All these tiles are made in my Bremerton, Washington studio, which overlooks my garden of perennial and vegetable beds and a sloping bank planted with Pacific Northwest natives. I find the antics of the resident songbirds, northern flickers, owls, squirrels and mountain beavers both charming and challenging, but ultimately inspiring on a daily basis. I love being outside and tending the garden with my hands in the soil; I guess it comes as no surprise that I have discovered a way to keep my hands in the soil through my work. My tiles are my way of sharing with others my joy of being in nature.
With a background in graphic design, printmaking and watercolor painting, I started exploring the world of tilemaking in 1997 and haven't looked back since. Through continual experimentation I have been able to create a wide range of tiles with only terracotta and white clays, underglaze color pigments and a clear finish glaze.
My technique with woodcarving tools, directly influenced by woodblock and linoleum printmaking, give the work a unique style and add unrivaled depth, texture and liveliness not replicated by other tile making methods. In all, it is a thirty step process, all by hand (no molds are used), that takes from six to eight weeks to complete.
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