Mosaic artist Carol Shelkin is a PGC Master Artisan and has been an HGC member since its beginning in 2009.
Born in SW Philadelphia, Carol’s art education started young. Between the ages of 7 -14, she took classes at Fleisher Art Memorial and Philadelphia College of Art (University of the Arts, Saturday school) in Philadelphia. She attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts after high school and also studied at the Studio Arte del Mosaico in Ravenna, Italy.
She started working with stained glass in 2008. Over time, she found her passion in mosaic fine art. As a potter and a painter, mosaic was the next step for her and the perfect marriage of her two loves. Here’s how Carol describes her work: “I have an eclectic approach to contemporary mosaic surface design by placing glass where I would naturally place paint. I create hand cut, contemporary mosaic fine art with stained glass and Italian Millefiori that resembles a painting. Each piece of stained glass is hand nipped, with one tool and can be as small as ¼” x ¼” and similar to a brush stroke. I’ve been told I paint with glass.”
For some years now, Carol has offered mosaic workshops and tours worldwide and also teaches through Mosaic Arts Online and Create Arts Online. Some of the places she offers workshops and tours are in Costa Rica, Florida, Mexico, France, Spain, Michigan, Australia, California, as well as teaching in Philadelphia and its’ suburbs. Says Carol, “I love to make mosaic art! I love to teach! I welcome being in my studio and I get a thrill when my students surprise themselves and are successful creating mosaic art. I love to travel and take students worldwide to learn about art and create.”
Carol’s philsophy: “I want to explore and expand the relationship between art and understanding the connection between humans and the goodness in the world. Art is the process and experience, an extension of self, to create unity while embracing compassion in the world. I truly wake up every day and am grateful for what I can create and teach.”
Her list of exhibitions is extensive and includes the following:
Vanderbilt University
Smith Gallery
Embodied
Nashville, Tennessee
Gratz College Art Gallery in Melrose Park, PA
Media Arts Council in Media, PA
Mosaic Art International
Painted Bride, Philadelphia
Philadelphia’s Magic Garden
Mosaic Artists of Australia and New Zealand
Fragments, Shards & Pieces
Philadelphia’s City Hall
Signatures
Mark in Mosaic in Falmouth, Massachusetts
Contemporary Mosaic Art
Worldwide | Online
Solo Exhibition
Clauiano Art Gallery in Udine, Italy
Institute of Mosaic Art in Oakland/Jingletown, California
Solo Exhibition