said, “After participating in both the Artisans Revolution in Tile mosaic workshop and Angie Re’s workshop, I realized there is a lot more to learn about mosaic tilework. At the Mosaics and Medallions workshop, we focused on one type of mosaics namely medallions. [Angie] gave us tips about how to measure and work with large medallions along with some tools to help.
Jan Hohn braves the “Finger Chopper” to create Roman-style mosaic pieces.
“Instead of each of us at the workshop following the same pattern, we were given the same size board to work on and a circle to copy onto our board,” she said. After that we were free to do our own design. It was well worth the time and money to attend. After creating my medallion, I could see my mistakes and know how and where I could improve for the next medallion that I create.” For more information on Ré’s workshops, visit uniquemosaicsllc.com.
David Daubenschmidt places his mosaic pieces in the Reverse Indirect Technique that Ré taught at the workshop.
Angie Ré demonstrates mosaic technique