Reviews
Thank you, Suzanne, for the incredibly enjoyable & informative stained glass portraiture class I took last week. Having taken several ‘craft’ classes in the past, I was pleasantly surprised by both the standard and the extent of the information you shared with us. The colour theory portion of the workshop was intense, but did not quite prepare me for the extent to which I had to move out of my comfort zone in preparing my picture to be mosaiced. I love the end result! Thank you for guiding me towards this realisation without making me feel silly 
Then, all the other small hints & tips which add to the experience: bicarb for removing glass splinters, travelling light and the good sense to wet carborundum files before you use them 
But most of all: Thank you so much for being such an easy traveller & such an accommodating guest. You are a very special person.
-El-Maree Van Zweel, South Africa
Coordinator for South Africa Mosaic Association
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We had an amazing custom workshop with Suzanne over the holidays and created 5 beautiful mosaics that came together at the end to all match. Suzanne had great supplies for us and beautiful tiles to choose from. She didn't rush our creativity but offered great tips along the way. We will definitely do another workshop!
-Isabel Kalas DesRoche, Canada
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Suzanne is an absolute honey. I am a complete novice at mosaics and had never done anything remotely like this before. Suzanne is so patient, funny, great at explaining every aspect to get the result you are looking for. She doesn't criticize, is positive and encouraging, whilst letting you experiment with your own creativity. Just loved becoming a friend and student. Will be lining up for another workshop when she manages to come back down under to NZ or who knows might be in Canada, a country I really love.
-Lorraine Bilby, New Zealand
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I would like to thank Suzanne (Sunny) for the amazing portraiture class this past weekend. I've taken many glass classes from different artists around the country and can honestly say this was the best! Suzanne was prepared to share her extensive knowledge of composition, design and application - not withholding her "secrets" as some artists do.
Her gentle and encouraging teaching style worked well with our different levels of experience. The accomplished artists in the group were as able to benefit as the neophytes from her vast knowledge of the animal world. We weren't just doing dogs and cats here - owls, peacocks, lions - she seemed to know them all!! One thing she was able to effectively do for me was to make me open my eyes to the smallest detail.
She also addressed our personal styles and helped us move forward and grow with a reasonable level of comfort. I used color in a way I would never have thought possible and am becoming less restricted and uptight. I hope I can put into practice and hang on to these new ways of thinking!!
Suzanne has been very generous with her time and knowledge and I really hope she will return to do another workshop soon!!!
-Linda Woodhouse, USA
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Thank you for coming to Melbourne Suzanne. Love your work and learned a lot over the past weekend. You are a beautiful person and this shows through in both your art and your teaching.
-Sharon Male, Australia
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Thank you to Suzanne for the great portrait mosaic class. Suzanne is talented and skillful at her art but is a wonderful teacher who makes sure her students are understanding her subject.
Our workshop comprised of different levels of expertise in both art and mosaics but Suzanne was able to teach to everyone's level. I liked how Suzanne would not let us go down an unsuccessful path and would gently move us in the right direction. This teaching style is fabulous! I have attended classes where instructors don't get out of their chair or let one person monopolize their time. Suzanne made sure each person got personal time and constantly giving looks and helpful checking as we went.
I found the presentation in beginning of class very helpful but would like a hard copy of the presentation at start of class, so I could write notes down as we went thru presentation and later when trying to do this process by myself. I could use a quick example of do this in picmonkey and show a few examples and eventually a finished product. I usually keep hard copy of all my classes in a binder to look over when deciding next project to attempt and sometimes it can be months or years when I get around to it. (really!) and hard copy helps with that process.
I have limited mosaic experience and sometimes need a little inspiration and this class gave me inspiration and now I can't wait to finish my lion project and start a new one! Thank you to Suzanne for a wonderful, first class, experience.
-Phyllis Wendelboe, USA
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I love Suzanne's work, it incorporates color theory with flow and movement in a medium that moves with light and shadow. In addition, if you work in mosaic, Suzanne teaches a great class in color theory! She walked us through color theory for emotions, color value for impact, how to prepare our graphic and then gave each of us individual attention as we started mosaic portraits. I love color and was looking for fresh ways to inject it into portraits. I got it! This class was perfect score!
-Mary Moe-Georgia, USA
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The course was the best art workshop I have ever attended. Suzanne is a real inspiration and a gifted teacher. Her love of her art shines through the teaching. We learnt not just about mosaic but about the theory of art and composition which can be applied to many art forms. I found this to be valuable learning.
I am so happy that I was able to attend.
-Sam Sparkes, South Africa
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I came to the course for various reasons and I am happy I did. I met some beautiful souls, we shared amazing stories, skills, ideas, creativity and energy which is really nice after a while working on your own in your studio. It was interesting hearing Suzanne her story and mosaic journey, one that is very inspiring. She is a very patient and good teacher and can talk you through all your hiccups to get to a point to where you start to enjoy and find confidence with your piece you are working on. She takes time to assist you at any given moment, she is honest in her opinion towards your work that help you progress and a lovely girl to work with. Now my only problem is that I even started to like making a portrait and find the time to explore more options of how to incorporate this element in my own work. So yes ..it was an amazing 2 days at Heidi’s studio, our host here in Cape Town.
-Karla Duterloo
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I would rate Suzanne's workshop as BRILLIANT!! Suzannes shares her knowledge and experience with openness and confidence and patience. She guides without enforcing. Her heart is to see each budding artist discover and develop his/her own personal style. Her passion for the art of mosaic-making is contageous. She has inspired me to learn more, try new techniques and expand my creative borders. I hope that my weekend with her will impact on my own teaching.
And on top of all this she is a great girl!! Would have loved to spend more time together!! Thanx Suzanne!
-Heidi Ansley, South Africa
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Suzanne came out to our group in California last weekend to teach a pet portraiture mosaic class created from a photo. I felt she not only taught us how to create it but to think about representing emotions with color, to see the personality in the photo. I loved being able to work with her. She gave each of us individual attention, coaching, suggesting, questioning us, pushing us out of our comfort zones. The work, though not finished, was amazing! I'm so impressed with what we all were able to produce, so colorful, so expressive, so descriptive of the original, but better. Her ideas of using arbitrary colors, versus realistic ones, was very hard for me, but I'm delighted with her assistance and the start of a fabulous treasured mosaic. I highly recommend her to anyone who wants to benefit from her knowledge and instruction. You will not be disappointed; you will be amazed!
-Robin Moyher, USA
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What a delightful, kind and gifted teacher she was very attentive and shared her special skills. I would recommend her to any student wanting to learn more about mosaics.
A huge thank you and hope to meet again
-Lesley Austin-Dunn, South Africa