Natalie Blake 8/9/13 Natalie Blake 8/9/13

Grandmother Tree: From Inspiration to Installation

Our blog has closely followed the creation of several works of ceramic artwork that we installed at Chabot College after receiving their public art grant. Before any designs were drawn or tiles carved, Natalie and Cynthia traveled to the campus to find potential installation sites and gather inspiration from its spaces and its students.

Natalie and Cynthia also got to speak with students, who had influential requests:

“Give us beauty” and “a feeling that we are in nature.”“Remind us that we are HOME.”“Delight us with color to brighten our day.”“Don’t give us anything cliché.”

There were a lot of artistic possibilities at Chabot, but this location jumped out immediately – a towering orange wall in the midst of a wide open space in the newest building on campus, a faculty building. It begged for a custom designed tile mural of massive scale.

Like this perfect spot, it was hard to pass over images of the amazingly stoic and ancient redwood trees characteristic of northern California. A big, grand tree seemed the perfect symbol for this faculty space, representing knowledge and wisdom of generations and the ages in sculptural art.

Cynthia, our project designer, found a fitting design in an interesting way:

"When we were designing our proposal for this public art award we took one of our favorite trees and digitally stretched it onto this column. Shifting scale really changed the feeling of it; we loved the way it transformed the space and the column. The campus voted on their favorite ideas and then the arts committee gave us the go ahead. We were so psyched to take that digital concept and make it into a reality of ceramic artwork.

It was more than three times bigger than the trees we had been making so to accommodate it in our work space we sgraffito carved it in sections starting with the roots. Carving it was like a meditation on each aspect of the trees structure and the vital flow of energy which it embodies." - Cynthia Parker-Houghton

The finished sculptural art mural had 84 tiles, and at a total height of 252 inches, presented a totally new challenge of installation. So, we rented a mechanical lift, and the rest is history – or at least, a timelapse.

See more images of our Grandmother Tree installation at Chabot College and all of our work on Pinterest.

Custom designed ceramic artwork, Public Art Installation

Natalie Blake 7/22/13 Natalie Blake 7/22/13

4 Ideas for Choosing Art for Outdoors

Summer is at its finest when the shady patio beckons, the pool looks heavenly and dinner is served right off the grill. Both the artists and the tiles of Natalie Blake Studios love being outside, and with outdoor living on the mind lately, we'll take this chance to talk about choosing tile wall art for outdoors.

Handmade tile is a great choice for outdoor decorative art. Inspired by colors and designs from the surroundings, tile art has an earthy quality that fits naturally outside. When choosing art for the outdoors, think about location, durability, installation, and most of all, color. To help get the creative juices flowing, here’s our guide to using tile outside and some ideas for outdoor ceramic wall art.

Where to Put Ceramic Art Outside Ceramic art can liven up a pool area, accent an outdoor kitchen or add color to a stone wall — a beautiful way to bring art to an outside space. These discs and butterfly shaped tiles would be stunning ceramic art for an outdoor fireplace or alcove, and a tile art mural could define an outdoor shower space. The options are limitless.

Durability Ceramic tile, including wall art tile like ours, is very durable and will stand up to rain, sun and cold weather once it is sealed. Whether grouted directly on a wall, or hung with our outdoor cement board backing system, our ceramic tile is created to adorn any surface in any weather condition.

Installing Outdoor TileWall art tiles can be grouted in for a complete seal or they can be wall-mounted much like wall plaque. Once you've chosen where to place tiles, you can determine which method of installation is right for the space. Typically, we recommend using the grout method for high traffic areas where people could bump the tiles. Our patent-pending outdoor backer system is for places farther away from reach. We have some special tips for installing outdoor tile with grout, especially for tiles with undulating shapes like ours. Our installation methods have been field tested!

Colors Outdoor art can bring the color palette of the house into the outdoor living space, or can draw inspiration from the natural landscape around it. A few tiles of complementary colors can break up a large, one-colored wall. Or they can really make a statement, as do the vibrant colors and shapes of this large tile mural installed at a college.

For more ideas on using handmade ceramic tiles as outdoor art, try browsing our handmade art tile for sale and in stock.

Natalie Blake 7/12/13 Natalie Blake 7/12/13

Using Handmade Ceramic Tile with Field Tile

We see a "canvas" for Natalie Blake Studios tiles wherever a tiled surface, as in a kitchen, a bathroom, or a pool area, needs a pop of color or a handmade touch. Adding a mosaic tile mural to a tiled backsplash or wall is an artful way to get both the eye-catching appeal of handmade ceramic tile art and the functionality of traditional tile. When using handmade ceramic tile with field tile, choose tiles and colors that complement each other yet are different enough to make a statement. Glossy, solid- colored field tiles spotlight the richly detailed and colorful forms of Natalie Blake Studios' mosaic tiles, which in turn become an elegant centerpiece of the room.

Mosaic Tile as Shower Art Our handmade ceramic bath tiles are versatile and can be used in wet and outdoor environments, like showers and saunas, and are actually well suited for it (they’re ceramic tile, after all). This piece, Nautilus, is installed in a townhouse apartment bathroom in Washington, DC, where it adds depth and color to the clean, modern design of the bathroom.

For showers, kitchens, and anywhere that splashes are likely, it is essential to properly seal and install the tiles to protect them from dirt and damage.

Handmade Ceramic Tile in Kitchen Backsplashes Using our art tile as the highlight in a kitchen backsplash is one of our favorite ways to see our tiles installed. In the installation below, the playful shapes and colors of the Flowerscape, set off by the surrounding smooth field tile, break up the white of the kitchen.

Flowerscape, Handmade Ceramic Tile Backsplash

Our square tiles can also be incorporated into a tiled kitchen backsplash. Large murals or shorter horizontal groups add a vibrant splash of color to fit almost any size wall space (and many are in stock and ready to buy).

Tree Branch, Backsplash, Handmade Ceramic Tiles

Handmade Tile in an Outdoor Landscape

Here's an example of handmade ceramic tile as decorative accents in a poolside, stone wall. The colorful tiles break up the monotone color of the stone wall and play off the beautiful, blue pool.

The possibilities are limitless. For more ideas on using handmade ceramic tiles in the kitchen, bathroom and even outdoors, get inspired by Natalie Blake Studios on Pinterest and Houzz. Keep an eye out forour new line of backsplash tiles, designed to fit as a mosaic or accent piece within a field tile backsplash (coming in the fall). Here's a sneak peek of our backsplash design tests:

Natalie Blake Studios Backsplash Tiles, coming soon

Natalie Blake 6/25/13 Natalie Blake 6/25/13

Natalie Blake Studios Ceramic Wall Art Wins Award

Our ceramic wall art is now officially award-winning! The news has us very excited, so pardon the exclamation points: we won a gallery award at Art Comes Alive! The annual fine art contest and exhibit took place this past weekend in Cincinnati, OH. We are honored that our tile art was voted into the exhibit, and even more so to receive a contract award from Gallery One, Naples, FL. This is the piece that got us there: "Botanical", a 42" x 56" ceramic wall art mural, glazed in honey, turquoise, cashew, moss and jade.

According to the Art Comes Alive sponsors, Art Design Consultants, Inc., the awards recognize the “brightest and best artists in a variety of categories.” Our piece is one of 150 chosen for the exhibit, out of a staggering 1,500 entries. Getting our tile art mural into the exhibit itself is no small feat, and requires an intense jurying process.

Roy Saper, owner of Saper Galleries and Custom Framing, was one of the jurors responsible for choosing pieces for the exhibit. “The online jurying process took me hours. And hours. And hours,” he said. And no wonder, with so many pieces of art in the mix. After each juror reviews each piece, the ones with the most votes are included in the exhibit. From that list, galleries and award donors choose the recipients of their awards.

That's where Gallery One comes in – they awarded us a gallery award, and will now carry our work at their gallery in Naples, FL. We will be honored to be represented by this great gallery, which also represents our good friend, fabulous Vermont artist and Fulcrum Arts Center business partner, Randi Solin of Solinglass. Funnily enough, we will share Gallery One with Dr. Seuss as well.