Monday, March 21, 2011

Religion

What I saw at Coverings, part 2:

OK. I've had to change gears a bit today and get back into Hesiod's Theogony, which explains the birth of the gods, and even offers one of the first histories of literary criticism. (Don't ask, you wouldn't want to get me started on THAT topic.)

It can be hard to shift gears from tile to poetry... oh, who am I kidding.... I just lump it all together.

Anyway, when I came across this link about Jesus on a tile yesterday, I had to laugh. (My personal opinion is that the son of God would have chosen a nicer quality tile.) The universe seems to always provide a method for synthesis.

And antithesis...
Bon Ton Handmade Tile
 Sing Muse!

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Dynamics

Well, I’ve been back from Coverings for a few days now, and I’ve had a chance to catch up on my sleep and to think a bit about all the beautiful tiles I saw while I was there. The show is always a sensory overload situation for me, and it usually takes a few days to digest the massive quantities of information I gather. This year, Coverings was held in Las Vegas, so it was even more overstimulating than usual--but in a good way. ;)

So, what was new at Coverings? ...OK, where do I start? (This is going to take multiple posts.)

Last night’s larger-than-usual moon was one inspiration for tonight’s post.
InterStyle Glass Tile
The image above is two very large slabs of glass which could be used as cabinet doors or counter tops. 

The moon’s a sword of keen, barbaric gold,
Plunged to the hilt into a pitch black cloud.

From Mid-March by Lizette Woodworth Reese 

I was thinking about the moon’s influence on the tides and it occurred to me that I saw a lot of wave patterns in tile this year. 


Stone mosaics from the Walker Zanger Showroom
There were relief tiles--even more than previously--yet the hard geometric shapes of past years seem to have given way to softer forms, such as circles and curves. In case you were wondering how to make cement look sexy, I couldn't take my hands of this new line:

Dimensional cement tile
These small ceramic dots were hard to stop touching, too.
Walker Zanger showroom


It’s a beautiful world, you said,
with these trees, marshes, deserts,
grasses, rivers and seas

and so on. And the moon is really something
in its circuits
of relative radiance. 
from Light-Years by Hester Knibbe


Sicis glass mosaic "Nude"

Eddies and swirls were a theme
There’s something so permanent about a tile wall, and yet, the flowing lines of swirls, circles and waves counterbalance this solidity and permanence by creating movement and giving the surface life. 

 
... life, light, and energy. Which I guess was something of a theme for a journey to Vegas...
:)


Thursday, March 10, 2011

Friends

Or, Why I'm Excited to Attend Coverings--Part 2

One of the best parts of going to the same tile trade show for ten years is that I've made some great friends in the industry. In addition to all the tile manufacturers and artisans, many designers, architects, editors, PR folks, and bloggers attend the show.

The Tile of Italy Pavilion
I'm very excited that I'll get to see Jorge Aguayo, Janet Arden, Patti Fasan, Laurie Lyza, Karen Gustafson, Bill Buyok, Wilhem Stephens, Kristin Powers, Karim, and Nawal Motawi, all of whom I've known for a long time. Also, my relatively new friends, Paul Anater, JoAnn Locktov, Christine Whittemore, Lee Harris Nicholson and I are having a tweetup on Monday. (OK, the Oscars-speech part of the post is over. You can wake up now.)

Another reason I love going to Coverings is to discover new tile lines, new technologies, and new industry contacts. It's a lot of work and a lot of fun, too.

Today, I received the itinerary for the press tour, and it looks like it will be another show loaded with information and gorgeous tile. The various tile pavilions have invited us for press conferences, booth tours and meals. It's an international group, so many languages are spoken at Coverings. Plus, the Italian Pavilion always has wonderful espresso, Tiles of Spain makes tapas and paella, and there's invariably wine representing tile regions from all over the world. What's not to like?

Glass Windows by Trikeenan Tileworks

If you're attending Coverings and you'd like to meet me, post a comment (they're moderated,) or you can DM me on Twitter. I hope to see you there!