We are so thrilled to have our Jubilation Small Canister featured on HGTV's David Bromstad's list of favorite canisters in the November 2017 issue of HGTV Magazine!
Texas Backsplash and Assorted Tiles
Tiles ready for installation in a breakfast room
Sketch for tiles
Just snapped a couple of quick photos of a project we just finished up and are carefully packaging to ship to Texas. The colorful tile panel will be installed as a backsplash feature in a breakfast room. Below are the coordinating wall tiles that will be scattered randomly in the adjacent laundry room. This truly was a fun project for us.
Handmade wall tile waiting to be wrapped for shipping
California Blue Birds Wall Art
Here's the working sketch and start of another custom piece we are currently working on. The client has fond memories of a California trip and was struck by the blue birds seen there. A pair of blue birds will be incorporated in this piece.
Repurposed Vintage with Mosaic Tile Wall Art
Custom wall art for a local friend. What a pretty home for this piece... it is really satisfying to see where our art work ends up!
Laughs for Love Fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Ohio Valley
We had a lot of fun making these ornaments for the Laughs for Love fundraiser for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Ohio Valley which takes place Saturday, March 4th here in Jasper, Indiana. Many thanks to the big help from a few girl scouts from Ireland, Indiana Troop 329 and a few cub scouts from Ireland, Indiana Pack 130 who helped turn out these fun ornaments for tomorrow's event! Find more info on the event here or on facebook here.
Virginia Family Room
Another of our Sticks has made a home in this very welcoming family room in Virginia. This time in a horizontal orientation. We love how it helps marry all of the room colors together and feels right at home above the fireplace.
California Kitchen
We love getting customer photos of our artwork in their new homes! Our Stick Wall Art made its way to this beautiful Bay Area California kitchen!
St. Francis
We were contacted last fall about doing a custom mosaic wall art piece featuring St. Francis. We think he looks great in his new home!
The process started with a few emails discussing design elements and then we presented our client with a sketch to approve.
Then we brought the sketch to life in raw clay.
Then the pieces went into the kiln for the first firing.
Below the pieces were reassembled and ready to receive coats of underglaze.
Here is the reassembled piece again after its second firing.
And, below, shown prior to grouting, but after raku firing and mosaic embellishments.
And, here is the artwork in place. What a beautiful home! We really enjoyed working on this project and with such a great client! See more of our mosaic wall art here.
Show Prep
Wrapped up on some glazing yesterday of some little magnets and tile art. After they come out of the kiln this morning, we'll put on the finishing touches and they will come with us to the Wild Women Wearable Art show this weekend. It's a two city venue starting in Louisville, KY, Friday and Saturday, February 5 - 6 and then onto Indianapolis, Sunday, February 7.
Red Bird
This is just one of those stories we love. We received an order for this little red bird on two blossoms a while back. Our customer shared her photo with us that her home has a backyard that attracts beautiful red cardinals to her feeder daily which is what inspired her to add our artwork to her home.
Garden Envy
Pretty Patterns!
Clare carving out the clay for one of our crosses.
Clay to Cross
Finished cross after firing and raku firing.
Part of why we love coming to work everyday is that we get to play in the mud. It just never gets old! We rolled out a slab of raw clay and cut it into a cross and, in the first photo, you see Clare carving away the clay to create the pattern that gets glazed with color. In the second photo you can see the smoky pattern and iridescent crackling left behind by the raku fire.
Our find transformed with its new clay tile mosaic top
Suzani Clay Tile Mosaic Table
We are fascinated by the beautiful colors, textures, and patterns found in Suzani textiles. Inspired by these wonderful textiles, we added our raku fired clay tile pieces and semiprecious stones to this locally found vintage table in order to create this intricate mosaic.
We think it would be a pretty statement piece at the end of a hallway or maybe would be a nice addition to a screened porch.
Mirror Mirror on the Wall........Lovin' Our New Vintage Haul!
130 Red Poppy Bowls
This week we are knee deep in Red Poppy Bowls! We are happily working on an order for 130 of our small handle bowls. First we start with the bisque and give it 2 coats of black underglaze. Then with a pencil we draw on the design. Next we paint on the green and red glaze - 2 coats each. After we add the clear glaze (shown in the second set of photos), we kiln fire the bowls for the final product. Here is a progression photo...
Below, in the first photo, is a good grouping of the bowls in various stages of underglazing. The second shows the bowls coated in clear glaze. Some are fully coated others are waiting to get their second half coated. After they are fully covered with clear glaze, they get stacked into the kiln and fired
Round Mirror
We found this second empire style round mirror at a local resale shop and worked our magic on it. We gave it a fresh coat of paint and embellished it with a custom clay tile that we raku fired and topped off with semiprecious stones (coral, jade, purple amethyst, turquoise, carnelian) and grout. See more info about this piece here.
Red Table Re-Do Start to Finish
Here is our Red Table Before and After its transformation!
Clare working on raw clay slab
The design on each piece is freehand drawn. Then the texture is carved and stamped into the clay.
The first firing is the bisque firing
Romy painting on the several layers of glaze.
The second firing is Raku fired
Setting in the semiprecious stones and beads to create the mosaic.
Grouting...it's gotta get worse before it gets better!
Setting the tiles into our great find - the vintage red table.
Finished table! Viola!
Photo Shoot
We've been meaning to do this for a long time. Did a photo shoot and finally got one we like!
Diamond in the Rough
Found this diamond in the rough when we were out picking the other day. Can't wait to get started on it! Fresh paint + custom tiles + tender lovin' care = Fabulous One of a Kind Buffet. Stay tuned for the transformation!
