Tag Archives: Ceramic Tile

Handmade Tile

/ February 22, 2012
Steven Gambrel_HB_Architectonics

Slideshow

A lovely installation of soft green hand-made tiles with transparent glaze. The tile is complimented by the decorative mosaic border and the herringbone pattern on the floor. Wet clay tiles being trimmed by hand. Wet clay tile being transported to drying racks. Prior to glaze application all tiles are dusted to remove impurities. Setting racks filled with glazed tiles ready for firing in the large kiln. Custom hand made tiles allow the client to select the color best suited for the space. These are buckets of glazes that have been developed over time.
Moldings being laid out after inspection prior to firing. This table holds many of the test samples and experiments, some that eventually go in to production. The unsuccessful tests become scrap used finally in road beds.

I have written about handmade ceramic tile before and will probably do so again. I recently visited one of my favorite handmade tile factories in Southern California and remembered again why the material is so special. First, it is all organic. Next, there are countless opportunities for customization, from the color to the shape of the trim. It seems that we are in a stone moment, but I don’t want to forget about the beauty of ceramic tile.

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British Ceramics Biennial, Stoke On Trent

/ January 18, 2012
The Old Spode Factory site. This was the main building. The former site is made up of a series of buildings – so it is like walking into a small town.

The Old Spode Factory site. This was the main building. The former site is made up of a series of buildings – so it is like walking into a small town.Slideshow

Moulds for plates leftover form the Spode Factory. Rongen Showroom A bathroom by DTile. They also have some tiles with a chalkboard finish – which were a lot fun. 5_IMG_0024 Designs from Flux, created by students from Staffordshire University. They had a display at Maison et Objet this year to sell to retailers. Work by artist Bethan Lloyd Worthington.
One of the artwork installations. I like the use of coils - a reminder of how pots were made before the advent of the potter's wheel. Sculpture Sculpture Pieces by Merete Rasmussen. She uses matte, single colours to emphasis the form of her pieces. Some of them appear to be made by machine or with plastic – but are in fact all handmade with clay. The finished exterior of St Pancras. Some of Charnwoods hand made bricks created for the St Pancras project.

Please welcome Sarah Watson who runs the bath furnishings company, Balineum, in the UK as our guest blogger to THE PERFECT BATH. She lives in London with her husband (who does not work in the world of bathrooms, has no interest in ceramics, and whose only interest is cricket—-not the insect). www.balineum.co.uk.

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Handmade Ceramic Tile

/ March 2, 2011
A block of raw clay ready for the extruder that will flatten the material and make it ready for cuts.

A block of raw clay ready for the extruder that will flatten the material and make it ready for cuts.Slideshow

A border just after emerging from its mold. The excess clay will be cut off and recycled . The final step is a meticulous cleaning of the design to keep the carving crisp. Loving hands carefully sponging material before it is ready for drying and bisque firing. Tiles ready for the application of glaze prior to their firing at 1900 degress for 12 hours. Finished tile ready for inspection, boxing and shipping (the final of 6 inspection sites). A typical handmade rail. Note that in handmade tile no two pieces are ever exactly the same. Some may be slightly bowed and the color will vary. Lovely crackle glaze on a tradional three-dimensional acanthus border.
A hand painted border in a neo-classical design. This frieze border was inspired a frieze in house in Charleston. It is very graphic in a tailored vernacular. Shown here in a light brown, it is really outstanding in cream or white. A rosettle that is part of a group of trims that are in the Classic Revival style. They are very useful around door frames or windows. An installation of hand made tile using two sizes of tile and two colors to create drama. You can see the slight uneven quality of the tile. A soft shade of heather called Crepe, 3x3 tiles set on the diagonal, a border row of 6x6 and a decorative border give the panel structure. There are countless classical moldings originally documented for wood trim. We have used this and other drawings as inspiration for the moldings in our handmade tile lines.

Those of you who know me, know that I love ceramic tile. It is the tactile experience of the material that is most appealing. It feels smooth and silky on its glazed face and unfinished on the back where only the raw fired clay is visible until installed. Handmade ceramic tile can be refined and elegant or chunky and casual on white or red clay bodies. The choices you make influence the design direction and the visual scale and balance of the space.

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First Tile Post

/ September 1, 2010
These 14th century relief tiles are made in England and Scotland. The decoration is either raised or counter-sunk and usually glazed in the same tones as mosaic tiles.

These 14th century relief tiles are made in England and Scotland. The decoration is either raised or counter-sunk and usually glazed in the same tones as mosaic tiles.Slideshow

The Alhambra Palace in Morocco was decorated with ornate tile mosaics. Thin white glazed strips between the colored tiles result in complex patterns. A 16th century French border pattern is a polychrome tin glazed earthenware. The extraordinary Nymphenburg Palace near Munich, built between 1716 and 1719, has an opulent display of ceramic tile on the walls, fireplaces and staircases. They are decorated with large floral panels and landscapes. If you are traveling, it is worth a special trip to experience this incredible site. This is Monet's famous blue and white kitchen at Giverney. The walls are decorated with 19th century French tin glazed tiles. This remarkable tile confection is actually 19th century tiles installed in a pub in Ireland. It was thought that tiles were hygenic and also created an atmosphere of splendor. I am always amazed at the intricate installations at Harrod's meat hall. There are hunting and farmyard scenes and it remains the best Art Nouveau interior tiling in Britian today.
I always have lunch at the Michelin building when I'm in London. I love the scenes depicting early 20th century motoring. Henry Mercer worked in Doylestown, Pennsylvania at his Moravian Tile Works. He wanted to experiment with local red clay. His designs were inspired by antiquities and many survive today in public buildings, including the chapel at West Point and the Pennsylvania State Capitol at Harrisburg. Grids are a great way to distinguish tile installations. These deep blue tiles are dust pressed and have perfectly square edges. They are set with tight grout joints. The silver gray grout adds just enough contrast. This is a great use of ceramic tile in a display at Waterworks 58th Street Showroom in New York City. The wall material is the unusual 2" x 12", the shelf has a bold ceramic molded edge and the mirror is surrounded by custom shaped ceramic molding. The shelf and mirror are a lustrous pewter glaze. A stunning blood red back splash of dust pressed tile. The color is consistent, the installation rigouous. The choices made were appropriate with the granite counter top.

Those of you, who know me, know I have a tile fetish (probably easier to manage than one for shoes).   I love the natural ingredients from which tile is made; earth-dug clays, silica, sand and water.  I also love the fact that clay can be transformed by the human hand into an object of enduring beauty.  It can be squeezed and molded into any shape and applied to many surfaces.  And tile grids provide the opportunity to configure a square or rectangle into impressive wall patterns.

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