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Been busy the past couple of months experimenting with some composite tiles and new panel designs. In these new tiles, I’m combining pressed pieces with slip cast pieces. It’s been a challenge to get the drying times right as cracking can happen when thin pieces dry too quickly but I’ve had mostly good results. The photos aren’t great but I’ll be posting more as layering colors and finishes is underway.

There are a lot of steps that go into making a simple ceramic tile and through the years I’ve learned to enjoy doing all these different tasks. However, like most tile makers, my favorite part of the process is designing a new tile. I was recently asked if I had any farm animals besides the sheep. Unfortunately, I didn’t but thought the request was a great opportunity to start designing this year’s first new tiles. I usually don’t come up with new designs until the spring but I’ve decided to start a bit earlier this year.

The sheep, goat, cow, and pig are the first of the series and I may add a chicken or a duck too. I’m especially fond of the pig because when I first showed these tiles to my husband he thought the pig looked a little sad. I had to agree – the pig did seem a little out of place. A few adjustments in the mouth and cheeks seemed to do the trick. I think the happy pig is surprisingly cute.

A few months ago, I designed a few miniature versions of some of my most popular tiles. At the time, I thought I might use them as borders on some of my larger tile panels. While I still plan on doing that, I began to think about other ways to use these little tiles. This led to experimenting with making clocks, buttons, and most recently, soap dishes.

The clocks are kind of cool but working with porcelain has been a challenge. There has been some warping and cracking with the first attempts. I’ve tried using low-fire finishing techniques to circumvent some of the problems but I just don’t like the look of the finishes as much. I’ll try switching to another clay body at some point but I do love how clean and clear colors are on porcelain and I have a lot of it in my studio to use before it dries up.

The buttons should be a fun addition to some of my sewing projects. During the coldest winter months it’s not much fun working in my unheated studio space. A couple of years ago I moved to the warmer rooms in the house and started designing fabrics based on my tile patterns. I dug out my old sewing machine and made some tote bags with the fabric. I’d like to make more of them this winter.

The latest application of these mini tiles has been this series of soap dishes. I’ve been wanting to add a few non-tile items to my Etsy shop before the holidays. I guess they’re still tiles. Anyway, they’ve been a lot fun to make and the first few are now available for purchase: www. Etsy/shop/goodpressceramics

They’re here! They’re finally here!!

Actually, they’ve been here for awhile but I’m finally getting around to posting some photos of this year’s new tiles. Every spring I try to create 3 or 4 new designs. This year was a little different than previous years because I received a couple of requests: one for a cicada and another for a lizard. I was delighted to take on these challenges and I’m very happy with the way they turned out. The Cicada is a nice addition to the hexagon insect series and the Lizard, combined with a Hibiscus flower turned out to be very flexible. It works well as an individual accent tile, a group arranged in a column or row, or as a pair of opposing accent tiles.

In addition, I’ve been wanting to make a sheep for awhile because I think it lends itself beautifully to repetition. The Grumpy Bird tile is a companion piece to last year’s Hungry Bird (formerly known as Baby Bird). I think too many Hungry Birds can be overwhelming so a more stoic counterpart was needed. While all the new designs are tessellations, I’ve been more interested in simple geometries lately. They’re a little less fussy than the more complicated tiles like the Sharks and Sea Lions but, who knows, the pendulum may swing back next year.

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything so it’s definitely time for an update.

Since I last posted, I’ve been spending most of my time making monkey tiles for my client, Susan Yeley Homes in Bloomington, Indiana. I was surprised, and delighted, to hear that the tiles will adorn the walls of what is certain to be the coolest laundry room ever imagined. Making 720 tiles involves an entirely different set of skills than the panels I typically make but it’s been a really fun challenge. One thing’s for sure, I’ve had to get a lot better at multi-tasking in order to meet my deadline. The tiles should be finished in a week or two and I’ll post more photos when the job is complete.

This year’s started off a little challenging. A few weeks ago, my kiln broke down during a firing. This was pretty stressful since the only kiln repair shop within a couple hundred miles, Seattle Pottery Supply, isn’t doing house calls due to the pandemic. If you need your kiln fixed, you have to bring it to them.  Fortunately, a really smart guy who works there was able to diagnose the problem without even looking at the kiln. With James’ help I was able to buy the parts and repair it.

With my newly repaired kiln, I’ve been able to glaze most of the tiles for my flag reclamation project. Just a few more perimeter trim tiles, and it will be ready to assemble. This month I’ve also begun to experiment with small versions of my tessellating tiles, handmade beads, and some new stamps. I’ll be posting some photos of these projects in the weeks ahead.

I’m very excited to be participating in this year’s CVG 2021 Juried Show. Each year Collective Visions Gallery in Bremerton, WA invites artists throughout the state to submit work in three categories: Photography/Digital, Two-Dimensional, and Three-Dimensional art. Black and White Llamas was selected for the Two-Dimensional category.

If you have some time, I encourage you to check out this virtual exhibit. There are so many beautiful pieces in a wide range of styles and mediums. https://www.cvgshow.com/gallery