Ceramic Handmade Tile Installations

This year is rapidly coming to a close and I still haven't posted about the coolest project of 2021. Time to fix that! I first learned that my city was planning to build a tower to house chimney swifts way back in late 2019 when Rhonda Boyd, Kent's lead engineer, called me up to pitch the project. Rhonda explained to me that chimney swifts used to live primarily in hollow trees which are now in short supply, especially in urban areas, so the birds have adapted to live in chimneys. Unfortunately modern buildings often do not have traditional chimneys so when...

So pleased that I get to see how great this installation turned out!! This project was a bit outside my comfort zone. This is the first time I have ever made custom tiles to match stained glass windows! The homeowner sent me a picture of one of the windows next to the fireplace and a drawing of what he wanted the tile to look like: And I got to work reproducing the design to the best of my ability. I am really happy with the results, and more importantly, so is the client! The homeowner did an impeccable job of...

I love this! The idea for this bed came from the mind of Gwen Waight, a fellow northeast Ohio artist. She selected and arranged the tiles, and her talented husband constructed the bed for their daughter, who lives out of state. It means a lot to me that my work has become part of their family's story. It is always a treat when a fellow artist seeks out my work. Gwen specialized in assemblage and collage. She uses recycled and reclaimed objects that would otherwise be overlooked or discarded. Her art is part of the story of my family's life,...

Over the years, a few very special customers have installed my tiles in their homes, then moved, then ordered more tiles to install in their new homes! This installation belongs to one of those select few who have installed my work at more than one address. I don't seem to have to picture on file of the first installation, but my records tell me the glaze was autumn and the designs were mostly animals. This second installation is mostly plant designs glazed in celadon, with heart tile glazed in white for a focal point. The celadon glaze looks almost white...

Today, instead of making tiles I am working on the website because Darrell and I are having some work done on the house and it has spilled over into the studio. I should be pounding clay again tomorrow, but in the meantime (since I have home improvement on the brain anyway) I will take this opportunity to share pictures of this uncommonly handsome kitchen in Northern Michigan.  What a wonderful mix of earth tones! The variety of natural textures really draw the eye and make a person want to sit for a spell in this warm and inviting room. An...

It always warms my heart when someone uses my tiles in more than one room in their home, so this set of installation photos makes me very happy indeed. The homeowners decided to use my tiles in not just one, but two of their bathrooms! A mixture of glass tiles and handmade tiles in honey and autumn glazes surround the sinks in both bathrooms: This lovely home is in the Pacific Northwest, so they selected tiles that represent the native flora and fauna of that region.  (It is so fun when customers include their cat in photos!) The built in...

Seems like I have been posting a lot of hearth photos lately! Let's mix it up and post some photos of a kitchen that proves that small is beautiful.  This sweet little NYC kitchen looks out on a park, so the clients chose tiles that represent the plants and animals that they see outside their window. Nature is everywhere, even in one of the world's largest cities!  They went with a fun asymmetric grouping over the range, and then sprinkled the remaining feature tiles around semi-randomly throughout the rest of the backsplash. The subway tiles are 3"x9" which works really...

No, the mantle isn't made of birch; the handmade subway tiles that surround the feature tiles are in a new glaze called "birch" which I am a bit smitten with at the moment. It is so yummy looking, it reminds me toast. Or maybe a toasted marshmallow? The feature tiles are glazed in "Autumn" which provides a nice contrast with the field tiles and also harmonizes nicely with the woodwork. above: close up of the "Birds on a Branch" set in autumn glaze This fireplace is part of a historic home right here in northeast Ohio, and the installation was...