We recently connected with Bonnie Fitzgerald and have shared our conversation below.

Bonnie, appreciate you joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

“Dare to fail”. I heard those words from my first artist mentor, and I have made countless life choices as those words rang in my ears.

Bonnie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

The small artistic niche of mosaics captured my imagination 30+ years ago. I was introduced to mosaics by my favorite college professor, who incorporated mosaics into large-scale sculptural forms. He dared me to fail regularly and taught me how to learn from mistakes, move on and create something else. My first mosaic commission works were done while I was an undergraduate. And as much as I adored the art form, I took a detour for nearly 20 years. Working in the animation and variety television world took me first to Hollywood and then to my current home in metro Washington, DC. I loved the broadcast production business; the people I worked with were wildly creative.

I started to research an Art Therapy theory; mosaics are credited with healing properties; the fitting together of disparate pieces re-imagines the broken. That idea led me to find and thrive in the community of Mosaic. It was the mid-1990s and over the next five years, I transitioned from being a television production supervisor to a full-time artist and art educator.

Wanting to share the art form with others, I began teaching kids in my garage, then their parents wanted to learn. I opened Maverick Mosaics Art School and Studio in 2007. Over a 4 year period, with the help of a few artist friends, Maverick Mosaics instructed over 1,500 students. In addition to “staff” taught workshops, Maverick Mosaics hosted world-renowned mosaic artists to lead master classes. Consequently, I further honed my skills from Rockstars of the craft.

Have you ever had to pivot?

The most profound dare-to-fail decision was to open a commercial space to teach mosaics and host visiting artists. The expense of supporting a public art space required innovative thinking and hard work. Not only did I teach and host workshops, but I also began chasing large-scale custom and public artwork. Life was full and exciting opportunities came my way, including the invitation to write TWO books about making mosaics.

Maverick Mosaics Art School and Studio instructed over 1,200 students in my newly created 3-hour Mosaic Express™ workshops, hosted 30+ visiting artists, and created several large-scale artworks. Managing the overhead costs of a commercial property was exhausting and a difficult business model. The concept of Mosaic Express ™ came to be thanks to Groupon. And to this day, a handful of loyal students continue to make mosaics as a consequence of their $49 investment. Once the Groupon responsibility was fulfilled, I made the decision to close Maverick Mosaics Art School and moved all operations to my home studio.

One door closes another opens. Two new opportunities crossed my path in very short order. I was invited to teach Contemporary Mosaics for the Smithsonian Institution’s Studio Arts Department in Washington, DC, and I was introduced to several teaching opportunities in other parts of the world. For the past 10 years, I have been leading workshops and tours in Mexico and several European locations. Although Covid disrupted in-person teaching, I immediately transitioned to interactive online instruction, and the Smithsonian’s streaming courses proved wildly popular. Only one year of teaching abroad was postponed. During that time, I created Make it Mosaic art kits, produced several videos for my YouTube channel, and began the development of the Make it Mosaics Online Courses.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Growing and sustaining interest in the art form has been my rallying call ever since I was introduced to the notion of the medium’s healing powers. Active recruitment of the “next generation” is a priority for me. As an Artist in Residence in several regional schools, I facilitated a number of permanent mosaic installations working with children of all ages. The Maverick Legacy Program is one of my proudest accomplishments.

My driving purpose is to expand the reach and awareness of mosaic art making. There are technical realities to the art form, almost limitless materials options to wade through, and mosaics take time – it is not a fast process! In addition to the very robust Make It Mosaic YouTube Channel (30,000+ subscribers), I have developed a boutique online learning center. Make it Mosaics Online’s first Course is for anyone interested in teaching beginner mosaics – regardless if you know anything about mosaics or are already teaching mosaics.

Expanding the boundaries of the mosaic community will ensure that the art form, and its healing powers, continue to bring joy to the makers as well as educators, art collectors, designers and the public. There are countless ways art educators can introduce mosaics into the school curriculum and find support and resources within their communities. I want to show them how.

Make it Mosaics Online is my newest “Dare to Fail” endeavor.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://maverickmosaics.com/
• Instagram: maverick_mosaics
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bonnie.fitzgerald.750
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bonnie-fitzgerald-5630a433/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MakeitMosaics
• Other: My new online course can be found at https://makeitmosaicsonline.com/