For the past month or more our days have been occupied preparing the
“History of Tile” display for the Coverings exposition in Orlando, May
3-6, 2005. Sixty-feet in length with three twelve-foot towers, the
doubled-sided exhibit will host a hundred large format photographs of
significant historic tile installations in Italy, Spain and the United
States. In addition, thanks to the generosity of Norman Karlson who has
loaned tiles from his personal collection, there will be over a hundred
historic tiles on display representing these three countries. Check it
out and then stop by and see us, “under the flags,” at the Tile Council
of North America.
Making & Installing Handmade Tiles by Angelica Pozo, the latest in the
series of Lark Ceramics Books, has just been released, and it’s a
beauty! First and foremost Angelica covers the basics, describing and
illustrating the step-by-step procedures for making and decorating
tiles. Then she applies these techniques to a series of fundamental
installations from trivets to stair risers to a fully tiled kitchen,
with numerous projects in between. Enhancing the book is a gallery of
tile art by ninety-three accomplished artists whose work occupies the
top third of almost every page. Prepare yourself for the distraction
and the inspiration!
A long-standing member of Tile Heritage, Angelica Pozo is a studio
artist who lives and works in Cleveland, Ohio and has taught at The
Cleveland Institute of Art and the School of Visual Arts at
Pennsylvania State University in addition to her numerous workshops and
residencies. Angelica, congratulations!
Price: $24.95 (Californians add 7.75% sales tax) plus $4.50 for
shipping/handling.
* * * * * *
Mosaic
Art and Style: Designs for Living Environments, a gallery of
architectural, decorative and functional mosaic art designed for public
and private spaces, demonstrates in stunning full color how mosaic
enhances life around the world. The work of more than seventy-five
artists is presented; while seventeen of the artists are featured with
multiple installations of their work along with JoAnn’s personal
reflections. From the minimalist expressions of Lucio Orsoni, to the
eclectic masterwork of Laurel Skye, the erotic caricatures of Robyn
Spencer-Crompton and the impressive trompe l’oeil of Karen Thompson,
the overall presentation is dazzling!
JoAnn Locktov, a friend and outspoken advocate for Tile Heritage, is a
passionate admirer of mosaic art. She has been both a curator and jury
member for mosaic exhibitions and has been researching, writing about,
and promoting mosaic arts for more than ten years.
Price: $29.99 (Californians add 7.75% sales tax) plus $4.50 for
shipping/handling.
* * * * * *
The directory is a FREE guide to
handmade tile makers and tile resources, featuring full color images of
the work of 30 Upper Midwest tile makers and mosaic artists with
articles by local and national writers on historic and contemporary
tile subjects. It’s also a resource guide to quality professional
trades people for tile setting,, tile showrooms, galleries, legal
services, suppliers, and local and national organizations that work
with tile.
The goal of the Handmade Tile Association (HTA) directory is to help
designers, architects, contractors and the public at large get direct
access to a wide array of creative and original handmade tiles and
quality resources. For a free copy, contact HTA, 34 Thirteenth Ave. NE,
Minneapolis, MN 55413 (612 781-6409) or visit
www.handmadetileassociation.org.
Feats of Clay XVIII is housed at the historic Gladding, McBean terra
cotta factory in Lincoln. The 76 pieces that comprise this year’s show
may be seen through May 22nd. Docent tours are available Wednesdays
through Sundays from 9 a.m. to noon.
Three hundred mosaic artists, scholars, collectors, and enthusiasts
from across the country and around the world gathered in Washington, DC
March 16-19 for the fourth annual conference of the Society of American
Mosaic Artists (SAMA).
The Society of American Mosaic Artists is a non-profit organization
dedicated to the promotion of mosaic art and the advancement of mosaic
artists through research, education, and networking. For more details
on SAMA and its membership, please visit www.americanmosaics.org.
For highlights of the bus tour in Washington DC, click here!
While we were attending the SAMA conference in Washington, Sheila
Menzies and fellow THF board member Donna Billick did a “double dip”
for a day attending the NCECA conference, which was being held
simultaneously in Baltimore. Both events offered a visual feast, but
our focus was on the tiles we found in the NCECA Tour de Clay juried
exhibitions around Baltimore. Although NCECA is a clay education
conference, tiles are actually quite rare at its conferences. We were
really happy to find many pieces in some of the most significant
venues.
“NCECA 2005 Clay National Exhibition,” University of Maryland, Fine
Arts Building Gallery. Artist: Bruce Breckenridge, “Huntington Park
#2.” Digital image on clay.
For more images from these exhibits click here.
Sligo Creek Tile Co. is nestled into the basement of the Hume’s home on
Carroll Avenue with about enough room for John, his handmade press, his
electric kilns, and mold storage. And the cats — there appeared to be
quite a number — are not allowed down there. What was unexpected was
Sligo Creek tiles have a distinct look about them. Like many tiles from
the Victorian era, they’re low relief designs in porcelain accented by
a variety of transparent glazes that pool and flow, highlighting the
design. Opaque glazes are also available. Some of the newer tiles are
polychrome using the cuenca technique, raised ridges to keep the glaze
colors separate. To see them all
check out www.sligocreek.com.
(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
Spring flowers
on the mountain.
April and May are the months when flowers seem to burst into bloom,
gladly awakening from their long winter’s rest. Most noticeable on
Fitch Mountain, just east of Healdsburg, are the scarlet larkspur, the
regal mule’s ears and the all too prevalent French broom, which
although not native to the area provides vibrant yellow flowers along
with a sweet aroma. Here at the base of the mountain it’s our purple
clematis that attracts all the attention.
Coverings
is upon us!
New
Books!
And, mosaic enthusiast, JoAnn Locktov, has her second book out!
The Handmade Tile Association announces the release of the
Fifth Annual
2005 Upper Midwest’s Tile Directory.
Congratulations
to Niel and Ruby!
Nielsen Amon and Ruby Levesque from Brooklyn, New York won the Tile
Heritage Prize at this year’s Feats of Clay exhibition at Lincoln,
California, presented by Lincoln Arts. The work is titled “Shark’s
Tooth” and was awarded by the juror, Rodney Mott, as best reflecting
the tile traditions in America. Mott, who reviewed over 1660 slides,
described the piece as “a precisely rendered tile creation with
dizzying, interconnected line and form.”
Call Lincoln Arts for
reservations: 916 645-9713.
Mosaic Aspirations Exceeded at
SAMA’s
Annual Conference
The meeting, titled “A More Perfect Union: Mosaic Aspirations,” was
held in conjunction with the opening of two juried exhibitions of
contemporary mosaics in the DC area. The first show, featuring
small-scale works in 2-D and 3-D, is at the Ellipse Arts Center in
Arlington, Virginia. The second show, featuring large-format works and
architectural installations, can be seen at Eleven Eleven Sculpture
Space on Pennsylvania Avenue in the District. This show shares space
with a non-juried display of members’ work, titled the “American Mosaic
Project: Pieces of Life.” These exhibitions — a testament to the
breadth and versatility of the art and the deep reservoir of talent
among SAMA’s almost 900 members — run through June 4 and are open to
the public.
Conference attendees — from beginners to master artists — came for
information, insight, and inspiration and found a full measure of each
in a busy schedule of workshops, demonstrations, presentations, panel
discussions, tours of mosaics sites in the Washington metro area and in
Baltimore, book signings, and receptions. The keynote address on Friday
afternoon featured the renowned mosaic fabricator, Stephen Miotto, who
showed numerous examples of his mind-boggling work, interpreting the
creations of established artists in mosaic and then installing it.
The
next day two additional favorite presentations: first, the inspired
lecture by Turker Ozdogan, director of the ceramics program at George
Washington University, who focused on the unusual application of
ceramics in the creation of mosaic arts; and second, Geraldine Rohling,
who spoke on the mosaic heritage and history of the Basilica Shrine of
the Immaculate Conception in Washington. All who attended agreed a key
benefit of the conference was meeting people who speak the same
language and having a chance to swap ideas and techniques.
NCECA:
Clay Exhibitions in Baltimore
Here are three of our favorites:
“Contemporary Codex: Ceramics and the Book.”
University of Maryland,
Commons Gallery.
Artist: Forrest Snyder. Porcelain tiles, untitled.
Baltimore Convention Center NCECA Conference K-12 student exhibition.
Artists: Mrs. Wickers 4th Grade Class. Anderson Arts Center, Garden
Grove, CA. “Sea-life Mural.” Earthenware and maiolica.
Sligo Creek
Tile Co.
For years we have wanted to visit John and Lynn Hume at Sligo Creek,
and being at the SAMA conference in DC provided us with the perfect
opportunity to circle the Beltway and find Takoma Park, in Maryland
just outside the District. Being admirers of their tiles and being used
to seeing them at festivals with what always seemed like hundreds of
different designs, I was anticipating a substantial operation. But,
after all, putting aside the room required to store your molds, just
how much room do you need to make tiles, even a lot of tiles? Not much!
seeing John literally swing from the handle when pressing a tile, and
then resting it on his head when removing the mold from the press.
These are handmade tiles, every step of the way.
Unison Pottery
and Tile Works
Joan and John Gardiner were our hosts for two days in Unison, Virginia, a few miles north of Middleburg, about an hour west of Dulles airport. John is a successful novelist and short story writer, who also takes charge of the family’s dish washing; this leaves Joan to do the cooking, both in her handsomely tiled kitchen and in her nearby studio.
Much of Joan’s work is custom made for site-specific installation by
her friend and master tile setter, Steuart Weller of Ashburn. In recent
months Joan has teamed up with Rick Conway, theater director at the
local Hill School, who has become proficient in tile making,
collaborating with Joan to
exercise their combined,
abundant
creativity.
We spent a day with Joan driving through the beautiful Virginia
countryside seeking out tile installations, old and new. In particular,
Grace Episcopal Church in The Plains houses a marvelous installation of
Moravian tiles that’s original to the building plus a more contemporary
installation from the Moravian tile works purchased when the church
expanded.
Goose Creek Tile Works
That same morning we stopped with Joan to visit with Eric Trueblood,
who with his wife Linda and partner Fred Hetzel established a backyard
tile works 20 years ago in Lincoln. Eric, having grown up in
Doylestown, PA, can’t help but imbue his work with the spirit of Henry
Mercer. His hand-cut terra cotta pavers formed from locally excavated
clay are wood-fired, creating a subtle variation in tone, tile to tile.
Visit www.goosecreektile.com and have a look.
Until June…
Within a few days, we’ll be winging our way to Orlando for the Coverings expo. Then, after being home for just a week, we’ll be off once again initially to Doylestown for the annual tile festival at the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works and then on to The Netherlands with our group of tile enthusiasts. We’ll be back in the office on June 8th, and already we’re looking forward to reporting to you then on our great tile adventures!