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Anyone who has seen my work, or reads my Wood Blog, knows that I often inlay ceramic tile in my furniture. It started as a way to add color to my pieces, but the more I used it, the more I fell in love with the concept of combining clay with wood.
It's just my opinion, but Fine Woodworking is the best woodworking magazine out there. My subscription started when I was a poor college student, and back then, it was a struggle to pay for it! But somehow, I knew it was tapping into something that no other wood magazine was nailing- furniture as art. If Fine Woodworking is the ultimate in reading for the serious woodworker, Ceramics Monthly is it's counterpart in the ceramic world. When I first started working with clay, I wasn't having much success so I placed an ad in Ceramics Monthly, looking for tilemakers. Amazingly, that one ad garnered replies from all over the world, from Japan to the Netherlands, Australia to South America. But like the U2 song- I still didn't find what I was looking for.
Like Fine Woodworking magazine, Ceramics Monthly has great how-to articles for beginners, so I started teaching myself tilemaking. I attended many excellent seminars, classes and conferences, and today, fifteen years later, I think I'm making some of the best tiles (for furniture) that are available. Here's why... I don't want tile to detract from my work, I want it to add a detail and a focal point. Many tile makers incorporate things into their tiles that frankly, detract from the furniture. It's not a criticism of other tile maker's tiles, but rather a comment on what looks best with wood. Most tile makers aren't creating tile with that in mind. Generally, cooler colors, like blues and greens, accent wood well. And wood toned glazes often enhance and seamlessly blend with the woodtones. The ceramic glaze spectrum is immense, so I've chosen to specialize with just a few glazes, ones that I think work best with wood. Many years ago, an article I wrote was published in Tile Design and Installation Magazine, detailing the art of inlaying tile. (I'll send you a PDF copy if you write to me and ask for it.) At the time, I was making most of my tiles square, so inlaying them was slightly labor intensive. As I continued my studies, I became fascinated with ceramic medallions, often used as focal points in architectural areas such a foyers or patios. Most medallions are symmetrical, often with geometric patterns of compasses or sundials. I like to keep my imagery to a minimum, and allow the tile to simply accent the piece in which it's inlaid.
Today, I'm concentrating most my tile work on medallions for furniture. They're easy to install with a router and compass setup, and frankly, they look wonderful with wood. I make two specific types - larger, flat circles, with gorgeous glazes, or smaller tiles with slight impressions in them. These small impressions are designed to hold something precious, such as jewelry, momentos, small good-luck charms, even your keys. Glaze samples as well as sample medallions are available for purchase, please e-mail me for pricing.
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