Mosaic Workshops with Isaiah Zagar

Philadelphia's Magic Gardens offers monthly workshops with the creator of PMG, Isaiah Zagar. Zagar teaches two full days of breaking tile, cutting mirror, gluing tile and grouting. Over a weekend, students work on a mosaic from conception to completion.

Outdoor Mosaic Mural Workshops: While learning the Zagar mosaic-making technique, students participate in the beautification of local Philadelphia neighborhoods through the completion of a permanent, public mosaic mural.

Indoor Winter Workshops: Students craft a personal mosaic to take home (approx. 10" x 14") and receive a special tour with the founder. Participants develop the skills they need to create their own mosaic and also assist in a large-scale piece.

Indoor Winter Workshops take place from November through March; Mosaic Mural Workshops run from April through October. All materials will be provided. A minimum of five participants are required for the workshops to run.

Cost for attending a Mosaic Mural workshop:
$350 for new students $100 for alumni.

2012 Winter Workshop Schedule: January 28-29, February 25-26, March 24-25, November 24-25, December 29-30.

2012 Mosaic Mural Workshop Schedule: April 28-29, May 26-27, June 23-24, July 28-29, August 25-26, September 22-23, and October 27-28.

Click to view a PDF of our 2012 Mosaic Mural Workshop schedule.

Workshops take place over an entire weekend, from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM rain or shine. Participants meet at Philadelphia's Magic Gardens, located at 1020 South St. Philadelphia, PA 19147. Parking is available across the street at SuperFresh. On Sundays, street parking is available.

For workshop participants, comfortable work clothing and a bottle of water is recommended. Please bring an apron. There are many nearby places to buy lunch or you may bring one.

To learn the whole process from the comfort of your own home, buy PMG's instructional video here.

PMG is always looking for blank public walls in the South Street neighborhood to become canvases for these workshops. If you've always dreamed of having a Zagar mosaic mural on one of your public walls, please email info@philadelphiasmagicgardens.org or call 215-733-0390.

Walls must be:

Accessible to the public
Not in danger of being destroyed
Made of unpainted masonry (cinder blocks, bricks, stucco), not wood
No further than a 1/2 mile from PMG

Workshop participants and Zagar must have access to a bathroom. Murals built during a workshop are of no cost to the owner of the property, although donations are appreciated. The mural will be designed by Isaiah Zagar, and executed by Zagar and his students on a Saturday and Sunday.

Quotations from Previous Workshop Participants

"Isaiah was just great - an enthusiastic teacher and wonderful storyteller. I have admired his murals for many years and was glad I could finally attend one of his workshops."
-Liz Helling, June 2006, Sartain St.

"As a non-artist, it was powerful to learn that the creation of a work of art can be organic. I learned that I don't have to conceptualize the entire piece before working on it, but can pull tile from buckets without intentionally choosing each piece to create something cohesive at the end."
-Kate Douglas, July 2008, 10th and Montrose St.

"My husband and I had such a great experience with Isaiah. We have both done murals at our schools since the workshop. I did a mural with my students and they loved it!"
-Merenda Woodward, July 2007, Medina St.