It was only a matter of time before the ideas I was developing with screen prints would bleed over into my mainstay - ceramics. This tile work was created by rolling out thin sheets of porcelain, about 1/16" thick, then cutting two-inch tiles from them. The tiles were left out on plaster slabs to dry, warp, and curl by whatever air currents or drafts were circulating about the room. Each had a colored slip randomly assigned to it, and then the tiles were fired and mounted on a board using dowels to pull them off the surface for depth. Part of the influence for these grid-like patterns stems from a research grant I received my senior year in college. I was awarded a fellowship from the School of Education, which houses the art department at UW-Madison, to conduct technical research on porcelain and glazes. My entire work table was often covered with hundreds of tiny test-tiles, all composed of different porcelains, their respective ingredients and mineral compositions giving them subtly differing cream, white, and beige tones. I would often catch myself staring at these grids of tiles, thinking how mesmerizing and attractive they looked. So, eventually the test tiles morphed into finished works. 12x48x2".
