Saturday, July 19, 2008

tile work


This is what I've been working on this week. These tiles were commissioned by a friend to be given as hostess gifts for her daughter's bridal showers and brunch.

I roll the clay out on my slab roller, cut the shapes and stack on pieces of sheet rock.






Then I carve, attach and stamp the design into the clay. They have to dry slowly and completely before going into the kiln for the bisque firing.




I love working with clay. It is a quite, gentle kind of work. The wet terracotta clay looks like chocolate.




Some of the tools of the trade




Now they are glazed and ready to go into the kiln. I love to use Majolica glaze on textured terracotta. White glaze is applied first and then the color. After it's fired, the high places on the tile show through the glaze, though I don't think you can tell it in the pictures.









All done.


These tiles measure about 5"x8" and can hang on the wall or stand on an easel. I will be adding these and other designs to my website and they will sell for $25.00 each.

9 comments:

molly said...

Oh my you have been busy! I LOVE them - God has blessed you with a wonderful gift and you are using them for Gods glory!Your amazing

bunnytrails said...

You are a genuis (I think that's how you spell it) Glad to call you friend!!!! Seriously, they are really beautiful!! Great job,Mar!!!!!

winstonbot said...

I love your tiles...they are great...you are very talented and I cant wait to see whats next

Flower said...

Your clay tiles are wonderful!! I love the way the dark shows through and how earthy they look when finished! The verses are charming....a perfect gift for anyone!!

Jerita said...

Mary,
OMG!!! These are wonderful!! You have truly been blessed!!! I'm looking forward to our "inspirational" get-togethers!!

Gardens of Faith said...

Hi Mary,
I stop by you blog so now I am posting. I just love it. You are so talented and it inspires me. I have been perusing through the archives and love reading through them. Just wanted to say hi and that I love you blog and website!
--Kimberly Law

Flower said...

Hi Mary!! Is the painting done? I'd love to see how it turned out! My plum sauce is very simple..no recipe...just cook down, add sugar to taste,a little lemon juice and simmer until somewhat thick...that is relative to what you like. Mine is not very thick. I may actually pour the sauce over the pork while it is cooking and create a glaze.

winstonbot said...

where are you...I am a little stressed about the wedding and plans...and I have nine more months!!!!!

Roxanne said...

Hi,Mary! What a lovely surprise it was to stop by your blog and find so much loveliness! The clay is so inviting. I really like the stamped letters!

I finally posted a very long 'catch-up' entry and will post again on Monday showing everything I painted this week.
Thanks for sharing.....