Wildflower Tiles Series I

Yellow Toad-shade
(Trillium luteum)

When I first started doing pottery, it was through the Grosse Pointe Community Education program, where I had the opportunity to work with Gene Pluhar. The pottery bug having bitten, I often went out to the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Association for classes during the summer, where I met Jan Sadowski. Later, after I moved out of the Grosse Pointe Public School System, coupled with the fact they changed the enrollment process for Gene's very popular classes and that I had not yet established my own studio, I started taking classes at Pewabic Pottery with Tom Gennette. The last class I took through Pewabic was a tile-making class with Dave McGee, a very talented artist who is employed as a designer with the pottery to this day.

Small Solomon's Seal
(Polygonatum biflorum)

Although I didn't actually turn out any "product" in Dave's class, I learned a lot about making tiles, everything behind applying basic theory (negative space is a no-no!) and basic techniques (water-to-plaster proportions in making molds). I've actually reconnected a bit with Dave recently and he continues to generously provide very useful techniques and advice, even to former students!

If I had to label 2012 as a particular "year" for Black Cat Pottery, it would have to be "The Year of the Tile". I created several series of tiles - including my Hot Pepper Tiles, Baby Bell Pepper Tiles, the first two Wildflower Tiles, two Native Leaf Tile designs, a Michigan Tile and two large-format (six-inch) Sweet Pepper Tiles, as well as returning to a large Sunflower Plaque design I worked on while taking Dave's Class.

Yellow Toad-shade (Trillium luteum) and
Small Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum biflorum)
Wildflower Tiles in Indigo Float

The Wildflower Tiles were inspired by Don Schulte's photographs of the wildflowers in my garden and were the first designs I wanted to tackle. I actually met with Don, first to secure his permission to use his copyrighted images as my inspiration. (I didn't think he would have a problem with me doing so - nor did he, but I felt it prudent to ask.) We also discussed various methods of "reproducing" his images, including relief tile designs, photo transfer and a combination of the two. Through our discussion, I realized I really wanted to reinterpret the images as relief tiles.

As I was just returning to the tile-making technique, I thought I should select relatively simple images, finally settling on Small Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum biflorum) and Yellow Toad-shade (Trillium luteum), both of which I have included above for your reference. I knew my tiles were not going to be "verbatim" reproductions of Don's images, nor did I want them to be; I wanted them to be stand-alone works in their own right. I tackled the Trillium image first, as the simplified masses seemed a good place to begin.

Yellow Toad-shade (Trillium luteum) and
Small Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum biflorum)
Wildflower Tiles in Vert Lustre

I started out by making a copy of the image the same size as the master tile and then blocked out the masses I wanted to include in the final design on the copy; I then made several copies of this "blocking" to work with in creating the design.

After rolling out a thick slab of clay, I used a six-inch tile cutter to cut out a correctly-sized square of lay on which to build up my design. (A six-inch tile cutter does not cut out a six-inch tile; it cuts out a tile of the correct size to end up roughly equivalent - depending on a given type of clay's rate of shrinkage - to a standard six-inch tile, which is actually less than six inches as it must allow for the grout around the tile when it is set into a design.)

Yellow Toad-shade (Trillium luteum) and
Small Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum biflorum)
Wildflower Tiles in Vert Lustre

Starting with the blocked section of the design for the leaves of the Yellow Toad-shade, I rolled out a thin slab of clay, overlaid the cut-out from the design and, at an angle, cut it out and then applied it to the slab and smoothed the join all around and corrected the edges. I then went back and followed the same process for the three petals and two sepals that were further back in the design, leaving the sepal at the forefront for last - how to handle its dimension was pretty perplexing still. I left the design for several days and returned to it, finally adding the last sepal.

Making the master is the most demanding part of making a tile. It is the part of the process the artist sweats over, because that's the design, that's what it's going to "be". Once it's finished, the process becomes pretty mechanical: making the mold; casting tile (after tile, after tile, after tile); drying the tiles; cleaning up the tiles; bisque firing the tiles; glazing the tiles; firing the tiles; selling the tiles (hopefully). I was very pleased with how these turned out and will be returning to the series this winter to create the next two designs.

Hot Pepper Tile Table

Several years ago, I took a tile table class at Pewabic Pottery during one of their promotional events. The class included a pre-fabricated, pre-prepared table base; the registrants purchased their own tiles (thankfully, we could use seconds, which kept the additional price down) and then assembled the table with the instructors assistance. I really enjoyed the class and thought it might be cool to do more projects like it on my own but didn't know where I could get more table bases made.

Some time later, I met and worked on a number of projects with a welder. Although the relationship later soured, he did fabricate a table base for me for a project involving embossed leaf tiles which I never really completed (but may return to some day), partly because the table base was a bit too... formal for the design I had in mind. The table base languished in my garage for some time until this year, after I designed and brought my Hot Pepper Tiles into production. Running across the table base again in the attic of the garage, it occurred to me to make a table featuring a selection of those tiles.

It had been a few years since I worked with tiles in this context so I met with my handyman Keith, bringing over the table base and a selection of tiles. After a beer for each of us and some wrangling discussion, we concluded that I really needed to make some "half" and "quarter" tiles in order for the design to work with the three-inch pepper tiles and field tiles I had on hand. So, it was initially back to mold-making for me, although Keith did set me up with a piece of cement board to set into the table's reservoir to which to affix the tiles when I did proceed, as well as some mortar to attach them when the time came. My friend Catherine had given me a bag of grout left over from her kitchen redesign, so all the other pieces were in place.

I had decided to just use the four Habanero tiles and use mostly field tiles with the same glaze as the background of the pepper tiles, with the exception of four field tiles with the four colors of the peppers, arranged opposite one another to hold the design together; the field tiles would be the same background color.

Having made molds for half and quarter tiles and then fabricated, glazed and fired a sufficient number, I was up against a date for an event for which I really wanted to have the table. I found myself at 11:00pm on a Saturday night, buttering the backs of tiles with mortar and sticking them on the table top. After an hour, they were set and it was time to grout them in. So far, memory and Keith's instructions had served well but grouting was a nightmare, as I used an old rag (rinsed innumerable times) to clear the grout off the tiles. But I finally got it done, and in time for the event.

In further discussions with Keith, we have agreed that the table's feet should, if anything curve into the table base's design in order to minimize the trip hazard. Also, the three slats across the bottom should either be spaced out to fill the area or joined by additional slats, making that surface more functional. Plus, the two chevrons on opposite sides minimized access to the bottom shelf without adding any structural value - so those would go, too. Keith has said he could make table bases for me according to these specifications.

The Habanero Pepper Tile Table debuted at the Black Cat Pottery retail event at the end of September this year and then appeared at Black Cat Pottery trunk shows at Circare in St. Clair Shores and Firebrick Gallery and Pottery Studio in Rochester, eventually selling at the 3rd Annual Black Cat Pottery Holiday Open House two weeks ago. But don't worry - we'll be making more tile tables!

Hot Pepper Tiles

Like a lot of people, I really like hot peppers. Not so much to eat, anymore; I lost the tolerance I developed during my two-year sojourn in Singapore some time ago. I like the colors and forms and, in fact, not unlike quite a few other people, as it turns out, I've incorporated a lot of pepper imagery in my kitchen, including framed art, cross-stitch, glass and tile.

For many years, I had wanted to make tiles for my kitchen featuring small hot peppers. I took a class with Dave McGee at Pewabic Pottery some years ago  to learn the techniques of tile making but never really made anything. This winter, along with a number of other "on-hold" projects, I finally took the plunge and got down to business.

I had actually tried to make the tiles once before. I had molded the base tiles and had acquired some habanero peppers from my friends Barb and Ray Radtke. I cut one of the peppers in half (always use gloves and keep your hands away from your face when handling any hot pepper) and stuck one half on a tile, assembled the cottle boards (the four boards that are clamped together to delineate the mold), made my plaster and poured the tile.

A week or so later, I pulled the clay tile out of the mold and found... nothing. The pepper half, because it was not firmly anchored to the tile, had floated somewhere into the plaster, never to be seen again. So the first attempt aborted. But I had learned that I needed to find a way to really affix the pepper to the tile.

This winter, after my wildflower tile project (more about that in a future post) met with pretty resounding success, I decided to take the plunge. I went to Nino Salvaggio, the local market where I purchase my fruits and vegetables (among other things), and picked up two habanero, two jalapeño and two serrano peppers. I had already made twelve base tiles and had them stored, still moist. Working with one pepper at a time, I cut each in half, gutted the two halves,  stuffed them with clay and then stuck each half well onto a base tile.

Habanero Pepper Tiles

I usually do my mold making on a sheet of thick plastic drop-cloth, as it is easier to clean up. I assemble the cottle boards (flat boards with angle irons on one end that can be adjusted to fit various sized molds using spring clamps), allowing about one inch around the tile, seal the seams (between boards and between the boards and the table) with clay and place the master tile with the pepper in the center. I mix water with plaster at a 3:5 ratio for 90 seconds and then pour into a corner of the mold to minimize air bubbles; I also "jiggle" the mold a bit for the same reason. Once the plaster has fully solidified and cooled off (the chemical reaction between the water and plaster causes it to heat up), I can remove the cottle boards and clay seal and, using a shredder soften the sharp edges on the top of the mold. I set the mold aside for some time (maybe a day or so, but  it usually turns out to be about a week in my studio!) and then remove the clay master and pepper using wooden tools only - metal tools will damage the mold, even if the plaster has hardened. The mold should sit for a week before using.

Once I'm ready to make tiles, I lay a dedicated piece of canvas on my work surface, place the mold on it and put a well-wedged piece of clay with no obvious creases so it fits well into the mold. I push the clay with my fingers to make sure the corners and edges are all well filled; then, using a good-sized rubber mallet covered with an old sock, I pound the clay into the mold. You don't have to do this for a long time - just work from the center out to all the edges one time; sometimes I go around the edge just to make sure. Fold the excess clay that has "leaked" out around the tile up and over and use a cutting wire to take it off; I sometimes use a dull fettling knife to remove any remaining excess. Depending on how you're going to use the tile, it should be scored on the back for use as field tile and/or a place(s) for a nail added to hang (Kemper Tools JA32 is good for this). I set the tile to dry and then use synthetic steel wool to do final clean up. The tiles should dry completely before bisque firing, which I do at my usual Cone 06.

Jalapeño Pepper Tiles

Choosing glazes for this series was actually pretty simple. As with most of my work, I wanted to remain relatively "true" to the peppers' actual appearance. I used Amaco's Celebration series of glazes for the peppers - Chartreuse, Green and Scarlet Red for the jalapeño and serrano tiles; Chartreuse, Bright Yellow, Orangerie and Clementine for the habanero tiles. I used the Green for all the stems. I glazed the peppers using three brush-on coats of the glaze, applying the color for the body of the pepper first, then the stem. Once dry, I applied wax resist to the glazed areas. After the wax resist had been dry for some time, I glazed the rest of the tile with Amaco's Potter's Choice Saturation Metallic because I wanted a high contrast between the glossy brightness of the peppers; Saturation Metallic is a dark, satiny metallic glaze that looks quite a lot like the graphite you find in a pencil - it was the perfect complement. Using glazing tongs to hold the tiles and 2-ounce food service ladle, I poured two coats of glaze over the tile, rotating it 180 degrees to hold it from the opposite corner for the second half; this technique really minimized cleanup and glaze waste (which is a good thing, because this is not a cheap glaze!)

If you have clean, washed kiln shelves, you can just set the tiles on the shelves if you've made sure the glaze has been cleaned off the bottom face and the lower eighth inch of the sides of the tile. Otherwise, I just pop them on 1/2" posts and call it a day. I fire to Cone 6 in accordance with the glaze requirements.

Serrano Pepper Tiles

The results were better than I could have hoped; whereas I had started out making them solely for my kitchen, I realized these could actually sell when I started sharing them with folks. I went into production; they start rolling out into selected shops this week. (I also started making plain tiles to go with the figured tiles for my eventual kitchen project - for which I plan on using mostly Saturation Metallic with a few glazed with the Celebration Series colors scattered throughout, this last a suggestion by my friend Chelsea Martin.) I also decided to try making some larger, six-inch, tiles with larger peppers and have made the molds for poblano and bell peppers. Stay tuned as the Pepper Odyssey continues!