Gay Judson on mon 16 jan 06
Well, I want to tell you about a little tile project my son, Ben (age
26 and wonderful), and I just completed. Last summer Ben moved from
his house he had been renting and was offered a space connected to a
gallery downtown IF he would make it habitable. The space is 10' X
50'-a former storage room with no closet or bathroom. The bathroom is
in the next room-so Ben and a friend, living in Austin, broke a hole
in the wall to put in a door-he will share the bathroom with the
classroom space adjacent to his room. Ben's friend also helped
install a kitchen sink and counter/cabinets. Well, I'm getting off
the subject. I asked Ben if he would like for us (our family) to make
the tiles for his kitchen cabinets. He thought that was a good
project-like he did not have anything else to do! And, of course, I
know nothing about making or setting tiles. But fools rush in where
angles fear to tread. So we got started. A couple dear friends at
the craft center offered some advise and help for the first round of
tile cutting. We had to make two batches of tiles. So twice we went
to the craft center to roll out our clay in their slab roller, cut the
tiles, transferred them home on sheetrock ware boards, let them dry
for 3 weeks, bisque fired, sealed the bottoms with wax resist, glazed
and fired to ^6.
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I was delighted with the results-they looked great to me. I told
everyone how successful we had been. Then this last week we set the
tiles in the cabinet counter. And suddenly EVERY tile seemed badly
warped and inconsistent in size and thickness. We thought we could do
the whole job on Thursday. But after 3 trips to Home Depot we decided
to set the tiles in the thincrete on Friday. We would finish on
Friday. At the end of the day, we had the tiles set in thincrete-but
they had to dry overnight. And we had not cut the tiles for the edges
around the sink and at the end of the counter. We would finish on
Saturday. So Saturday Ben borrowed a tile cutter from a friend's
father and he set about figuring how to cut ceramic tiles! He did a
very good job and we go those set in thincrete. Now everything is in
place-and it looks like the ocean-heaving up and down across the
counter. (Now I have learned how to judge the quality of the tiles
coming out of the kiln!) We get the fascia board attached around the
counter's edge. We plan to grout the area Sunday. We will finish on
Sunday. Sunday we are so tired we take the day off. =20
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Today we start back up-but perhaps a bit less enthusiastic because we
are now so aware of the imperfections. We grouted the counter in
sections so we could clean off the grout before it set. When we had
the first section cleaned off we were amazed! Suddenly it looked just
like we had first imagined it might look. I don't know what
happened-magic or fairy godmothers at work? But it looked great! Now
we were fired up again and whipped through the other 3 sections-with
only one more trip to Home Depot for more grout. It looks
wonderful-of course we have an affinity for "wabi-sabe" aesthetic and
that helps a lot! After all was said and done we had 6 tiles left
over-by luck not careful calculation.
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But Stephanie does not have to worry-the next time I take on a tile
commission will be to do Ben's permanent home some day in the far away
future! And he may decline my offer!
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Gay Judson in San Antonio, TX
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I've posted some photos of our project at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/56697785@N00/?saved=3D1
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Stephani Stephenson on tue 17 jan 06
Gay wrote:
"Today we start back up-but perhaps a bit less enthusiastic because we
are now so aware of the imperfections........ When we had
the first section cleaned off we were amazed! Suddenly it looked just
like we had first imagined it might look. I don't know what
happened-magic or fairy godmothers at work? But it looked great! "
Gay
the project does look great!
I worked for many years as a handbuilder and sculptor.
when I first started working with tile,I hated grout lines.
I thought they visually destroyed any given composition.
With my first tile projects I did everything I could to eliminate them.
I cut sections on the contour and butted tiles as close as possible.
I was coming at it from a handbuilder's perspective, not a tile
perspective.
Now I feel that grout lines can visually unify a project.
A lovely wide grout line in a neutral to dark shade , usually a grey or
tobacco color, can make tile colors just pop!
The grout seems to knit the tiles together...
providing a stable visual backdrop for the lovely subtle undulation
and variation of a handmade tile.
and it can look great. My perspective has changed completely.
and on a more practical level...a good tile installation can truly
highlight and show off handmade tile .
I too am always surprised and delighted at the difference from the
layout to the finished installation!
What looks like 'tile with self esteem issues' prior to installation
reveals itself to be the gorgeous, sumptuous, warm , inviting , oh so
nice stuff you intended to make all along, yes?!
I really have to thank people like Chuck Fitzgerald, a San Diego
tilemaker and tilesetter,
for helping me to see the beauty of grout!
my only prejudice....absolutely no white grout.....ever!
Stephani Stephenson
steph@revivaltileworks.com
http://www.revivaltileworks.com
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