FOLLOWING a trip to South America to undertake a mosaic workshop by artist Carla Morel, Mildura's Ruth Geffen has returned inspired and ready to open her own mosaic studio.
"I want to be able to help others make what they want to make and create individualised pieces," she said.
"I want to be part of their creative journey and while I always had the idea to open my own studio it was the trip that really cemented the idea."
While Ms Geffen has been a mosaic artist for more than 15 years, she never anticipated her passion would take her to the other side of the world.
"It started off as a bit of a joke; I saw a photo of a mosaic piece created by Carla Morel in a Facebook group and I commented saying I wanted to do a course with her," Ms Geffen said.
"We talked back and forth and she asked me to come for a few different courses but I kept saying 'not now, later'.
"Then in July I thought why not, it was an experience to learn something different and learn another method."
After convincing her sister-in-law Cyndie Metz to join her, the pair headed off to San Juan, first spending a few days in Santiago, where they were caught up in riots.
"In the news it seemed like nothing was going on but when we got there, there was huge riots," she said.
"There was no danger to us but it wasn't something you wanted to be in the middle of."
But they then moved on to San Juan, where they spent almost two weeks creating and learning from Ms Morel.
"It was nice to be in the middle of nowhere, where everyone speaks a foreign language and to learn something completely new," she said.
"Carla taught us as much as she could with the time we had, she was incredibly giving."
Ms Geffen said the mosaic workshop gave her new found knowledge and skills that she now hopes to share with the Sunraysia community.
"The world is such a big place, it's important we go and explore and I would love to take a mosaic group with me to South America next year," Ms Geffen said.
"My mind has been opened up to see things differently and I have so many ideas I want to share."While no set plans are in place yet, Ms Geffen hopes to have her mosaic workshop up and running early in the new year.
