Handmade Tile

The first test firing of our "new" kiln was a success! This vintage piece of brick and electronics came to us courtesy of our neighbor, who came across it while helping her mother-in-law clean out her garage.  This kiln had been left there by one of her sons who moved away, and our neighbor thought we might be able to use it.  We gratefully accepted the gift, then proceeded to store it for many moons.  Recently, with the increased volume of orders and and requests for field tiles, it occured to me that another kiln that is almost twice a...

A whole colony of bats just came out of the kiln! I just finished a large set of 2"x2" Bat tiles in Northern Lights Glaze for a customer. This is the most bats I have ever made at the same time, so I thought it was worth documenting.  I love bats, I think they are adorable. If you look close, you can see that my bats are smiling: We have had a real, live bat end up in our studio on two separate occasions. The first one was flying in circles around the room, so we just turned off the...

The weather has been sunny and warmish here for the last few days, which has me thinking about the coming spring.  The nice weather was just the inspiration I needed to sculpt this 4"x8" tile of daffodils and a tulip: It is based on this sketch.  I modified it slightly by switching from four to three flowers, I thought four would be a bit crowded.  Right now, I am happy with the results, but I am going to sleep on it.  If I am still satisfied with it tomorrow, I will make a mold.

Thursday night, I sculpted a new tile.  Yesterday I made a plaster cast of that tile so I will be able to reproduce the new design. Once the plaster dries, I will be able to pack this full of clay and reproduce the original again and again.  You may be wondering what the design on the tile is.  It kinda looks like an abstract, art deco heart.  But that isn't what I had in mind.  Thanks to Photoshop, you can see what a set of four of them together will look like: It is going to be a four tile...

...to Ginko Gallery we went!  Today was unseasonably warm and sunny, so DRU and I made a trip to Oberlin to deliver art tiles to our beloved Ginko Gallery.  Ginko Gallery was the first ever gallery to carry my work, and I am forever grateful for that.  The owner, Liz, is such a warm and nurturing person, she really helped my get past my insecurity as a new artist way back in 2004.   Emu Tiles have been available at the Gallery continuously since then.  And so have kittens!   Did I mention there are kittens?   Liz fosters kittens...

I am pleased to announce that, for the first time ever, Emu Tile will be featured at the Annual benefit, "Gifts from the Heart of Nauture", at the Holden Arboretum in Kirtland, Ohio.  By attending this event, you can help preserve the natural beauty that is the Arboretum, and support independant artists like me :-)  Thank you to all who attend! See for more information http://www.holdenarb.org/

Halloween is close, and let's look at some of our handmade art tiles that have a Halloween connection. Why handmade art tiles are fun #3. All tiles are shown in Autumn glaze which has a wide variation in colors like the changing leaves of Autumn.  The bat, has been a staple of Halloween decorations for a long time! As many of you know, these animals are beneficial, but we can't help thinking of Dracula turning into a bat. Some other animal tiles have ties to Halloween. For instance, this owl tile makes one think of a walk in the woods...

On my wish list for a while now has been a test kiln that would hold just a small number of tiles.  As the name implies, it would be great for testing a new glaze, clay or firing technique.  In my situation, having one would also enable me to get certain orders in the mail more quickly while saving energy.   Sometimes I get a small order the day after I do one of my normal firings, and then my choices are either make the customer wait for my next scheduled firing, or to fire a large kiln that is only...