Mosaic Planter Workshop (7–8 March 2026)

Mosaic Planter Workshop with Jane du Rand
10–4:30pm Saturday 7 March & Sunday 8 March 2026

Get lost in the mesmorising world of mosaics with Jane du Rand over a full weekend in March and learn from an internationally renowned artist to make a mosaic pot featuring hand-made ceramic reliefs.

One of our most popular workshops of all time makes a comeback! Mosaics are an ancient art form that never gets old. Whether you're a beginner or advanced student, these planters are fun to make and oh-so-satisfying to have on display or give to someone special (if you can part with it!). 

Mosaics uses small pieces of tiles, glass or stone to produce intricately patterned designs and are the ideal art medium for planters due to their exciting colours, dynamic patterns, and hard-wearing finishes. Jane du Rand combines traditional mosaic methods with hand-made ceramic sculptures to create a unique, three-dimensional finish to her art. Jane’s ceramic mosaic planters are housed in private art collections all over the world, and her stunning work "Thriving: Brisbane Bush Turkey" (pictured) is now part in the Museum of Brisbane's permanent art collection.

In this special workshop held over two days, you will learn from Jane du Rand to design and create a mosaic planter featuring handmade ceramic reliefs. Your finished piece will be a beautiful and unique piece of art for your home or garden. You will leave this workshop with all the skills and training you need to continue your mosaic journey independently.

Don't underestimate how much work goes into making these beauties! The pots shown in the images below range in size from 100–150cm in height and feature both ceramic reliefs and one-off sculptures of plants and birds, with each work taking many weeks or months to make. The pots that we'll be making in this workshop will be approximately 30–40cm in height and feature ceramic reliefs (supplied by Jane) and will take us a full two days to mosaic from start-to-end.

The workshop begins with a session on design in order to create a plan for the composition, tile choices and overall colour scheme for your work. This is a very important part of the process and will ensure an easier execution process and a more successful outcome. You will learn about the tools and materials that Jane uses in her mosaic art, along with techniques for cutting mosaic tiles to create different design effects. You'll then be let loose to crack tiles and attack your planter through to completion (with the necessary safety training and under Jane's close guidance, of course!).

The workshop will end with a demonstration of how to grout and clean mosaics and you will receive a kit to take home with all the materials you need to grout and clean up your work. Your mosaics will need a few days to dry before it can be grouted and another day before it can be cleaned, so you can either complete these steps at home or return to Plant Empire to grout your work with Jane's help during the following drop-in sessions: 4:30 – 5:30pm Saturday 21 March and/or Sunday 22 March 2026. 

Who Should Attend?

All levels of experience are welcome: this workshop is suitable for beginners or advanced students.

Materials and Collection

All materials and equipment to make your mosaic will be supplied, including ceramic reliefs, mosaic tiles, and the planter that forms the foundation for your mosaic art. Please wear closed shoes and an apron if you are worried about staining your clothes.

About Jane du Rand

South-African born, Ipswich-based Jane du Rand creates three-dimensional ceramic mosaic landscapes inspired by the native flora and fauna she encounters while bushwalking west of Brisbane. Originally trained as an architect, Jane’s intricate designs have been incorporated into the architecture of civic buildings, public spaces and private homes in Europe, the UK, the USA, South Africa and Australia.

Jane's accomplishments include being a finalist in the 2023 Siliceous award for ceramic excellence and she was one of 6 artists showcased in the 2023 Museum of Brisbane exhibition "Clay: Collected Ceramics" with her piece "Brisbane Bush Turkey" now held in the museum's collection. She was awarded "Best of Show" at the 2017 Ipswich Art Award, she was a finalist in the 2020 and 2022 Queensland Regional Art Awards, the 2018 Ipswich Art Award, and the Mercedes Benz Award for South African Art Projects in Public Spaces in 2009. Her solo exhibition "Living in Ipswich" was presented at Ipswich Art Gallery in 2020 followed by a second solo exhibition "Green Red and Black" in 2023. Jane's work features in many public spaces in south-east Queensland, with her most recent large-scale public art installation "All the Birds Singing" being commissioned for the Mental Health Unit at Ipswich Hospital which opened in 2024.

_____________________

Cost

$800 / $720 (Frequent workshoppers)

Frequent workshopper discount: Sign up for 2 or more Plant Empire workshops, or register 2 or more people for the same workshop, to receive 10% off the total registration price (discount will appear at checkout).

Location

Plant Empire has moved! This workshop will be held at our new premises in Tennyson, Brisbane: 15/55 Lofter St, Tennyson Q 4105.

Accessibility

In our new premises, we have ground floor workshop spaces as well as mezzanine level spaces with stairs. The ground floor spaces are all level without any steps, while the mezzanines are accessible via a staircase with 22 steps and 1–2 landings. Please let us know if you have any mobility issues that would limit your access to the mezzanine spaces so that we can ensure that your workshop is located at ground level by adding a note in the special instructions field when you register for your workshop: for example, "no stairs" or similar.

Reminders

You have full control over how (and how often) you receive reminders for our events. You will receive one email confirmation from us when you purchase your workshop registration; but we won't send any further email reminders, so please ensure that you have the workshop details in your diary. You can also use the "add to calendar" function in our events calendar to add workshops to your digital calendar and customise your reminder preferences.

Cancellation Policy

Please choose carefully before registering for this workshop as we do not offer refunds on event bookings. If you need to cancel your place up to 24 hours before the workshop, we will provide you with a voucher that you can use to attend a future workshop or any other purchase at Plant Empire. We regret that we are unable to provide vouchers for cancellations made within 24 hours of the workshop.

_____________________