Deborah Thuman on wed 4 nov 09
I'm having some serious stress problems and making tiles is a great
stress reliever. Nothing like hammering the clay into the mold.
Anyway..... I'm thinking of tiling part of a wall in the bathroom. In
the master bath... the shower is its own little room and it already
has tile. The bathtub has a tile surround (no shower in the tub).
There's a wall by the end of the tub that needs something on it. I was
thinking some tile. The tile won't be hit by water. I'd hang a quilt
there, but there's a large window on the wall where the tub is and the
sun would hit the quilt and bleach out the colors.
Also under consideration is tile on the wall behind the stove. Got to
be easier to clean than the wall.
I'm thinking of using ^6 clay and developing my own glazes. I have a
mold for a plain, 6" square tile and I was considering making plaster
molds for 6" square tiles with texture or a raised design.
Suggestions, ideas, warnings, wisdom... all welcome and appreciated.
Deb Thuman
http://debthumansblog.blogspot.com/
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=3D5888059
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Deb-Thumans-Art-Page/167529715986
William Lucius on fri 6 nov 09
Several years ago I finally bit the bullet and tackled making tiles. The w=
=3D
ife wanted to remodel the upstairs bathroom and I thought that a nice Ances=
=3D
tral Pueblo (aka "Anasazi") band design from the Kayenta Region would be im=
=3D
pressive when surrounded by a frame of commercial tiles. =3D20
=3D20
I began with a full sized drawing on kraft paper. The squares=3D2C rectang=
le=3D
s and triangles of the painted design became tiles and the thick painted li=
=3D
nes turned into grout lines. The painted framing lines became thin tiles p=
=3D
laced end to end. Because those band designs wrapped around a pot and conn=
=3D
ected to itself=3D2C there was no natural end points when laid out flat. B=
ut=3D
by adding additional tile shapes I managed to truncate the ends gracefully=
=3D
.
=3D20
I cut thick hardwood templates to use for cutting out the tiles. And becau=
=3D
se I wanted to stamp additional designs within some of the geometric tiles =
=3D
I bought various widths of model makers basswood strips from the hardware s=
=3D
tore with which I built up a stamp. If you are familiar with wooden batik =
=3D
stamps from India you should be able to envision the process. I spent some=
=3D
time worrying about shinkage but in the end decided that it did not matter=
=3D
- the finished panel would just be a bit smaller than the pattern.=3D20
=3D20
The problems began with the clay body. Because I only use native clays=3D2=
C =3D
I selected one that I thought would be appropriate for tiles (lots of aplas=
=3D
tics). I used the low-tech approach since I do not have a slab roller. I =
=3D
manually threw out a slab=3D2C thinning it out to just thicker than the fin=
al=3D
desired dimension. With two flat sticks and a rolling pin I created a rec=
=3D
tangle of clay. Then I used the templates to cut out the shapes. Our tile=
=3D
-savvy son mentioned that the back of the tile needed to have some texture =
=3D
for the thin-set to hold onto=3D2C so at that point I laid the individual t=
il=3D
es onto a thin sheet of textured rubber shelf liner and re-rolled them into=
=3D
the liner. While still on the liner I then used the templates to stamp in =
=3D
the designs and to re-trim the shapes to a final size. I placed the result=
=3D
ing tiles between a sandwich of gypsum boards and slowly dried them. Becau=
=3D
se at the time I was interested in single-fire glaze technology=3D2C I took=
t=3D
hat route. In addition to the glaze being very dry=3D2C the clay body warp=
ed=3D
significantly. Although the aforementioned son managed to assemble them=
=3D
=3D2C I was not too happy with the results. I subsequently made and bisque=
f=3D
ired four additional patterns using different clay bodies but until I reviv=
=3D
e my enthusiasm they remain in their cardboard box coffins. =3D20
=3D20
I present the above to establish my credentials as a failed tile maker. In=
=3D
response to your email I offer the following:
=3D20
Warnings: 1) Find a clay body appropriate for flat tiles! Tile makers use =
=3D
a damp powder that they press into a mold with the aid of hydraulic pressur=
=3D
e. Think about a stable=3D2C low shrinkage clay body. 2) If doing a large p=
ro=3D
ject=3D2C have a large amount of clay of the same batch on hand. 3) Make a =
lo=3D
t of extras - my loss rate was high! 4) Remember that unfired and bisqued =
=3D
tiles are very fragile. 4) It is important to round off any edge that migh=
=3D
t fracture - very unsightly.
=3D20
Wisdom: Expect it to be a learning experience with a steep learning curve.
=3D20
Advice: GFI -Go For It! =3D20
=3D20
William A. Lucius=3D2C Ph.D.
Board President and Director
Institute for Archaeological Ceramic Research (IACR)
iacr@msn.com
www.instituteforceramicarchaeology.org
http://www.ourlkcpage.multiply.com=3D20
www.leuppkilnconference.org
=3D
Lis Allison on fri 6 nov 09
On Friday 06 November 2009, William Lucius wrote:
>>4) It is important to
> round off any edge that might fracture - very unsightly.
Good advice!
Nothing beats trying to wipe down a wall where the tiles have razor sharp
edges for fun with band-aids.
Lis
--
Elisabeth Allison
Pine Ridge Studio
www.Pine-Ridge-Studio.blogspot.com
Ron Roy on sat 7 nov 09
Hi William,
First test the clay for shrinkage - you don't want that to be over 12% -
less would be even better - adding some grog will always be a good idea if
the texture is acceptable.
One of the problems with making tiles can happen when the clay is stretched
- any stretching will tend to "unwind" during drying and again during glaze
firing. For instance - when you use a rolling pin you compress the inside
clay and stretch the outside clay - the outside clay will contract more
during drying and firing. If you want to test this out roll out a 10 inch
circle of clay and cut it into 2 inch squares - note what happens to the ou=
t
side edges when they dry.
Press molding would eliminate that kind of warping and uneven shrinkage.
Recompressing edges is helpful in eliminating the effects of stretching but
difficult to do and wind up with a specific size.
I'm sure others will have other solutions - let me know if you need more -
like how to test for shrinkage - and absorbency if you think that will be a
problem.
RR
On Fri, Nov 6, 2009 at 12:21 PM, William Lucius wrote:
> Several years ago I finally bit the bullet and tackled making tiles. The
> wife wanted to remodel the upstairs bathroom and I thought that a nice
> Ancestral Pueblo (aka "Anasazi") band design from the Kayenta Region woul=
d
> be impressive when surrounded by a frame of commercial tiles.
>
>
>
> I began with a full sized drawing on kraft paper. The squares, rectangle=
s
> and triangles of the painted design became tiles and the thick painted li=
nes
> turned into grout lines. The painted framing lines became thin tiles pla=
ced
> end to end. Because those band designs wrapped around a pot and connecte=
d
> to itself, there was no natural end points when laid out flat. But by
> adding additional tile shapes I managed to truncate the ends gracefully.
>
>
>
> I cut thick hardwood templates to use for cutting out the tiles. And
> because I wanted to stamp additional designs within some of the geometric
> tiles I bought various widths of model makers basswood strips from the
> hardware store with which I built up a stamp. If you are familiar with
> wooden batik stamps from India you should be able to envision the process=
.
> I spent some time worrying about shinkage but in the end decided that it
> did not matter - the finished panel would just be a bit smaller than the
> pattern.
>
>
>
> The problems began with the clay body. Because I only use native clays, =
I
> selected one that I thought would be appropriate for tiles (lots of
> aplastics). I used the low-tech approach since I do not have a slab roll=
er.
> I manually threw out a slab, thinning it out to just thicker than the fi=
nal
> desired dimension. With two flat sticks and a rolling pin I created a
> rectangle of clay. Then I used the templates to cut out the shapes. Our
> tile-savvy son mentioned that the back of the tile needed to have some
> texture for the thin-set to hold onto, so at that point I laid the
> individual tiles onto a thin sheet of textured rubber shelf liner and
> re-rolled them into the liner. While still on the liner I then used the
> templates to stamp in the designs and to re-trim the shapes to a final si=
ze.
> I placed the resulting tiles between a sandwich of gypsum boards and slo=
wly
> dried them. Because at the time I was interested in single-fire glaze
> technology, I took that route. In addition to the glaze being very dry, =
the
> clay body warped significantly. Although the aforementioned son managed =
to
> assemble them, I was not too happy with the results. I subsequently made
> and bisque fired four additional patterns using different clay bodies but
> until I revive my enthusiasm they remain in their cardboard box coffins.
>
>
>
> I present the above to establish my credentials as a failed tile maker. =
In
> response to your email I offer the following:
>
>
>
> Warnings: 1) Find a clay body appropriate for flat tiles! Tile makers us=
e
> a damp powder that they press into a mold with the aid of hydraulic
> pressure. Think about a stable, low shrinkage clay body. 2) If doing a la=
rge
> project, have a large amount of clay of the same batch on hand. 3) Make a
> lot of extras - my loss rate was high! 4) Remember that unfired and bisq=
ued
> tiles are very fragile. 4) It is important to round off any edge that mi=
ght
> fracture - very unsightly.
>
>
>
> Wisdom: Expect it to be a learning experience with a steep learning curve=
.
>
>
>
> Advice: GFI -Go For It!
>
>
>
> William A. Lucius, Ph.D.
>
> Board President and Director
>
> Institute for Archaeological Ceramic Research (IACR)
>
> iacr@msn.com
>
> www.instituteforceramicarchaeology.org
>
> http://www.ourlkcpage.multiply.com
>
> www.leuppkilnconference.org
>
>
>
--
Ron Roy
15084 Little Lake Road
Brighton, Ontario, Canada
K0K 1H0
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