L'espérance

For me, green is the color of hope.

Although it was pretty cold this morning, the sun was brilliant, and on my walk, I saw the first signs of spring. There were little green buds on the ends of a few branches and the pointy tips of crocuses were sticking up out of the ground. These tiny, pale buds seem so fragile, and yet they persevere in the bitter cold. After the dreary and frigid winter we've had, it's heartening to remember that if delicate new growth can do it--so can we!

My Canadian friends at Interstyle are probably not seeing signs of spring yet, but yesterday they did send me some nice images of their Barcode glass tile line:

 

What I like about this tile line is the way the color changes depending on the viewer's angle and perspective. There are so many ways to see this tile. This installation image shows what I mean:

Barcode by Interstyle

A couple of weeks ago I spent some time enjoying a Frank Stella painting at the NC Museum of Art.
Since then, I've been reading about the Color Field artists of the 60s and 70s.

Stella - Sunset Beach - 1967

Noland - Graded Exposure

These Minimalist artists were pushing back against the sensual emotionalism of the Expressionist movement. Some of the Color Field painters were focused on the use of color as a pure optical experience, devoid of meaning. Their cool disengagement is interesting, and at the same time, the compositions are aesthetically pleasing. Despite their deliberate detachment, to me, the colors they've chosen seem to express joy.

Perhaps it's because Interstyle named all the Barcode colorways after fish, but this particular tile reminds me of a river, which brings to mind a poem I like by Samuel Menashe:

     At the edge
     Of a world
     Beyond my eyes
     Beautiful


     I know Exile
     Is Always
     Green with hope--
     The river
     We cannot cross
     Flows forever 

Which reminds me of yet another artist from the Minimalist movement, Larry Poons.

Poons - Vespers - 1979

These same pale greens in the tile, and in the center of the Poons, are the shades I noticed heralding spring's imminent arrival this morning.

Speaking of new growth represented by tile, this tile looks like the unfurling of a fiddlehead fern. (Yes, I know it's supposed to be an acanthus, but humor me.)

A dear friend, Lilyan, in Guatemala makes these beautiful tiles:

Topis Tile available at Wholesale Tile by Aguayo

 See what I mean?

Fiddlehead Fern

 OK, so here's the acanthus and you can decide:

William Morris wallpaper

Another tile artist, Linda Ellett, of L'esperance Tile Works in New York, sent me an image of a new installation this week. I love the richness of the blue-green glaze and how there's a range of color across each of the field tiles. I'd like to think that the sun is rising on this backsplash.

L'esperance Tile Works

As Alexander Pope said, "Hope springs eternal."

Simplicity and Complexity

As you know, I'm a big fan of art tile. There's something about each individual tile being made by hand, and a noticeable lack of perfection, that really appeals to me.

Boneyard Brick by Trikeenan in Smoke, Coldfront and Frost

Speaking of smoke, this one blew me away because it looks so sculptural and twisted:

Zima by Artistic Tile

Although my past few posts have dealt with decorative tiles, I also appreciate the simplicity of a well-crafted field tile.

Muse by Oceanside Glasstile

This last one seems as if it would be dull because of the dark color, but the way the light reflects off the textured surface makes it fascinatingly complex. 

Full Circle

Lately, I've been thinking about circles... Maybe the influence is the beautiful full moon tonight?

On my phone, I have the simplest, zen-like game. Basically, you just try to draw a perfect circle with your finger. After each attempt, the game gives you a score. Drawing a perfect circle is much harder than it seems and takes patience and concentration.

Sara Baldwin designs the most gorgeous glass mosaics. This pattern is from New Ravenna for Ann Sacks

Today, in a moment of tedium, I was able to find a peaceful place by drawing a few circles with a pencil, ultimately connecting them. Naturally, I began to think of circle tiles that I especially like.

This nineteenth-century drawing depicts the mosaic floors as they existed in St. Denis cathedral in the twelfth-century. The interlocking circle pattern on the right is from the Chapelle de la Vierge.

From the Dictionnaire raisonné de l’architecture française du XIe au XVIe siècle

Speaking of historical tile, this majolica design comes from the late fifteenth-century della Robbia workshop, and is from the Loggias of Raphael in the Vatican. The Borgia Pope, Alexander VI most likely imported the taste for Moorish patterns from Spain.

Of course, I'm not completely obsessed with history. There are some cool contemporary tile artists making circle tiles too.

Here's a groovy one by another one of my tile friends, Mary Anderson of Bon Ton Tile in Minnesota:

Disqueo

And finally, one last tile, also by Mary Anderson:

And that brings us... 

you know---

Coverings

Next week I'll be in Chicago, attending Coverings.

Glass tile

Glass tile: It's not just for pool surrounds anymore.

Considering that glass has been around for thousands of years, it is amazing how much progress has been made in glass tile manufacturing in the last ten years.

As you can see from this beautiful example from Interstyle, glass tile can be seen in just about any size, color, texture or finish imaginable and it can be used pretty much anywhere ceramic tile is appropriate.

According to Patricia Hart McMillan, coauthor of Glass Tile Inspirations for Kitchens & Baths. "As an interior designer, I appreciate the gloriously unique light-refracting quality of glass tile that adds an exciting liveliness unmatched by any other surface material. One manufacturer described the interaction one has with glass tile as 'dancing with the light'."

"I am thrilled with the variety of glass tile, so that there is a color, texture, finish and size (or combination of sizes and shapes) appropriate for any and every interior style and period," says McMillan.

Glass tile mosaics

Gorgeous glass mosaics

Mosaic company, New Ravenna was formed in 1991 by president Sara Baldwin. Baldwin was a painter in graduate school and turned that art background into a mosaic design company that now employees 140.  "I was a painter, but I realized that people will spend more on functional art than on a painting or a work of fine art. So I decided to make functional and useful products for high-end clients. Somehow it is easier for them to spend on that, sneak the art in that way."

Baldwin's mosaic designs are very complex. "This peacock design will take three people a week to put together," says Baldwin.

"With custom mosaics, and our vast array of materials, any option is available, and some become paralyzed with the unlimited possibilities. So we almost have to be psychologists to unearth what aesthetically turns them on," says Baldwin. "We need to so we can reflect their personalities. A designer can draw it out of them. It is a real interactive process not only with the client but also the designer."

Baldwin says, "This work is exciting and it is real fun creating these mosaics."

Oceanside Glasstile has been in the handcrafted glass tile business for 16 years. Their tile is made by pouring molten glass into molds, cooling them, and then hand-cutting the individual pieces. They reuse the trimmings and use recycled glass in many of their products. Because they are handmade, the tiles have slight irregularities, which are desirable as they catch and reflect light.

According to Johnny Merckx, Oceanside's executive vice president, " We've been playing around and breaking the grid. Before, everything was square and rectilinear now we're bringing in curves and bevels."

"Feras Irikat, who is our new product designer and has a background in color theory, and I worked together on this new line. We've seen glass used in so many combinations with concrete and metals, so we focused on adding warmth. We're continuing to create palettes that are neutral and incorporating more modern hues. Our colors are cosmopolitan neutrals--earthy and neutral, but more intense and punchier earth tones. These new colors are not a full departure from our other lines."

Hakatai is an eleven-year-old glass mosaic company based in Ashland, Oregon. President Marshall Malden says, "Our recycled line has expanded and we've seen more interest in environmentally friendly products. We're working with our suppliers to use more recycled glass. It is a balance with the fashion side, because of course, it has to look good too."

"We have a new product committee no lack of stuff to choose from. It is selecting what we do and what we think will work and if it fits us," says Malden. "In this economy, it is important to be flexible, so we're staying competitive and staying current."