Decorative Wall Tiles

A customer in Pennsylvania requested a sycamore leaf tile. Sycamore trees are prevalent where she lives, and she wanted tiles to reflect the local environment. My dad is really good at identifying plants, so I asked him there are any sycamore trees are here in Kent. It turns out sycamores are fairly prevalent here, too! There is a fine specimen just a few blocks from my house. There are some even closer, but they are in people's yards and aren't accessible. After a short walk to harvest a few leaves, I pressed them in a book for a few days, and then...

This may or may not be what is commonly referred to as  "Cape Cod" style house, but I can tell your for sure that it is located in beautiful Cape Cod, Massachusetts; a place that is famous for its salt marshes, pristine beaches and diverse flora and fauna. The local plants and wildlife of the area are reflected in the choice of tiles for this bright and cheery bathroom. I love the way the homeowner chose to incorporate multicolored handmade tiles into this bathroom. The the lower third of the wall is covered with beadboard wainscoting. At the top of...

This is one of my favorite times of year. The blossoms are blooming, the leaves are budding, and indigenous gallery is having their annual artTILE extravaganza!! It is a huge honor for me to be a part of this invitational show.  (They even put a picture of some of my tiny tiles on the back of the postcard!) If you have never been to indigenous gallery, you are missing out. I have been fortunate to be a part of every one of the previous artTILE shows, and they just keep getting better every year. There couldn't be a more perfect...

I am so pleased to share these photos! All three of these projects are by the same family. They mixed different sizes of art tiles in various shades of green, brown and gold with 1"x1" small glass and quartz tiles to great effect. The kitchen island pictured above has a light under the edge of the counter so it looks extra pretty at night. The homeowners say they have received many compliment so far, and I can see why. They created a similar effect on a smaller scale for their hearth. They used 4"x4" handmade tiles along with more of...

It is always a thrill to receive customer installation photos! This recently completed kitchen back splash installation features our 6"x6" "Tree of Life" handmade tile, framed by a square of marble tiles over the stove top:   The glaze used for the tree tile is slightly different than our normal white glaze. The homeowner wanted something with a warmer tone to match the rest of the tiles. Fortunately we had a glaze on hand that fit the bill. It may be hard to see the subtle color difference from these photos, so samples of this version of white glaze are...

Yesterday the post office was closed, but that didn't stop us from making a tile delivery. Darrell and I took advantage of the nice weather to drive these three boxes of tiles to Ginko Gallery in Oberlin, OH. This packing job would not have been adequate for the mail, but it worked just fine for us yesterday. We have a tradition of delivering tiles to Ginko Gallery in person whenever possible. It is the first gallery ever to carry my work, so we have been going there for over a decade. We try to visit at least once a year....

This delightful installation of 3"x3" Mayfly tiles in "Leaf Green" glaze is located in the United Kingdom.  Mayflies have special significance for this family, so they decided to pay homage to them with their back splash design. They asymmetrical layout of the art tiles implies that the mayflies are in flight. Here is a slightly closer look: There was an unexpected size difference between the British made gray field tiles and the U.S. made art tiles. The homeowners managed to work around it with some clever and careful cuts, and the results are beautiful.  Thank you so much, S.D., for...

This bathroom sink features a "Birds on a Branch" triptych and two field tiles set as a back splash. These tiles were specially made with a "bull nose" or slightly rounded edge on the top the the right and left sides. The glaze is "Celadon." The wall color, and even the soap, are similar in color to the handmade tiles.  The shower also features handmade tiles. For the shower, the homeowners selected tiles in the same glaze, but in a smaller size. You can see a close up of one of these two inch by two inch tiles at the...