Thirty people attended a Turkish mosaic lamp making workshop at the Doug Snooks Eagle Place Community Centre on Sunday, March 19, 2023.
Art Masterclass Canada is a mosaic art studio based out of the GTA that has been traveling around Ontario offering a two-and-a-half-hour lamp-making workshop in different cities.
Those interested in attending could choose between three booking times on Saturday, or two on Sunday.
The pop-up workshop provided a glass globe, glue, different coloured glass tiles cut into in squares, triangles and diamond shapes, as well as a multitude of colourful beading.
“This art is from centuries ago, so you will create your own mosaic lamp and we provide the tiles, beads, glue and everything else,” said Tuana Korkma, one of the class instructors. “You can get inspiration from some of the designs from Turkey that we provide and you can even do some of your own unique designs.”
Attendees could choose between two smaller lamps styles, or a larger half-moon shaped style lamp to set their globe in at home.
Instructors took turns demonstrating the three major steps and checking in with each table of six to assist where needed.
Guests started by picking a few main patterns to use and sorting out their colour scheme before starting the process of gluing and placing the pieces of glass to their globe.
The final step of the day was to fill in any blank spots by applying glue and pouring a variety of coloured beads over the globe and pressing them down.
As the class neared the end, instructors handed out a small serving of Turkish tea and a cookie to everyone in the room.
Each person was sent home with a lamp base and top, a light bulb and a plaster kit to finish and seal the art piece at home as the glue needed time to dry.
Guests found the event to be a chance to do something new in a workshop setting.
“It was lots of fun and time flew!” said Mary Jane Johnston. “I really liked the class environment, especially because I know I would have made a mess at home.”
Seleme and Sumeyye Erdogan run Art Masterclass and their workshop offers people a chance to relax, create art and do something with their hands.
“Today and yesterday were amazing, everybody was very interested, and many people created their own designs perfectly,” said Sumeyye. “We find people can feel relaxed after our workshop and I always say to people that this is your time and we will give you a good experience. It’s also very important that we really try to show you traditional hospitality, so that’s why we also provide Turkish tea and a cookie.”
“You do this for yourself, or you give it as a gift and I think it’s so special,” added Korkma. “For us to go around Ontario, we get to carry art with us and spread it around the province for others.”
Art Masterclass will be heading to Hamilton, Greater Sudbury and Kingston in the following months and they look forward to sharing this centuries old art form with others.
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
