I recently visited the factory that makes many of our tiles and got to see how relief tiles are made. Each piece is handmade and I gained a new appreciation and understanding for relief tiles. During the next few months, we'll be featuring tiles from this factory in our blog, newsletter and site. Today's post shows how relief tiles are made and highlights our Antigua Colonial relief tile line.
Bathroom Installation - Colonial Antigua Rust Capuchinas
Colonial Antigua Rust Capuchinas Relief Tile
All tiles in the Antigua Colonial line come in one of four glazes: rust, sand, blue green, and green. The glaze creates a satin gloss on the flat areas and a matte effect on the relief areas. From the installation and product photo (above), you can see these tiles create a striking contrast with the glaze and texture of the relief. Now let's look at how these tiles are made. You'll have a better appreciation for the craftsmanship that is required to create each tile by hand, one at a time.
The Design & Concept Stage
An artist usually sketches the initial concept for a relief tile to find the most promising design. To create a mold, the pattern is carved into wood. The initial patterns may be carved from plaster until relief details are finalized by the artist. Once the design is approved, the pattern will be carved into wood and a mold created from the impression.
A Relief Tile Mold - Colonial Antigua Capuchinas Relief Deco
The Manufacturing Process
Once you have a mold, the relief tiles are created following these steps:
- Clay is prepared
- Clay is worked into the mold
- Excess clay from mold is removed for a level tile back
- Clay body is pulled from mold
- Detail of artisan pulling tile from mold
- The relief tile! After drying, it will be glazed and fired.
You can appreciate the time and labor that goes into creating each relief tile. Don't forget the tile still needs to be glazed and fired. You can understand why these tiles are so unique and truly a labor of love.
7 comments:
How the heck do they get the tile out of the mold looking so perfect? I'd probably leave half the tile stuck in the mold! Those are pretty. Please post pics of the other color choices in future posts!
Alexandra, The tile maker extracts the clay body using a small ball of clay and gingerly tugs at each corner. I agree, it is amazing to see the tile body come out so perfectly. I never saw one tile get damaged while I was there. We'll post a video in a few weeks so you can see them extract the tile from the mold.
I like your idea of posting the other color choices. We'll do that in a future post. Thanks! In the meantime, check out all of the Antigua Colonial color choices shown on our website.
Opps, I goofed. It happens. The link above only shows the rust tiles. To view all the Antigua Colonial color choices use this link and select a color to see specific tiles.
Wow - now that is truly handmade. Impressive! And beautiful.
Kathy
Thank you for honoring the tile maker shown here with the title "artisan." Handmade perfection is an art. Great post. Can't wait for the movie!
Kathy, It is very impressive to see each tile made by hand and amazing how perfect the tile is after extracted from the mold.
Nancie, Thanks for your comments. There is no doubt that tile makers and painters and those who create mosaics are truly artisans! We'll keep you posted on the video.
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