Happy New Year!

California Tile: The Golden Era 1910-1940, a two-volume set produced by the California Heritage Museum and published by Schiffer is now available for purchase from Tile Heritage.

Sheila Menzies and Joe Taylor have returned from “Ceramic Tile New York City” presented by tile maker Peter A. Davis. More than twenty tile makers participated in the two-day sales event, the 2nd in two years. Attendance was light but the comradery among the tile makers present was encouraging. We extend our warmest thanks to the thirty-some tile artists who generously donated their beautiful tiles in support of the Foundation (their names are posted on the website under “Who Supports THF?” We would also like to thank Peter Davis for his hearty welcome and energized hospitality. We had the opportunity to meet with old friends and new as the winter snows graced our stay.

Tile Heritage broadens the scope of these annual festivals by providing such a wide range of artistic talent represented in its display. People will linger at the Tile Heritage table, charmed by the array of color and design. Donated tiles provide significant support for the Foundation each year and assist in funding our educational programs. The monies we generate contribute to the continued dissemination of information about the importance of protecting and preserving our ceramic heritage and to “Keeping The Craft Alive” with workshops, published information and archival resources.

While in the New York area, our gracious hosts were Abby Hoffman and Robin Rosen, who provided us with relaxing evenings by the open fire accompanied by a menagerie of four-legged friends, delicious gourmet meals (Abby is currently studying at the Culinary Academy in NYC and was happy to have two guinea pigs around to sample her newest concoctions), not to mention door-to-door “taxi” service with the most competent of drivers (we managed to slide through only one red light!).

Abby’s tile studio (see Sacred Tile under “Who Supports THF?”) is located on Canal Road just outside of Princeton, New Jersey at an old Atlantic Terra Cotta Company site with the remnants of a dozen or more bottle kilns looming in what is now the surrounding woods.

Erie, Pennsylvania. Over the past five years, the East High School Archive Committee headed by Mary Jane Koenig had continued to raise awareness about the unique aspects of the old school. It was not until the demolition of the original building in July 2003 that the committee was able to offer East bricks for a modest donation to help underwrite the cost of reinstalling the twelve American Encaustic tile panels that had been carefully extracted from the old school in 1999 (see “A Case Study in Tile Removal: The Fountains at East High School” in Tile Heritage, vol. 6, no. 1). Through the sale of almost a thousand bricks and generous donations from alumni and the community, enough money was raised to contract with Larry Mobley of Mobley & Company in Cohoctah, Michigan to reassemble the panels and reinstall them in the new East High School. Larry had assisted Riley Doty with the removal of the tiles and knew the project well. Reinstallation of the twelve panels took place on December 29 and 30, 2003. This project is an example of how a community with a vision of preserving a precious legacy can succeed!

New Books

California Tile: The Golden Era 1910-1940














A two-volume set produced by the California Heritage Museum and published by Schiffer is now available for purchase from Tile Heritage. Each book, 248 pages with over 850 photos in full color, is written by preeminent tile scholars, edited by Joseph A. Taylor and designed by Steven Soukup and Michael Trotter. Volume I covers Acme, Alhambra, American Encaustic, Arequipa, Batchelder, Brayton Laguna, Cal Art, California China Products, Calco, California Faience, Catalina, Cathedral Oaks, Claycraft, D. & M., Dec Art, Gladding, McBean, and Handcraft. Volume II covers Hispano-Moresque, Kraftile, Helen Greenleaf Lane, L.A. Pressed Brick, Malibu, Markoff, Muresque, Pacific, Pomona, Poxon, Rhead, S & S, Taylor, Tropico, Tudor, Walrich, West Coast, and Woolenius as well as Cellini-Craft, Hillside Pottery, and Monterey Furniture, furnishings containing tiles. Both volumes are enriched by rarely, if ever, seen archival photographs including historic site installations. There are also useful guides to tile terminology and techniques. You can order the books now from Tile Heritage. Price of each volume: $59.95 plus 7.5% sales tax if ordered from California plus $6.00 ($9 for both) to cover shipping/handling. Fax 707 431-8455 with your Visa, Discover or Mastercard.

Mosaic Techniques & Traditions: Projects and Designs from Around the World by Sonia King, president of the Society of American Mosaic Artists, has just become available! The 256-page volume in full color competes most favorably with the recent plethora of mosaic books. With the breathtaking work of hundreds of artists on display throughout, this visually arresting book showcases mosaics from all corners of the globe and teaches the skills needed to produce 15 beautiful pieces of your own. The history of the art, tools and materials and techniques come first: bases, adhesives, and grout; shaping and placing tesserae; practical and artistic design considerations; and several methods of creating the actual mosaic. Put that information to use on an array of magnificent international projects, all beautifully illustrated and with the level of difficulty noted. Price: $34.95 plus 7.5% sales tax if ordered from California plus $6 to cover shipping/handling. Fax your Book Order Form to 707 431-8455 with your Visa, Discover or Mastercard.

Mosaic Style. JoAnn Locktov, author of The Art of Mosaic Design is embarking on her second book project. Tentatively titled, Mosaic Style, the book will profile artists who have created mosaic installations and objects d’art for residential and commercial environments. Mosaic Style will be distributed internationally by Rockport Publishers and is slated for a Spring 2005 release. JoAnn is currently reviewing projects for the book. Please contact her at: joann@stevemusic.com to request a Call for Submissions application. The entry deadline is February 10, 2004.

Calendar

November 8 ­ February 8, 2004. Art Nouveau Tiles from the collection of James Baker, an exhibition of over 300 decorative tiles, is on display in the Main Floor Gallery at the Erie Art Museum, 411 State St., Erie, Pennsylvania. The exhibit reflects the wide range of stylistic expression in the Art Nouveau style, the first non-historicizing style in decorative arts. Visit www.erieartmuseum.org.

December 6 - January 15, 2004. Handpainted Fairy Tale Tiles by Judith Sutcliffe will be on display at the Longbranch Gallery, 203 Commerce St.,Mineral Point, Wisconsin. Open Friday-Friday to Sunday, 10-5. Call 608 987-4499.

January 29-31, 2004. SAMA, the Society of American Mosaic Artists, will hold its annual conference in San Francisco along with a juried exhibition, Opus Veritas: Fragments of Truth. The exhibition, staged from January 16 through April 6 at Museo Italo Americano at scenic Fort Mason on San Francisco Bay, will showcase some of the finest and most innovative mosaic work being done by U.S. and international mosaicists. Attendees to the 3-day conference will participate in workshops, demos, lectures, and panel discussions on topics ranging from the practical to the historical to the theoretical, from "how to" to "how come?" to "what if?" A guided walk through the Castro and Mission neighborhoods will focus on mosaics, murals and vintage tile. Visit www.americanmosaics.org. Tile Heritage will be attending this event.

January 31 & February 1, 2004. The Bay Area Pottery Show will be held in Gateway Hall at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, 344 Tully Road, San Jose, California. Admission $10.

Deadline February 14, 2004. Feats of Clay XVII. Ceramic artists residing in the U.S. are invited to enter contemporary ceramic art (sculptural, functional, or non-functional). Show is April 24-May 23, 2004 at Gladding, McBean factory in Lincoln, California. Juried from Slides. Juror: Richard Notkin, BFA, MFA, Helena, Montana. Purchase, place, and merit prizes exceeded $16,000 last year. A Tile Heritage Prize is awarded to the work that in the juror's opinion best reflects the ceramic traditions in America. Presented by Lincoln Arts & Cultural Foundation. For a prospectus call 916 645-9713 or visit www.lincolnarts.org for details.

March 23-26, 2004. Coverings 2004, the leading international trade show and educational conference for the tile, stone and floor covering industry, will be held at the Orange County Convention Center in the new "North/South" complex, Orlando, FL. Visit www.coverings.com. Tile Heritage is a co-sponsor of this event and will be present "under the flag!"

June 10-12, 2004. "A Bit of Our Garden": A Symposium on Van Briggle Art Pottery will be presented by the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum and the Van Briggle Pottery Company in Colorado Springs, Colorado in honor of the 100th anniversary of the death of Artus Van Briggle. Collectors, scholars, museum people and other interested parties will gather to hear scholarly lectures about the history of Van Briggle pottery, see museum exhibits, tour the Van Briggle factory, see demonstrations, and meet new friends. Space is limited; register now! Visit www.cspm.org for details.

April 2004-January 2005. An exhibition of California Tiles will be held at the San Francisco Airport Museum, North Terminal. Hundreds of tiles will be on display loaned by Norman Karlson, Riley Doty and the Tile Heritage Foundation. Due to current national security concerns, the exhibition will only be available to passengers flying in and out of San Francisco. Book your reservations now!

Workshops

Making Your Own Tesserae/Relief Tiles in Mexico with Eric Rattan, stone mason, builder, ceramist, and mosaic artist, an 8-day workshop at Hacienda Mosaico in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, February 23-March 1, 2004. The workshop will cover clay, glazes, tile making, tools, kilns, and techniques for creating ceramic relief tile. Included will be wood-carving, plaster casting, linoleum cuts, found objects, carved clay imprinters, and mosaic templates. The workshop fee will be $715 (double occupancy) for members of Tile Heritage Foundation and Society of American Mosaic Artists ($740 for non-members). Call Eric with any questions: 608 231-1883. For a workshop itinerary see www.santafedesignstudio.com or www.haciendamosaico.com.

Moravian Pottery & Tile Works is offering three 3-day intensive workshops February 24 - 26, March 30-April 1, and April 27-29, 2004 at the tileworks in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Each 3-day workshop covers all the basic processes used by the historic Moravian Pottery and Tile Works to produce decorative tiles, mosaics, quarry-type tile, and plaster molds, in addition to basic glazing, saggar loading, tile setting and grouting. Class size limited to 8. Cost: $210. For further information contact Adam Zayas at azayas@co.bucks.pa.us

Summer "Hardhat" Workshop in Bailey Island, Maine. May 27-June 2, 2004 with Eric Rattan. The focus of the lecture/hands-on workshop is to acquaint the artist with successful trade-approved techniques for permanent mosaic and handmade tile installations. If you are at the stage of installing your mosaics or handmade tile in or on buildings, in frame floors, decks, shower enclosures, backsplashes, etc., this workshop may be for you. Topics: thin setting, mud setting, grouting, waterproofing, aggregates, crack isolation, concrete, specialty mortars, additives, efflorescence, Portland cement grouts and mortars, crating and shipping mosaics, tools and professional materials for installations. For more details see www.santafedesignstudio.com or call Eric at 608 231-1883.