Bay Area members are invited to join us at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 5th,
in Saratoga for a special tile treat! Casa Tierra is a 1940s Historical
Landmark, hand-built by two women from adobe bricks made on the premises and
then adorned inside and out with period California tiles: Cathedral Oaks,
Handcraft, S&S, and many "mystery" tiles, among others. Just the history of
the house alone is fabulous! Lauren and Darrell Boyle, who have lived in and
cared for the house for the past 16 years, are moving on and have invited
Tile Heritage for one final visit. After we tour the 7000+ sq. ft.,
single-story home and hear from the attending tile experts and the Boyles,
we'll be off to the new factory location of Handcraft Tile in Milpitas where
we'll be hosted by owners Shirley Dinkins and Frank Patitucci, and share a
stand-up (sack) lunch. It's a rare opportunity to visit a tile plant that's
been in operation since 1926! For reservations, directions and other
details, email foundation@tileheritage.org. A $25 per person donation is
requested. Deadline: February 28th!
For those of you who may have missed it last month, we are visiting The
Netherlands in late May, and we're inviting you to join us! The primary
purpose of the trip will be to attend the opening of "Industrial Tiles 1840-1940,"
an exhibition of decorative tiles from five European countries that
is opening at the tile museum in Otterlo on May 28, 2005. Over the following
four days we will tour with tile historian Hans van Lemmen and
tilemaker/conservator Joop van der Werf looking at tiles in situ, visiting
private collections, tile factories and museums in Utrecht, Zaandam,
Friesland, Leeuwarden, Harlingen, Delft and Gouda. We will be staying in one
hotel, the Golden Tulip in Zaandam, just 12 minutes by train to/from
Amsterdam-centre and 16 minutes by train from Schiphol Airport.
Size of tour: minimum 15 (maximum 20). We will be taking reservations on a
first-come-first-served basis. We will have a short waiting list as
necessary.
THF Fee: $695 per person. This fee covers your in-country tour bus
transportation to all sites for five days to and from the hotel, your
lunches for five days (excluding alcohol), all entrance fees, group
gratuities and a tax-deductible donation to Tile Heritage. It is important
to know that our tour guides, Hans van Lemmen and Joop Van der Werf, are
providing their services at no charge!
Deadline extended to February 28th. Send a deposit of $295 per person to
secure your place on the tour. The balance, $400, is due on or before April
15th. Fax a credit card to 707 431-8455 or mail a check to THF, P. O. Box
1850, Healdsburg, CA 95448.
Hope you can join us!
"Handcrafted in America by really nice people"; that's one of their mantras.
"Peace love and clay"; that's their other. To quote from their impressive
website, "At Sonoma Tilemakers, it all starts with our passion, our
incredible people, and a whole lot of clay. The result is an adventure for
the eyes where the traditions of tilemaking and modern design are
harmoniously combined."
Take it from two trusted observers, these are more than just words. This is
the way that business is done at Sonoma Tilemakers. Both the people and the
products are equally honored.
Second only to being there, visit www.sonomatilemakers.com.
"Baja Palapa" is the first collaboration for Donna Billick, sculptor and
terrazzo artist, Billick Rock Art, Davis, California and Arthur Gonzalez,
Chair of Ceramics, California College of Art in Oakland. The palapa is
located at the corner of Primrose and Fred Waring Drive in Palm Desert,
California, part of the Baja-themed walking park.
Palm Desert was the first city in Riverside County to create a public art
program. In 1986 the City Council adopted an ordinance requiring developers
to place art or pay a fee to the Art In Public Places fund for each new
structure they built. These funds are then used to purchase art for the
community. The goals of the Public Art Program are to create an artistic
harmony between the buildings, landscaping, and open spaces as well as to
serve the people of the community and visitors by bringing art into daily
life. The Art In Public Places Commission serves as a technical advisory
committee to the Council and makes the initial selection and recommendation
of artists and artworks for public and private projects. Imagine your own community with such a program for the arts in place!
Today, under the supervision and management of Tom Bryan and Bobbie Kemp Van
Ee, the company will custom make an unglazed paver or roof tile in any
shape, color or texture desired. Glazing is also an option. There is no
standard line of products other than the ever-popular garden pottery and
adobe bricks.
(Available each month to Tile Heritage members who e-mail the Foundation from the address they
would like
E-News sent to. Contact: foundation@tileheritage.org)
PRINTED VERSION
Between the inevitable periods of heavy rainfall, the Russian River becomes
emerald green at this time of year. While we wait for the next series of
storms to arrive, the fish are on the move, often visibly from the shore.
While the willows begin to break from their rosy stems, the chinook have
already put redds in the mainstream, and the steelhead are still busy in the
tributaries. Spring is just around the corner.
You are invited!
Netherlands tour in May.
There's still room!
Dates: Arrive in Amsterdam on Friday, May 27th (or before), then by train to
the hotel. Departure from the hotel will be Thursday, June 2nd, by train
back to Amsterdam.
You will be expected to pay for your own airfare to and from The
Netherlands, your hotel accommodation (we have already reserved a room for
you for 6 nights, inc. breakfast), train transportation, dinners each
evening, gratuities, etc. (The Golden Tulip is charging about $180 per night
for a "deluxe" room with twin beds, roughly $25 more for a King.)
Sonoma Tilemakers: Reciprocal Visits
In mid-January, Sheila Menzies and Joe Taylor joined the leadership crew at
Sonoma Tilemakers in nearby Windsor, California for a nice lunch and a tour
of the factory, located in three sizeable warehouses, each a quick walk from
the next. It was in 1994 that we last had visited, when the company had
sponsored and produced the THF Commemorative Tile that year. And what
incredible changes we saw! From a company of perhaps 30 people then to one
of about 150 now. It used to take about a week to produce tile; now it's
less than 24 hours. With their 150 glazes and textures and literally
hundreds of decorative tile shapes and sizes, It used to take about a week to produce tile; now it's
less than 24 hours. With their 150 glazes and textures and literally
hundreds of decorative tile shapes and sizes,
the company now offers more
product possibilities than one would want to count. But it was the spirit of
the place that was most impressive; they're busy 24/7 and seemingly enjoying
it all.
Mesmerized in the Southland
Sheila had a Tile Partners for Humanity board meeting to attend in Las
Vegas, our "excuse" for skipping town toward the end of the month. On our
way, we stopped in Los Angeles for a day (turned into two!) to meet with
collector Norman Karlson, who will be lending tiles for the "History of
Tile" exhibition at Coverings that Tile Heritage is organizing
(see www.coverings.com/special_events/tile_heritage.php).
The three of us were invited to lunch with THF member Ahmed Agrama at his
home atop Laurel Canyon, where for the past eleven years he has produced tiles
in the zillij tradition of ancient Morocco
to adorn his residential
environment. Every room has a different compelling pattern on the floor,
most often complemented by a related installation on an adjoining wall,
countertop, fireplace, staircase, door or window surround. It is a
mesmerizing experience, intensely beautiful yet endlessly intriguing. If you
choose to stare at any particular pattern, what at first appears as a single
design suddenly transforms into a multitude of designs, all interlinked with
one another. It will be several more years before the work is complete, and
we'll give you an update then. In the meantime, know that the luncheon was
sumptuous, as delicious as the tilework. Ahmed, thank you!
Baja Palapa: A Haven in the Desert
Unique elements of the mosaic work include handmade tiles and sculpted
elements representative of the flora and fauna of Baja. Many of the elements
were produced by school children in the local community at the direction of
the two artists who provided a workshop venue especially for their
production. Fabrication of the columns took place in Davis and incorporated
a workshop to teach people mosaic fabrication skills. The Tile Heritage
Foundation board of directors, of which Donna is a member, participated in
the fabrication in the summer of 2004. Thanks to the generosity of Donna and
Arthur the project generated a fundraising element for Tile Heritage as
well.
While you’re in the area, check out “Palm Desert Obelisk” by Laguna Beach
artist Marlo Bartels, a 3’ x 21’ four-sided, tapering pillar of tile mosaic
and cement that stands at the entrance to Palm Desert Country Club. The surface
imagery includes contemporary designs interpreted from Cahuilla Indian baskets,
color from local flora and fauna, snake spirals, whirlwind designs and other secrets.
An Art In Public Places project, the work was completed in 1995. It’s located on
Washington Street, several blocks north of Fred Waring Drive.
A Textured Expression in Clay: Hans Sumpf
Driving back north we stopped to visit our friends at the Hans Sumpf Company
in Madera, just up the road from Fresno. Here is a company that today
specializes in stabilized adobe brick, artistic garden pottery as well as
the production of custom roof tiles and clay pavers, but when you arrive at
its remote location, surrounded by orange groves and almond orchards, it
looks more like a rustic ceramic art studio.
Hans Sumpf (1914-1985), the founder, who had successfully stabilized adobe
with an emulsified asphalt, was a man dedicated to the arts. His first job
was rebuilding the Mission at San Juan Bautista, later the company would
help recreate Mission San Jose in Fremont. Beginning in the mid-1960s, Sumpf
began inviting local, aspiring ceramic artists, offering them studio space
and access to all the clay they could use.
In return the company was able to
take advantage of these artistic talents, developing distinct lines of
garden pottery,
textured wall surfaces and murals, the largest of which
(10,000 sq. ft.) adorns the interior lobby of the Fine Arts Center at
Pensacola Christian College.
Click here to view January 2005 E-News!