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TILE DESIGNS
"KOI" 2 tile alternating matching scheme
During my practice of architecture, I had the opportunity to work with the specification of decorative ceramic tiles for projects. At that time, the Royal Makuum Delft tiles and the Portuguese and French handpainted ones were retailing at a significant premium. Being from East Liverpool, Ohio, a pottery center, I became intrigued by the relationship between the pricing and the decoration of these tiles. As an architect, I was inclined to draw with pen and ink rather than attempt painting techniques, thus leading to my exploration of the decalcomania process. Decals seemingly were deemed inferior to hand painting and I examined the reasons for this judgement. I concluded that so much of the bias was based on the very nature of the images themselves rather than the transfer and firing process. Rather than attempt to imitate painted images, I believed that reproduction of my original line drawings could create qualitative products
Realizing that line drawings were more related to transferware, and having long been an admirer of the Aesthetic Movement, I began by executing designs inspired by late 19th Century designs. However, I soon realized that these designs were not transformative enough. I sought originality of vision, not replication of the vocabulary of decorative tiles already available.
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Considering directions, I began to explore imagery that was achieved by a more unconventional approach in tile design, ie alternative matching schemes, etc. For these designs, I explored the use of alternating matching "A" and "B" tiles each of which matched the other on all four sides.
"KOI" alternating matching "A" and "B" tiles
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"CHINOISERIE" alternating matching "A" and "B" tiles
"FUCHSIAS" alternating matching "A" and "B" tiles
"TREE OF LIFE" alternating matching "A" and "B" tiles with borders and complimentary base and top tiles
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COLLAGES
Finding that the access to and expenses of decals, firings, ware acquisitions, etc were constraining my designs for tiles, I considered executing these designs in paper. Concurrently, I had discovered the Japanese Washi papers that were tremendously inspiring. Working with prints of my designs, I would manipulate the images in various ways,ie adding the color that I desired, excising portions, etc and then mounting
to an alternative background for a different effect.
I found infinite challenge with this increase in
expressive vocabulary and began to design works
unrelated to tile designs, often drawing upon the
inspirations of my garden and the intricacies of
botanical structure.
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"AESTHETIC SPARROWS"
"TSUBA"
A limited edition of (4) 1/1 collages for the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art in Winter Park Florida.
A "Tsuba" is the decorative sword guard favored by Japanese Samurai and used by Louis Comfort Tiffany as decorative elements in various applications. A notable example can be found in the iron and mica fireplace hood used in the Tiffany house in Manhattan and later moved to the Long Island estate, Laurelton Hall. Now located at the Morse Museum in Florida, the hood is displayed with a surround of the sword guards as was originally installed.
"ASH WEDNESDAY"
"BLUE FUCHSIAS"
"WASHI FUCHSIAS"
CERAMIC TILE GARDEN PANELS
CUSTOM "PRINT ROOM" MOTIFS PANEL
SEE DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DESIGN PROCESS on the menu button "Custom Tile Panel Project"
In the autumn of 2023, I visited the Oak Spring Farm garden of Bunny Mellon and was inspired to return to tile designs in the form of garden elements. I, previously, had executed a custom panel for a Pittsburgh client and drew parallels with that project and the refinements presented by the Mellon's garden. Also, I saw the void in offerings of garden panels (and edging elements) employing an alternative design vocabulary.
"ESPALIER SERIES"
"APPLE CORDONS" Horizontal design completely customizable. I designed this as a decorative stringer course element for use as a splash guard at grade,
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"LOUISIANA DUCKS"
15" by 25" image on 5" by 5" Zellige
tiles framed with decorated 5" by 5"'s
"L'Ete"
15" by 30"
"VENETIAN NASTURTIUMS
16" by 32"
"ROMAN RINCEAU"
"RINCEAU" (vine-like) is the term given to the scrolling linear decorative work that distinguished Roman decorative pattern making, notably that of the murals and frescos found at Pompeii. This became part of the vocabulary of artists from the Renaissance onwards. I envisioned using this as a framing element for a center tile which would be devoted to a botanical image. These panels would consist of the hand painted borders and hand tinted center decal and be made available in various scales and types of tiles. These also could be utilized in the creation of other items, such as small chairside tabletops.
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THE "ASH WEDNESDAY" PROJECTS
While walking on Magazine Street in New Orleans' "Garden District" the day after Mardi Gras, I encountered the image of an early blooming magnolia tree festooned with the gaudy beads remaining after the parade. I was struck by the juxtapositions: the natural and the manufactured, the nature of celebrations both sacred and profane, and the spiritual and the carnal. I began with a design for a two tile alternating matching scheme, but soon saw the potential of creating collages created from the imagery with the beauties of hand made Japanese Washi papers as well as diverse applications to the ceramic surfaces.
"ASH WEDNESDAY TILE PANEL"
15" by 30" image on 5" by 5" Zellige
tiles framed with decorated 5" by 5"'s CHANGE IMAGE WHEN PANEL IS AVAILABLE
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