Custom Clay Tiles

A couple of weeks ago I shared a sneak peak of a clay tile that I was working on. The tile and it's two companion tiles were almost ready to ship to their new home. Well, they were shipped and have been received by their new owner, so I can share them with you all this week!

"Whimsical Perfection"
I received a sweet email from my customer that ordered the tiles and she was excited about the tiles! She described them as 'whimsical perfection'!

The three tiles that I created were made for a customer who loves my whimsical style! She wanted one tile to look like her house and other 2 to be whimsical, similar to some of the other tiles that I have created. She had some ideas for colors that she liked, but other than that, she left me to be creative with the rest.

The Process
I thought I would share pictures of the completed tiles and a few process photos. The process takes several weeks to complete, from start to finish.

~Once I decide on a photo and details, I begin by creating the tile out of clay.
~Then I cut pieces of clay to layer together to create a relief image of the
house, adding the landscaping around it. I have to make sure each layer is pressed together carefully to avoid separation caused by trapped air bubbles.
~After the image is complete, the tile must dry slowly. I cover it loosely with plastic. If it dries too quickly, it will warp.
~When it is bone dry, it goes into the kiln to be fired.
~After it is fired once, it is then painted with glaze and then fired a second time.
~Then it is complete!

I make these tiles with a hole in the back so that they can be hung on the wall or they can be displayed on an easel, as pictured in the first photo collage. To order a custom tile, contact me for more information. Contact Me

 Thanks for stopping by!

The Holiday Rush has begun!



Pen and Ink
Commission 2010

This is my latest commission. All of those windows was really a challenge, but I finally got them done! I've even finished another pen and ink commission since I finished this one. Now on to the next 4 commissions! Love the commissions, just wish I were doing this full time, not moonlighting! One of these days. 
Have a nice weekend!
Beth

Custom Homes in Clay

My apologies for being very quiet lately! I was contacted by a new customer, who wanted some hearthomes, but she wanted larger homes. Ok, I can do that. She ordered 3 very large, 17 inches!, homes. So that is what I've been working on for the past 2 weekends. I'm about half done. In between working on the large houses, I've been working on some mini hearthomes. I will be participating in an Art Festival in Georgia in May, so I have alot to create by then. I need to have enough to make a good display for this festival. It will be my first! So, I will try to keep up with updating what I'm working on for the next few months.

So here is a sneak peak at one of the large hearthomes...

...I will post photos of the finished version when it has been fired and glazed.

Looking forward to a possible snow day tomorrow to work with paint and/or clay! Its already sleeting!

~Beth

Custom Tile for Canadian

Here is a picture of the custom tile that I created for a lady in Canada. She wanted a tile and asked if I wanted to trade something from her shop, so I agreed. There was a painting in her shop that I liked, so she sent me photo of her 2 dogs. They were standing up on the railings of the porch of her house. She didn't give me any other instructions, so this is what I came up with. I have to say that I really enjoyed creating it, so now I listed in my Etsy store custom tiles. So maybe some others will order some custom tiles from me. I'm going to work on some other sample tiles to sell soon. It does take a couple of weeks for them to be finished. They have to dry slowly, get fired, then get glazed and fired again. So the whole process can take up to 2 to 3 weeks, depending how busy I am.