Handmade Tile

Look what a semi truck brought me yesterday. Two new kilns!!! After years of "making do," I am super excited to get modern, professional quality kilns. DRU and I will spend most of the weekend setting these beauties up (thanks, DRU!) and then I will do some test firing. After that, my workflow is really going to change for the better. More kiln space = more tiles in less time. Yay! Plus, I will finally be able to offer field tiles on the website.  admiring the fine craftsmanship  Stay tuned for updates! 

Not at my house! OK, there may not be any giant sunflowers blooming in the yard yet, but that is no reason not to enjoy their likeness indoors. Top row, right: nine 4"x4" Sunflower tiles in Autumn glaze. They were still warm from the kiln when I took this photo yesterday. Top row, left: detail on a batik table cloth I picked up at the Humane Society rummage sale earlier this spring. It is currently brightening up my dining room. Bottom row: some plastic sunflower lights that I found at a second hand store here in town a few years...

Earlier this month, I resized some of my old designs. Seven popular designs that were available in the 4"x4" size can now be made in the 2"x2" size as well. I also made one completely new design for good measure. I am thrilled with how they all came out and I hope you will like them, too "Oak Leaf" is the new design, so it is only available in the 2"x2" size at this time. But all the rest can be both big and small.  All the new tiles are available in 10 glazes, but the glaze menu has not been...

Where does luck come from? Is it some quirk of the universe, or can you make your own? 2"x2" flour leaf clover tiles, leaf green glaze I am a lucky person. I wish everyone could have the things I usually take for granted. Good food, fresh water, a nice home. A strong, healthy body. A loving and devoted partner. Supportive friends and family. A satisfying job that allows me to express myself creatively. Yes, I have made many choices in my life. And yes, if I had made different choices, my life would be completely different. Heck, I make choices...

This should be fun! I will be there to talk about my art tiles from 5-7. The event goes until 9, and an assortment of my tiles will be there the whole time. You can see the full press release for this event below the photo- you may need to click "read more." Hazel Tree Interiors to Introduce New Types of Locally-Made Home Decor at Open House on May 5 AKRON, OH, April 18, 2012

When people find out that I only have one copy of a lot of my molds, they always ask what I do if one breaks. My answer has usually been, " I hope I never find out!" Of course it was bound to happen eventually. On Monday I was finishing up an order of cat tiles, and I accidentally broke my only"napping cat tile" mold. My first impulse was to freak out, but instead I decided to brainstorm possible ways to solve the problem. I thought about the commercial slip molds I see at the ceramic supply store and how...

You may already know this, but I love-love-love to get customer installation photos! There is a real feeling of satisfaction that comes from seeing my tiles happily settled into a new home. In a way, I don't feel that the tiles are really finished until they find their place in the world. Mostly I don't get to see where they end up, and that is ok. I understand that people are busy, and home improvement can make life even more complicated. In spite of this, every once in a while a very special and wonderful customer will take the time...

I love the combination of glazes on these four 4"x4" tiles. Clockwise, from top left: 4"x4" Spring Oak in Cinnamon Glaze, 4"x4" Elm in Buckwheat Glaze, 4"x4" Tree of Life in Autumn Glaze, 4"x4" Willow in Northern Lights Glaze. These four glazes play well together and with natural material like stone or wood. On these four tree tiles, they almost create a four- seasons effect, though I am not exactly sure which tile would represent which season. I am planning to use one of these four glazes on my submissions to the upcoming artTILE exhibition at indigenous gallery in Cincinnati. So excited to...