The Moravian Pottery and Tile Works in Doylestown, Pennsylvania held its 8th annual Tile Festival under the “Big Tops” the third weekend in May. The 2-day event was hosted by curator Vance Koehler, who this year arranged for pleasantly warm and sunny weather. There were 53 vendors, more than ever before, and some came from as far away as Baton Rouge, Detroit, Leesburg, Ohio, two from Ontario, and ourselves from California. Oh yes, people flocked in on Saturday like there was no tomorrow, many with their wallets and purses bursting at the seams. Most of the tile makers had smiles on their faces by mid-afternoon. Sunday was a bit slower in the morning, but by mid-afternoon a late hour buying frenzy kept us plenty busy.

The Tile Heritage table always attracts special attention because of the great variety of styles and designs on display. The tiles we have for sale are all donated by tile artists and artisans from throughout North America to help support our educational programs. We love it when, invariably each year, someone will look up and ask, “Did YOU make all these??” (We then get to tell the person who did!) Special thanks to all of you who donated tiles! We have you listed on the THF website under “Who Supports THF.”

Another Opportunity to Donate Tiles!

The success of the sale in Doylestown means that we are once again asking for tile donations. We have a silent auction planned for Minneapolis as well as the Tile Festival at the American Swedish Institute on September 16th. We already have heard from a handful of artists wanting to know where to send tiles; so if you were intending to send a tile or two but forgot, here is another opportunity! You may use the same form you received in the mail, but don’t send tiles to Vance! Mark the box “THF” and mail to: Josh Blanc, Clay Squared to Infinity, 34 13th Ave NE, Minneapolis, MN 55418. Don’t forget to affix your business card to the backside of the tiles and then please sign and date your tiles with a Sharpie. Thanks very much!

  Let’s look at the exhibitions that are being planned
                       for Duluth and Minneapolis.

The Infinity Gallery at Clay Squared to Infinity, 34 13th Avenue NE in Minneapolis is presenting “One Square Foot,” a national juried tile show from July 15th through October 31st. The exhibition will present a broad range of artists’ interpretations of tile as a contemporary art form. All mediums were welcomed. Juror: Jason Busch. Artists’ reception is scheduled for the evening of Sept. 14th when the awards and prizes will be announced.

“Ungrouted: Ceramic Artists Explore the Tile” is being presented by the Duluth Art Institute, Depot, 506 West Michigan Street. Exhibitions Director, David Hodges, explains “In ‘Ungrouted’ we take the tile off the bathroom floor and hang it on the gallery wall to essay this square of fired clay as a piece of fine art. It is easy to see why a tile is such a perfect contrivance for the expression of artistic ideas. It serves as a sort of blank canvas on the one hand and a multi-dimensional space on the other.” Among the artists involved will be Karin Kraemer, Dave Lynas, Laura McCaul and Bill Goodman. The exhibition will open July 20th, closing on October 29th.

“Tiles of the North,” a contemporary ceramic tile exhibit featuring local artists and members of the Handmade Tile Association, will be hosted by Karin Kraemer at Duluth Pottery, 916 Hammond in Superior, Wisconsin, opening Sept. 4th. Together with Red Mug Espresso next door and other artists in the building, Duluth Pottery assisted in forming the North End Art Council, a creative hub for the arts in the area with classes, art shows, concerts, poetry readings and a community garden. “Tiles of the North” will move to the Ripple River Gallery in Aitkin, Minnesota in mid-October.

A 2-1/2 hour drive separates Duluth and Minneapolis. We are anticipating that because the first half of the conference is in Duluth (except for those attending workshops) and the second half is in Minneapolis that most people will choose to fly into Minneapolis if coming from out of state. At this point we have no plans to hire a bus to carry people from Minneapolis to Duluth; we assume attendees will team up with friends, rent a car, and drive. We have also scheduled most of the workshops in Minneapolis to end early enough on Wednesday, Sept. 13th, for people to drive to Glensheen in time for the reception, dinner and lecture that evening.

In Duluth there will be bus tours of historic and contemporary tile sites and exhibitions beginning first thing Wednesday morning culminating at Glensheen that evening. The next day we will visit additional sites that will end in the afternoon in time for people to drive themselves back to Minneapolis for the reception at Clay Squared to Infinity on Thursday evening.

For those planning to participate in the program in Duluth we have reserved a bloc of rooms at the Hampton Inn of Canal Park for both Tuesday and Wednesday nights, Sept. 12th and 13th. Rooms facing Lake Superior are $109 per night; those facing the city, $89 per night (includes a complimentary breakfast and free parking). For reservations call 218 720-3000 before August 12th and say that you are with the Tile Heritage Foundation.

If you plan to attend one or more workshops in Minneapolis (see May’s “E-News”) or wish to participate in Friday’s program at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and Saturday’s Tile Festival at the American Swedish Institute, you’ll want to book a room at the Holiday Inn Metrodome. Call 800 448-DOME. A special rate of $107 has been arranged for the Tile Heritage Foundation. Reservations must be made by August 23rd to guarantee this rate. Parking will be an additional $10.50 per day if charged to your room. The hotel is located east of I-35W, just north of the I-94 freeway. If flying into Minneapolis, there is now a Light Rail (less than $3 each way) from the airport to downtown. The Holiday Inn picks up at either the Cedar Riverside station or the Metrodome station. Call the hotel for a ride once you reach the station.

Registration forms for the conference will be available in our next report plus a list of tour sites in Duluth and the roster of speakers in Minneapolis. For a list of conference workshops see “E-News for May” by clicking on past E-Newes below.

Sandie Fowler and Wendy Harvey, antique art tile dealers and authors of Art Nouveau Tiles, are writing another book, this one on picture tiles that first gained popularity in England in the 1880s. There were numerous series produced, like Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Aesop’s fables, etc., each consisting of 12 different scenes. Among the tile manufacturers were Minton Hollins, Minton China Works, Maw & Co., Copeland’s, and Wedgwood. The current challenge is to find examples of all the tiles in each series.

Tile historian, author and collector, Chris Blanchett, has written a colorful and informative treatise on 20th century tiles in Great Britain, a 3-volume set that’s sure to be a pictorial delight, filled with proper historical detail. Just the covers of the books alone are scrumptiously inviting! Titled 20th Century Decorative British Tiles, the book consists of two volumes covering the commercial manufacturers in alphabetical order and a third volume that focuses exclusively on craft and studio tile makers, an area in which little has been published. Yes, there’ll be an index. And what’s more, price guides will accompany each book!

The book is being published by Schiffer and is due by the end of June. Each volume is $69.95. For a limited time we would like to offer our members the set at a discounted price as we did with Norman Karlson’s Encyclopedia of American Art Tiles. The base price is $209.85 to which your discount applies. Add to this 7.75% sales tax if you’re a California resident and an additional $10 to cover shipping/handling.

Member discounts are as follows: 5% for those who contribute up to $100 a year in membership; 10% for our Centurian ($100) members; 15% for members who contribute more than $100 a year in membership; and 20% for our publishing sponsors. The best way is to fax us an order (fax 707 431-8455) with a credit card (don’t email your card number please). We will take care of the rest.

This is a one-time opportunity while we await delivery of the books. Place your order now to be part of our initial order. Once the books are available and posted on our website the price will reflect full retail. So act now. We know you have plenty of choices as to where to buy this book, but we know too that there are those of you who prefer to support Tile Heritage rather than the huge international book vendors. This is the time, and please accept our thanks in advance!

The current newsletter, Conservation vol. 21, no. 1, published by The Getty Conservation Institute has a special focus on mosaics. Featured are the following articles: “Mosaic Conservation: Fifty Years of Modern Practice”; “A Need for Strategy: A Discussion about Conserving Mosaics in the Arab World”; “Assessing the Protective Function of Shelters over Mosaics”; and “Lessons Learned: A Report on the 2005 International Committee for the Conservation of Mosaics (ICCM) Conference” in Tunisia.

The Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) works internationally to advance the field of conservation through scientific research, field projects, education and training, and the dissemination of information in various media. In its programs, the GCI focuses on the creation and delivery of knowledge that will benefit the professionals and organizations responsible for the conservation of the visual arts.