Mosaics were invented by ancient Roman artists tired of solving jigsaw puzzles to glue to the walls of their temples. Assemble a more sparkling work of art with today’s Groupon: for $36, you get a three-hour mosaic-basics workshop at The Chicago Mosaic School (a $75 value). The Chicago Mosaic School supplies all tools, adhesives, and materials for the class; click here for a list of available class times.

The Chicago Mosaic School’s faculty of professional artists teach students of all levels to craft glittering glass art, earning accolades from Centerstage Chicago. During the three-hour class, students seated at long tables cut colorful pieces of glass and ceramic tile, affixing them carefully to wooden boards or to other students who have volunteered to lie very, very still. After practicing basic techniques under the watchful eyes of instructors, all of whom belong to the Society of American Mosaic Artists, students design and construct finished mosaic pieces of their own design, crafting portraits, landscapes, abstract patterns, or realistic still lifes of shattered dinner plates.

After class, students can rove The Chicago Mosaic School’s 5,200-square-foot facility, where visitors can peep into the extensive library or kick back with novice glass gurus in the student lounge. Alternatively, they can absorb inspiration from professional artists’ work in the gallery, where students can admire soaring sculptural mosaics and miniscule micromosaics constructed to decorate the back gardens of well-off fleas.