Peaceful Tile

For Leah Zahavi, the path to becoming a tile artist has been an inspiring journey. Her history as an artist informs her tile work, enriching it with texture, meaning and beauty. 

Inner Piece - Single Red Flower

Zahavi began her path to tile, first as a fiber artist and then as a university art instructor. Later, she was a museum curator and educator for a Tibetan museum. In addition, because her mother is the internationally recognized mosaic artist Ilana Shafir, Zahavi was exposed to the world of mosaics. 

“As an artist myself, I realized that the materials available to mosaic artists seemed rather limited," said Zahavi. "I felt that I could expand the textures and patterns of their mosaics. So I decided to create a line of inspiration pieces that mosaic artists could use.”

Zahavi got feedback from several mosaic artists who had purchased her pieces, but didn’t have the heart to break them for use in their own work. So she came up with the slogan “If it ain’t broken, break it!” But despite her encouragement, Zahavi still found that her work sat on other artists’ windowsills--intact. Eventually, she decided to start a tile line of her own. 

Inner Piece - Rippling Waters

Zahavi uses her skills as a textile designer to create patterns, ornamental forms, and imagery in clay. She also often employs the structure of a Mandala, which has a concentric composition with tightly balanced geometric shapes and a ring of protection. “Tibetan Buddhists believe that Mandalas transmit a positive energy to the environment and to the people who view them,” she explains. 

Inner Piece - Sunset

Thus, she named her line “Inner Piece” because it is evocative of “peace” and yet, is only part of the larger structure. Says Zahavi, “I like the idea that my tiles can enhance the environment, spiritually and aesthetically.”

Tile Irony

In what could potentially be a bad sign:

Warren Street Tube Station -- London

Moorish Tile History

Lately, I’ve been thinking about history… and, you know me--
tile.

I’ve been pondering Moorish influence in Spain and how the region inherited rich traditions from Islamic artists and craftsmen who worked in cities such as Cordoba, Granada, and Seville from the 8^th to the 15^th centuries. Towards the end of this era, Moorish art combined with the Christian culture, and this mixed art form is called the Mudejar style. The result of this cultural marriage is that southern Spain became a mecca for gorgeous wall tile.

In Seville, the Alcázar has many fine examples of Mudejar style tile.
This panel was commissioned by Peter the Cruel in the 14^th century.

There are several differences between tile that was manufactured in the rest of Europe and Moorish tile. Islamic art forms do not use figurative motifs, making the Moorish designs purely abstract. Also, the color range is much broader and brighter than with European inlaid tile, which was prevalent during this time period.

In addition, the method of production was also very different. Whereas the rest of Europe cut the tiles from raw clay before firing them, in Spain the tiles were fired first as a large slab, and then cut. Because this method eliminated shrinkage, Moorish craftsmen were able to lay the tiles with very thin grout lines, allowing for a high level of intricacy.

The Alhambra in Granada is an example of the Mudejar style, an artistic mélange of Moorish and Christian culture.

Encaustic Tile

Recently, archaeologist Hernan Bustelo wrote to me to share some images of encaustic tiles he came across in St. Croix. Hernan is a tile enthusiast and co-author of Puerto Rico Tile Design, so he knows a great deal about tile. 


"I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to clarify the cement vs. encaustic thing," said Hernan. "Here are some pictures I made on the Island of St. Croix were you can clearly see the two types of clay, or slip, used to create the pattern in old encaustic tiles."

This gallery is in the Lutheran Parsonage, originally a single family home. The building is from the mid-18th century and the tiles could be that old as well. 

Here's a close up of some of the more intact encaustic tiles and the lovely pattern:

Here's an example of the more worn tiles:

You can see where the darker clay has deteriorated. Imagine how many feet have walked over these tiles in the past 250 years! Also, I'm curious as to whether these tiles were manufactured in the Caribbean or were carried over from Europe as ballast.

Thank you for the great images, Hernan. It's so interesting to see these beautiful remnants of an earlier (yet still relevant) design sensibility.

Geometric Tiles

I've written about Kale before. Several years ago, this Turkish company started creating very innovative tile designs and they've been impressing me ever since.  

That's me in the robe. (Kidding!)

 Kalebodur’s Cube & Dot Collections is designed by Tamer Nakışçı.


What do you think?

Difference between Encaustic and Cement

Last week I had a little rant on Twitter. It made me feel better, so I decided to devote a whole blog post to the topic.

Maybe it's something about having degrees in writing and literature makes me a little persnickety about words and their meanings. I dunno. Everyone makes mistakes, especially me, but I'm not talking about accidental errors. What I'm getting irritated about is when someone calls something by the wrong name--on purpose. Things have names for a reason.

So, here it is, the scandal that I just can't keep quiet about any longer... Encaustic tiles and cement tiles are not the same thing! Yet, I keep seeing the very people who make and sell cement tile calling it "encaustic" tile. Of course, I know (and adore) many of the people who do this, so I hope I'm not stepping on any toes. Here's the deal:

Encaustic Tile
Briefly, encaustics are made of two or more colors of clay which are inlaid together making a pattern, then fired, sometimes more than once. This type of tile making has been around for hundreds of years and was popular during the Renaissance. Minton tile is a more recent type of encaustic tile. 

Here's a picture of the slip being poured into the tile:

     Photo by H & R Johnson Tiles

Cement Tile
With cement tiles, on the other hand, the color comes from mineral pigments which are set into a mold at the beginning of the process. The cement is poured on top, then the tile is hydraulically pressed and the tile is cured for about 3 weeks or so. This method was developed in the mid-19th century.

Avente Tile has a video on YouTube showing how cement tile is made, with the pigment being first poured into the mold and then the cement going on top. Avente Tile's video of cement tile manufacturing process.

Both cement tiles and encaustic tiles are usually patterned and unglazed--perhaps that's where the confusion arises? Either way, cement tiles are a perfectly lovely art form that don't need to borrow a name to make them sound fancier.

Whew! I feel better now.

For more info: 
Website describing encaustic tile history and manufacturing process.
National Park Service site on preserving encaustic tiles. 
The very excellent Villa Lagoon tile has a whole section on cement tile in the media including a link to an article I wrote on the subject. 
Not that I'm selling anything, but here's a whole Book on Cement Tile (which I edited.)

Creative Reuse

Well, I'm only partially recovered from last week's tile and stone extravaganza. With hundreds of tile manufactures to visit, Coverings is always overwhelming. It usually takes me a few days to process all that I've seen (and for my feet to stop hurting). I'm going to post a few of my favorite finds over the next few days.

One product that stood out was this re purposed antique tile from LTS Ceramics in West Palm Beach. They actually take the old tile and slice it to make thin pieces and then create mosaics using the fronts and backs of the tile. They also mix in stone, too. The results are beautiful and unique.

Depending on the tiles used and the patterns created, the mosaics are vastly different in tone. One is classical, one whimsical, one artistic.

I suppose this product could be considered the ultimate in recycling.