Mosaic is my Heart & Soul 
Michele Petno

Hi!  I  am a self-taught mosaic artist from Orlando, Florida.  During the 1960's I dabbled in collage and painting things in psychedelic colors.  In the 70's it was macrame & weaving.  In the 80's painting pottery & cross-stitch.  Eventually they all became boring and I gave up on finding the right art form for me.

Then, in 1994, following 16 years in health care management, I opened a used furniture/décor store called Wits End and taught myself how to do faux finishes on some of the furniture.   It was never my intention to start a mosaic business so, how did it happen?    A local tile store gave me a palette of tile sample boards which I soaked off in my bathtub.  I used them to do a mosaic on the bathroom door of my store and soon customers were asking me to teach them how to do it.  I thought I'd have one casual 'class'.   The next thing I know,  I am teaching mosaic classes full time and selling mosaic supplies . Wits End became Wits End Mosaic.   Around 1997,  I ‘moved’ my mosaic store to the internet, the first mosaic store in the world  (what???)  and everything changed!  After selling Wits End Mosaic I founded  (and sold) 3 more online mosaic stores:  smalti.com, Murano Millefiori & Kismet Mosaic  .  Twenty four years later, I am still "pinching myself" !  No one has been more surprised than me at this turn of events in my life. 

After 13 yrs of importing Mexican smalti  from the Perdomo factory in Cuernavaca I sold smalti.com in 2007 and, along with Malena Perdomo,  co-founded the Mosaics in Mexico School in the centro district of Cuernavaca.   It was pure serendipity that, at the same time, Giuseppe Semararo, a  professor from the Friuli School of Mosaic in Spilimbergo, Italy, was joining their team and would soon be teaching with us!  Years of observing the artisans at the Perdomo Studios,  and working alongside Giuseppe,  opened my eyes to new techniques, skills, smalti portraiture and color theory.  It was the adventure of a lifetime!  Sadly, we closed the school 3 years later,  but it truly was the best experience of my life.
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From then until 2015, I focused on my Mozaic Arts studio and store in Orlando, teaching classes, hosting workshops and offering new elements for other mosaic artists.   Three and a half years ago it was necessary to close the store and care for my mother.   Now, through occasional online videos and private classes,  I hope to continue my passion for teaching while finally having time to  create my own mosaic art in my home studio.  I am not a professional photographer or videographer  - I just want to share what I have learned over the years  in an affordable and fun way. 

​I have to thank every student who ever took a class with me, I learned as much from you as you did from me -  each one of you enriched my life.  It continues to be so rewarding to share my years of experience and pass on the joy of this amazing art form.   

Thank you for visiting the new Mozaic Arts & Mosaic Made Easy,
Michele

Each piece contains three elements:  feeling, order and imagination.
Without order, it would be chaotic.
Without imagination, terribly dull.
Without feeling, it would leave the observer unmoved.
                                                              
                                                                                Author unknown