Cassie Northern 
Between work emails, texts, and endless scrolling, finding an excuse to put down your phone can be difficult. At Blue Hyacinth Mosaics in Vienna, stepping away from the screen is part of the creative experience. Founder Shona D’Cruz teaches beginner-friendly classes in mosaics, fused glass, jewelry, fine art, and sculpture, giving students an opportunity to slow down, work with their hands, and make something completely their own. From mosaic bracelets and pendants to fused glass ornaments and dishes, there are plenty of projects to choose from — even for those who don’t consider themselves artists. Read on for more about Shona D’Cruz, Blue Hyacinth Mosaics, and this screen-free creative experience in Vienna, Virginia.
About Shona D’Cruz
Art had always been part of Shona D’Cruz’s life, but after moving from India to the United States, work and other responsibilities began taking center stage. Before opening Blue Hyacinth Mosaics, Shona worked as an instructor in special education at a preschool. Although creativity had been an important part of her childhood, she found herself with less and less time for it as an adult.
“I have always been doing art since I was a child,” Shona told The Fairfax Girl. “I grew up in India, and I took classes there, but it was always painting and flower-making. When I came here, I almost thought that part of my life was finished because work just kept me so occupied. I didn’t have much time for creativity. But I felt like I needed to get back to it. It was calling to me.”
In 2014, Shona decided to try mosaics as a form of stress relief. What started as a creative outlet quickly turned into something much bigger. “I took up mosaics just for stress relief, and it sounded different,” she said. “Then I found that I really liked it, so I played around with it.” Shona began experimenting with mosaic and micromosaic jewelry before expanding into precious metal clay and fused glass. Eventually, she invested in multiple kilns and continued exploring different forms of glass art.
In September 2018, Shona opened Blue Hyacinth Mosaics. Glass, in particular, became an important part of her work because of both its beauty and the process of working with the material. “I wanted to do something really unusual, and I thought glass was incredibly unusual,” Shona said. “I found that the medium was very cathartic in terms of breaking glass down and then putting it back together to make something beautiful, so that really spoke to me.”
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The natural world is another major source of inspiration for Shona’s artwork. She is also a member of the National Capital Art Glass Guild, where she participates in shows and exhibitions. For Shona, creating art isn’t only about making something she wants to keep. She wants her pieces to eventually become part of someone else’s home or life. “I want my work to be out there,” she said. “I do have connections with my work, but not to a point that I cannot let it go. I want to make somebody else’s space and life beautiful.”
Today, Shona also teaches art throughout the DMV, including classes for older adults. One group she especially enjoys working with includes students between the ages of 60 and 90.
What to Expect at Blue Hyacinth Mosaics
Classes at Blue Hyacinth Mosaics reflect many of Shona’s own artistic interests, including mosaics, fused glass, jewelry, fine art, and sculpture. The studio has also expanded over the years, giving Shona additional teaching space and students more room to work.
One option is a mini mosaic jewelry class, during which students can use a variety of materials to create pieces such as pendants, bracelets, and earrings. “There’s a whole bunch of materials, and students put them together,” Shona said.
Unlike some of the fused glass projects, mosaic jewelry can generally go home with students at the end of the class. Fused glass classes include projects like dishes, night lights, suncatchers, and ornaments. The ornament classes are among the studio’s most popular offerings. Because fused glass has to be fired and cooled in the kiln after the class, students typically return to pick up their finished pieces later or arrange to have them mailed.
“The mosaic jewelry is something the students take immediately after those two hours,” Shona said. “The fused glass, the students have to come back because it takes a while to fire the glass and cool it.”
Many classes are approximately two hours long, although Shona is open to offering longer sessions depending on the project and interest. Blue Hyacinth Mosaics can also bring the experience outside of the studio. Shona offers classes for celebrations and private gatherings and can bring the necessary materials to another location.
“If somebody wants to celebrate a birthday or something and they want me to come, I can bring all the materials to them,” she said. “We do the class, and then I bring it home and fire it.” Shona has also partnered with other Vienna businesses for off-site classes, including Church + Mill Interior Design Studio.
No Art Experience Required
One of the biggest things to know before signing up for a class at Blue Hyacinth Mosaics: students do not need an art background. Shona enjoys introducing complete beginners to the materials and encourages students to experiment rather than worrying about creating a “perfect” finished piece. “I love it when people are new to art because I feel like it’s a blank slate, and there are no preconceived ideas of what they want,” she said. “My classes are very beginner-friendly.”
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In fact, Shona has found that some students who initially insist they aren’t creative end up producing some of the most interesting pieces. “I often find that people who say that they’re not creative make the most interesting pieces because I feel like they don’t have anything holding them back,” she said. “I encourage them to just experiment.”
More experienced artists are welcome, too, and can bring their existing understanding of color, composition, and other techniques into the process.
A Screen-Free Creative Space
A major part of Shona’s philosophy is encouraging students to step away from their screens while they’re creating. There are practical reasons for keeping devices away from certain materials in the studio, including working around pieces of glass, but Shona also sees the screen-free environment as a way to help people become more present and imaginative.
Rather than scrolling through other people’s work and trying to recreate exactly what they see, students are encouraged to use inspiration as a starting point and then make the project their own. “We don’t want to copy somebody else’s art,” Shona said. “It’s good to use it as an inspiration, but it’s important to shut it off and then let the imagination take over.” She describes the experience as a chance to “disconnect” — something that can be increasingly difficult to do in everyday life.
Currently, Shona’s work is being shown at Green Spring Gardens in Alexandria and at Nepenthe Gallery in Alexandria.
To learn more about upcoming classes and offerings, visit the Blue Hyacinth Mosaics website.
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