Today we’d like to introduce you to J Muzacz.
Hi J, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I started The Mosaic Workshop back in 2018 as an extension of my teaching and mural painting experience. I had been working with different communities through public art and education, and I saw how naturally mosaics brought people together. You don’t need to be an experienced artist to participate. There’s something really approachable about picking up a piece of tile and figuring out how it fits.
What started as a small way to share that process has grown into a studio, a public art fabrication team, a community of artists and instructors, and now Mosaic Fest. The heart of it is still the same: making mosaics more accessible and creating opportunities for people to learn the craft and feel connected to the creative community.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Starting a business is difficult. There are stresses and pressures that are hard to understand until you’re responsible for the projects, the people, the clients, and all the things that have to keep moving every day. As our team has grown, we’ve had to learn how to collaborate on a much bigger scale while taking on more public art projects, commissions, and community partnerships. And then there’s Mosaic Fest, which keeps getting bigger every year!
But that growth is also incredibly rewarding. Seeing artists on our team take on bigger roles, watching people discover mosaics for the first time, and getting to bring artists we’ve admired for years to Austin makes all of the hard work worth it.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about The Mosaic Workshop?
The mission of The Mosaic Workshop is to bring the meaningful but often exclusionary art of mosaics to communities in Austin and beyond. Through workshops, public art projects, artist mentorship, and community-driven installations, we teach mosaics as both a creative practice and a viable path toward public art careers.
Our daily Drop-In hours, 11 am – 6 pm seven days a week, are a big part of that. Anyone, regardless of age, ability, or background, can walk in and make art, with projects starting at just $25.
Mosaic Fest 2026, October 24–31, is our third annual weeklong, citywide celebration of mosaic art and creative collaboration. We bring more than a dozen artists from around the country and the world to Austin to work with local artists on new public artworks, while also hosting artist talks, demonstrations, and hands-on workshops. Last year, Mosaic Fest resulted in eight new large-scale murals and 12 pothole mosaic installations throughout Austin. I’m proud of what we’ve made together, and even more grateful for the people who gave their time, ideas, and energy to make it possible.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
We’re endlessly inspired by other artists like Arianna Gallo of Koko Mosaico, Ememem, and Jeff Barros, and we’re honored to host them here for Mosaic Fest 2026. Following other artists and seeing how they approach materials, techniques, and public art is a huge part of how we stay inspired and keep learning.
That exchange is really what Mosaic Fest is about for us. Our free artist talks and demonstrations give our team and the broader Austin community a chance to learn directly from artists we admire, from James Talbot’s sculptural ferrocement process to Vera Belikova’s smalti color theory and Dixie Friend Gay’s decades of experience in public art. We love creating those opportunities to learn from each other and bring new ideas back into the studio.
Pricing:
- Free artist talks, demonstrations, and collaborative artmaking as a part of Mosaic Fest 2026
- $25–$45 Drop-Ins (Daily 11am–6pm, Mondays till 9pm)
- $35 Mosaics & Mocktails (first and third Fridays 6–8pm)
- $75 Intro Mosaic Workshop (Saturdays and Sundays 10am, Mondays 6pm)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://themosaicworkshop.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atxmosaicworkshop/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themosaicworkshop/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@atxmosaicworkshop
Image Credits
Photos by Tony Moreno, Joseph Von Frechen, CapMetro, and The Mosaic Workshop staff.
