Mosaic King Workshop

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While I was walking down Old London Road in Kingston last Monday, I saw a stall with some books about mosaics. As I was leafing through, a man approached me and said that there was an open viewing in the studio. Studio? What studio? I looked up and right in front of me was a shop front titled Mosaic King.


Gently brushing aside the embarrassment of my obvious lack of observational skills, I stepped inside. At first I was a bit confused - the shop looked completely empty. Literally. To my right, there was an open door leading to the shop front, but it was a blank canvas. The next room was almost as empty, all but for a dishwasher. This is a funny sort of exhibit, I thought.


Walking further down the hall, I finally saw some life. On the walls were a number of paintings, including a canvas with a picture of robins in a cage on sale for £300; it had metallic silver tones, and I was surprisingly drawn to it.


I was still a bit perplexed though. This was meant to be an exhibit on mosaics, but I was yet to encounter a single one. The hall led down to the final room, and at last, some mosaics were on display. It was not technically a proper exhibition, and it was not technically a proper shop. Although it was on the high street, Mosaic King is in fact the studio of artist, Karen Parry, who works in the back room. Today she was having an open day, where people could buy some of her finished works, such as the paintings in the hallway, and take a look at her work in progress.


This was definitely the most interesting aspect of what was on show as I got to see how mosaics were made. Parry was currently working on a mosaic of Michelangelo's David, and I saw that the image was made by sticking the tiles on top of a pre-made picture.

Parry works on all kinds of mosaics, from designs that you can hang up to larger projects such as wall and flooring patterns. She does commissions, and also offers a two and half hour class for £25, in which you will learn the basic skills to get you started. To book a session, you can call on 020 89749799.

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