very sharp tile installation!

Here are some pictures of the tile installation I wrote about last time .
They were put in in a very cool and creative way.



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This section by the loo looks like a fabric scarf, sliding down the wall!

another tile project

Here is yet another tile project.
I find that in my work there is a curious propensity for kinds of work to go in phases.
Sometimes its several floorcloths in a row.
Or lots of fabric.
At the moment it's tiles.
And ceramics.
Since finishing this project last week, I am now working on a quantity of mugs and other table ware for the Christmas present season.
But more on that next time.
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Here are the tiles ready for glazing.


Here is the glazing process - the first coat.

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And the last coat, 3 or 4 coats later.
The design colours should not be visible through the glaze, although the raised parts will show through, dimensionally

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Another very successful firing!





These tiles will probably not be installed all together, but more likely spotted around in a wall of plain field tiles.
They are for a client who had similar tiles installed into a home that has subsequently been sold. They were so sad to leave the tiles behind, they have comissioned me to make another batch to install in their next home!

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Its always fun to see what wierd things you can do with the pattern!

All the tiles together at last.

Its a very exciting moment, when, after cooling over night, the kiln is finally opened. The suspense is over, and I see that all the work has fired well throughout the kiln.



Here is the wall mural portion of the project laid out as it will be installed.
In the top left hand corner you can see the solid blue field tile that the rest of the wall will be tiled in.

Time out for quick kiln repair!

Here is a picture of the heating coils being reunited!

After exactly 6 hours of firing the repaired kiln and its precious cargo, the cone drooped over, and I shut it all off, noting that the glow coming out of the peephole was just that precise F1,940 light. You can just sense it somehow.

This morning I was very happy to see an entirely successful result.

The Frustrations of Firing!

Last Sunday everything was set for a productive firing; the kiln was loaded, the pyrometric cone was in place.

When the kiln reaches the correct temperature, (approx 1.940 degrees F) after about 6 hours , the cone bends over gracefully.


Unfortunately, the kiln never reached the correct temperature.
After waiting an extra 2 hours, I shut off the kiln.

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NEXT DAY:

Obviously something was malfunctioning inside the kiln, and the tiles were underfired.
I emptied the kiln, and although the top layer was underdone, the bottom part had fired perfectly. There were some very pretty tiles indeed!













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I was also able to see the problem with the kiln.
The top two elements were severed. Oops.
Time to make some repairs!

Back to the studio.

Having completed the mural, now its time to work back at home, in the tile studio.
The project is a tile mural for a kitchen wall, and matching tiled shelf.
The centre portion of the mural features a lemon tree growing in a decorative pot.
Geometric patterns will frame the centre image.
The shelf contains similar geometric patterns, and some individual lemons scattered about.
Here you can see the lemon tree, unfired.




Here is one of the geometrics, unfired; four pieces making up one floral.
When the tiles are fired, sometime next week, the colours will be very bright and the tiles will be shiny.



Its fun to play around with the seperate tiles that make up the 4 piece clusters. See how the floral cluster can become a wigggly stripe!


Here is the lemon tree getting glazed, under the watchful eyes of Maya the cat. In fact she actually does most of the work. The whole ''Pam Marwede" thing is just a cover.


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Here you can see some more mural work as it progressed....an idyllic Old Florida scene; sadly, no longer a frequent sight these days, outside in the real world.

Mural inhabited by sombodies.

The depiction of animals in a mural makes it come alive.

They make it feel like this place is talking to YOU!

Its not just an empty space....you have been noticed.

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