Janet Kaiser on sat 5 aug 00
Dear Stephani
What a wonderful post. Yes, it all started with
crumbling art. Then onto salt and then my combined
problem of crumbling tile in salty conditions. So the
trickle became a torrent, but at least we more or less
kept off the eternal art vs. craft. :-)
I could not agree more with everything you say and
believe. Although the UK is not quite as litigatious as
the US yet, we are beginning to see "no win, no fee"
and adverts extolling the beauty of suing companies and
individuals for damages. So everything has to be super
safe and we even have "health and safety" inspectors
employed by the local executive (councils) who check on
public places.
The International Potters' Path was conceived (in part)
to make access to The Chapel of Art safer and easier
for handicapped people. It would be ridiculous if The
Path were to become an obstacle course of slips,
slides, lumps and bumps. That is why the specs were so
precise, beyond the aesthetics. The technical details
were also spelled out because I did not want people to
spend time, materials and effort making something not
entirely suitable... We will certainly not waste their
input once it is here and indeed, for all my moaning we
will use each and every tile!
Now as you say with all the various uses of tiles in
and around the home, here in a public place with
10,000+ pairs of feet walking over The Path, we have to
get it right.
If everyone from Ancient Greece and Rome to Renaissance
man could make tiles to last a 1000 years+ I expect
modern man to at least be able to equal this technical
feat. Those of us who have trodden the floor at St.
Mark's in Venice or even St. David's in Wales will know
just how awesome these ancient tiles are. I have not
visited the many older sites in the near, middle and
far East myself, but even our very "young" European
tiled floors (up to 1200 years old) are sublime.
And The International Potters' Path will be absolutely
fantastic when it is finished... Even Phase I looks
good. The "orphans" as Valice called them (those not
safe or strong) will go around the edges and maybe face
plinths and/or seats, but the others will be laid into
areas of colour. The blues to the right and the
reds/earth tones to the left. So when folk look down at
The Path from our 13th century castle, they will see
swathes of colour. Then when folk actually approach The
Path at ground level, it will look like a giant
patchwork quilt waving across the land it covers...
Your enthusiasm for tiles is shared 100%. Despite the
worry about abuse of these babies in the hands or
rather at the feet of the general public, the elements,
the seasons, etc. those tiles and The Path are a
magnificent tribute to makers around the world...
People who work in clay, students who are making their
first tile, everyone who wants to make a contribution
to a global project, from age 10 to nearly 100. Indeed,
some who have already left this mortal coil and have
been laid to rest are part of The Path. Each
represented by a humble tile.
And each small piece of clay will represent over 1.1
million people living and breathing on our planet
today. So not only is The Path a celebration of the
beauty of tiles, but to clay, the makers and human
endeavour. Yes, The Path can mean a great deal to many.
Different people will think of different ways to
interpret what they see, but for me personally it will
be a feast to smile at every day... One hell of a high
each time I walk it into The Chapel of Art and far
beyond concept of any mere yellow brick road!
So, dear Stephani, good or bad, Alchemie tiles will
have a place, just as the many others, warts and all.
Good grief, even Mel has his patch of Path. To the left
with those reds, oranges and earth tones. Where he
belongs... As a salt of the earth... Just a shame he
did not write "mel jacobsen, minnetonka, minnesota,
usa" on it. But as long as I live, I can point it out
to visiting Clay Buds... Just like those from Frank and
Janet Hamer. Big names, but small tiles. Like us all at
the end of the day...
Janet Kaiser - laughing because the house behind The
Chapel of Art is called Alchemy! If that is not a
message...
The Chapel of Art . Capel Celfyddyd
HOME OF THE INTERNATIONAL POTTERS' PATH
Criccieth LL52 0EA, GB-Wales Tel: (01766) 523570
E-mail: postbox@the-coa.org.uk
WEBSITE: http://www.the-coa.org.uk
Now of course I have just realized that I ,slothfull
wench, should be
flogged for not yet sending any tiles to Janet. So i
WILL do that. only
now i AM worried that after all my spouting off about
tile, Janet will
not find the tiles acceptible :)
Furthermore, in this moment of gut wrenching honesty,
I have absolutely
no idea whether an Alchemie Studio tile will last 200
years outdoors, on
the coast of Wales. But it's too late,Janet, you are
getting them.
Gail Dapogny on mon 7 aug 00
Dear Janet,
For those of us who are out of theloop, could you please once more
descrivbe the specs and technical details of the tiles for the path, as
well as other relevant info. As I recall, you were taking tiles through
this coming September....yes ?
Thanks...Gail
>
>The International Potters' Path was conceived (in part)
>to make access to The Chapel of Art safer and easier
>for handicapped people. It would be ridiculous if The
>Path were to become an obstacle course of slips,
>slides, lumps and bumps. That is why the specs were so
>precise, beyond the aesthetics. The technical details
>were also spelled out because I did not want people to
>spend time, materials and effort making something not
>entirely suitable... We will certainly not waste their
>input once it is here and indeed, for all my moaning we
>will use each and every tile!
>Janet Kaiser - laughing because the house behind The
>Chapel of Art is called Alchemy! If that is not a
>message...
>The Chapel of Art . Capel Celfyddyd
>HOME OF THE INTERNATIONAL POTTERS' PATH
Gail Dapogny
1154 Olden Road
Ann Arbor, MI 48103-3005
(734) 665-9816
gdapogny@umich.edu
www.silverhawk.com/ex99/dapogny
Janet Kaiser on wed 9 aug 00
Dear Gail and other prospective Path Makers
The full specifications for tiles destined for The
International Potters' Path can be viewed on The
Chapel of Art web site http://www.the-coa.org.uk
along with some great examples of tiles already
received. The hyperlinks are at the **bottom** of
almost every page, although Bert and Bertha do a
grand job hopping from page to page :-)
I advise reading the INFORMATION page under The
Path section because I keep missing things out in
mails like this (Ah! those little grey cells...)
But in a nutshell:
1. SIZE: 10 x 10 x 1 cm which is 4 x 4 inches x a
half inch thick
2. QUALITIES:
i Sturdy... 10,000 pairs of feet per year will
trample your tile/s
ii Non-porous/waterproof/impervious... This is
because we have high salt fallout here, which
affects the body of porous tiles, leading to total
disintegration! Vitrified stoneware or porcelain
is obviously No. 1 choice, but any well-glazed
body should be OK
iii NON-SLIP... in our very wet climate, this is
vital! Either through making a relief surface or
by using a matt glaze or any other cunning means
at your disposal. Please make sure that relief
does not hold water, but allows run-off at the
sides. Also that the relief is not deep or high,
because that can create a hazard through tripping.
3. DESIGN
Something which reflects you, your environment,
your country, your culture... Anything you think
best reflects you and your fellow humans! Anything
goes, but PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE include the name of
your town/city/state/province and/or COUNTRY in
some way somewhere on the tile! It may appear
silly when you are making the design, but believe
me when it arrives here and becomes part of The
Path, people need to see all those places.
At the moment, there are too many without the
place of origin, so it looks a bit like a job lot
of tiles! A lot of Kent potters have written KENT,
so this gives the impression the whole Path came
from that county until you start to look really
carefully. I have to point out where the "exotics"
come from and that is already quite a job with
just 490. I will be lost when The Path is
completed and there are 5000! And I am not going
to live for ever, so to make sure everyone will
recognise it for what it is in the future...
Well, please forget about distaste for writing on
tiles just this once :-)
Unless you chose to make the Statue of Liberty,
the Eifle Tower, Sydney Opera House, a shamrock, a
national flag, etc. as an obvious and recognisable
SYMBOL of your country. Once again, please forget
"taste" here! A Liberty Bell would be a delightful
addition to The Path, even if no one would dream
of putting it on show or up on the wall.
What else? Cannot think of anything just now. Grey
cells are turning off. If anyone has questions,
just mail me. And do see the web page... I am sure
I must have forgotten something.
Happy making! And forget all those moans about
sub-standard tiles! Rest assured they will all be
used! Promise!
Janet Kaiser - Just bought a lottery ticket. If I
win, I'll first sponsor rooms at NCECA and
Aberystwyth next year, before visiting you all and
getting others to take charge of The CoA, lay
Phase II of The Path, clean the house, get carpets
for the stairs... Ah! Dream away...
The Chapel of Art . Capel Celfyddyd
HOME OF THE INTERNATIONAL POTTERS' PATH
Criccieth LL52 0EA, GB-Wales Tel: (01766) 523570
E-mail: postbox@the-coa.org.uk
WEBSITE: http://www.the-coa.org.uk
----- Original Message -----
From: Gail Dapogny
To:
Sent: 08 August 2000 03:33
Subject: Re: Tiles: quality, durability
> Dear Janet,
> For those of us who are out of theloop, could
you please once more
> descrivbe the specs and technical details of the
tiles for the path, as
> well as other relevant info. As I recall, you
were taking tiles through
> this coming September....yes ?
> Thanks...Gail
>
>
> >
> >The International Potters' Path was conceived
(in part)
> >to make access to The Chapel of Art safer and
easier
> >for handicapped people. It would be ridiculous
if The
> >Path were to become an obstacle course of
slips,
> >slides, lumps and bumps. That is why the specs
were so
> >precise, beyond the aesthetics. The technical
details
> >were also spelled out because I did not want
people to
> >spend time, materials and effort making
something not
> >entirely suitable... We will certainly not
waste their
> >input once it is here and indeed, for all my
moaning we
> >will use each and every tile!
> >Janet Kaiser - laughing because the house
behind The
> >Chapel of Art is called Alchemy! If that is not
a
> >message...
> >The Chapel of Art . Capel Celfyddyd
> >HOME OF THE INTERNATIONAL POTTERS' PATH
>
> Gail Dapogny
> 1154 Olden Road
> Ann Arbor, MI 48103-3005
> (734) 665-9816
> gdapogny@umich.edu
> www.silverhawk.com/ex99/dapogny
>
>
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