Getting inspiration to create a new tile can be difficult. Usually when it does, it comes from nature.
I have decided to do a series of vineyard inspired tiles. Luckily, I live near one of the most beautiful wine growing regions in California, The Anderson Valley, located in Mendocino County.
Fall is the most amazing time of year to tour and photograph wine country. The smells associated with the grape harvest, the autumn colors and then there is the wine tasting. 😁
Over the next couple of weeks I will post from beginning to end my process of making a ceramic art tile.
The first thing I do is print all the photos I took from Anderson Valley that contained components that I liked. My tiles are comprised of the marriage of many photographs. Taking the most striking facets from each picture. Then I start thinking about composition, size and how to showcase featured elements. In this tile I wanted to not only show a vineyard, but also the surrounding area, as well as a close up of a grapevine. It is also fun to tie parts of the scene to the actual tile. In this piece I have wound the grapevine around the tile frame to bring the landscape into the room where it is displayed. I believe this draws the viewer in.
This sketch I made is 15.75 inches by 11.25 inches. The stoneware clay I use will shrink by 11% by the final firing, so the finished size of this tile will be 14x10 inches. I draw the frame on a sketch pad, then cover the frame with tracing paper and sketch on the tracing paper. This will allow me to easily outline image on my clay base. I don't need an exact drawing, more of a rough sketch, just to get the proportions correct. Most of the real detail will emerge in the sculpting.
My next addition to this post will be the making of the original tile so I can create a plaster mold. This will allow me to make many tiles of this scene. Hope you will enjoy seeing how this is done.