Our Artists

Gemstone Creative has brought together some of the world's most acclaimed mosaic artists. They have all been commissioned to produce international mosaic projects at the highest level. Our artists have honed their expertise in the ancient and delicate art of renovation of intricate mosaics in landmark cathedrals and important cultural heritage sites, as well as developing contemporary installations in public and private spaces. These artists work passionately to a brief and will interpret and create your mosaic design so that your ultimate vision can be realised.

NB. Images of people that are displayed on this website are works of art created by the artists we work with. These works of art are intended to illustrate our techniques only and are not for sale. They do not indicate, and should not be taken to indicate, any endorsement of our product, or any authorisation, from the people in question or from their personal representatives.

Our artists:

Adrian Firth
Adrian was raised in Doncaster, Yorkshire. He attended the Doncaster School of Art and Design before studying Printmaking at Wolverhampton University where he was awarded the Mander Award for excellence in printmaking. He is best known for his design of penny portraits; larger than life images of specific famous faces created entirely from pennies. His work has been exhibited internationally and has been sold at The London Art Fair and Affordable Art Fair through the Rebecca Hossack Gallery. Adrian’s recent press coverage can be found in The Times, The Telegraph, The Irish Times, and The Guardian, as well as online publications such as Art Daily, Life Lounge, and Daily Candy.

Artist Statement
“Through my work I aim to subvert the everyday, bringing importance and grandeur to things that are thought to have little or none. I like the sentiment certain objects or situations can hold and the memories they can evoke. I like to play with the idea of an object/person/situations spiritual significance compared to its physical presence. Through living in a big western city I'm strongly influenced and informed by consumerism, advertising, fashion and in the case of art - historic teaching and approval from the establishment. My work can be thought of as a backlash against consumerism, fashion and what I am taught, as I often have great affection for things that I am told have no value and little connection to things, which are apparently significant. My end aim is to create beautiful, sensitive works of art that evoke an emotive response and provoke questions about humanity whilst containing what I consider to be high artistic values.”


Tessa Hunkin
Tessa trained as an architect and worked in various practices before pursuing her interest in the decorative arts. She was attracted to mosaic because it is a medium of architectural decoration and in 1988 she joined Emma Biggs at Mosaic Workshop. Together they built up the London based studio to become the largest mosaic company in the UK, and as well as undertaking commissions they also sell all kinds of mosaic materials and equipment. They have written several books on the subject, and Tessa has written one on her own about Modern Mosaic. Tessa’s work is largely figurative and she is interested in the Roman and Byzantine mosaic traditions of representing the human figure in a powerful and compelling way. In particular she is fascinated by icons and early Christian portraits where the subject looks out at the spectator with a magnetic gaze. The power of these works is enhanced by the precious gold and glass materials, and the idea of gemstone portraits extends the possibilities of this kind of image in a new and exciting way.


Claire Milner
Claire Milner has spent over 20 years as a successful artist, illustrator and designer, and maintains many high profile clients around the world. Her work is regularly published in books and magazines, is exhibited in galleries and museums, and is in private collections in Australia, France, Ireland, Italy, Trinidad, U.K. & the U.S.A.
Her interest in portraiture began many years ago when she was commissioned by a publishing company to produce portraits of Gordon Brown and Nigel Lawson. She received numerous subsequent commissions of politicians, company CEO’s, and Central European Bankers and her portrait of Michael Faraday appeared on the cover of an important science journal. As a mosaic portrait artist she is renowned for her distinctive style and ability to capture a likeness. Claire has an innate ability to choose the exact colours, which, optically mixed, result in an extraordinary and unique representation of light and shadow. This style has evolved through much research of portraiture, especially in mosaics dating back to the Greek, Roman, and Byzantine eras.
Her style and the techniques she uses to characterise her own portraits are a fusion of ancient mosaic art and more contemporary Pop Art, injected with humour and character, resulting in images which appear very modern, but are in fact the result of a meticulous study of ancient techniques.


Ed Chapman
Ed Chapman is a contemporary UK artist specialising in ceramic mosaics. In his instantly recognisable style the artist achieves incredibly detailed results, painstakingly creating his subjects using hundreds of fragments of ceramic tile. A largely self-taught artist, Ed began creating mosaic works over a decade ago, fascinated with bringing a contemporary style to an ancient medium. He became a professional artist in 2001. Originally he worked with paper, creating a series of portrait mosaics, whilst at the same time experimenting with cityscapes. Looking for a new challenge, Ed moved on to glass, metal, and finally ceramic tile, the medium for which he is best known. Influenced by artists such as Chuck Close, Robert Rauschenberg, and Jamie Reid, Ed also finds inspiration for his works in music and TV, as well as in everyday articles found in magazines.
Ed strives to create intricate photo-realist portraits set against contrasting bold colour backdrops, forcing the viewer to question if his mosaics are, in fact paintings. Each work comprises thousands of ceramic tile pieces, all cut and fastened by hand, and impeccably finished. Whilst continuing to focus on his core subject matter of portraiture, Ed has recently begun revisiting his torn paper works again, and has produced a series of 3D works. Ed has exhibited throughout the UK and across Europe and the USA.