PROBLEM: TILES
The varied and extensive uses of tiles make it difficult to limit the scope of this problem. Tiles are used for paving, wall facings, ceilings, coverings for stoves, linings and facings for fireplaces, rests for flower pots and teapots, and for various other purposes. Tiles figure very prominently in the history of art. They are objects of interest and study in many public buildings and museums throughout the civilized world. But this problem will confine itself to two of the many varieties of tiles, viz., tiles designed for bowls or teapots and tiles used for the facing of fireplaces.
A tile frame
The Tile Frame.—In building tiles a frame is used measuring about 6 inches square by 5⁄8 of an inch thick. The strips forming the frame may be 1 inch wide, lightly nailed together at the corners so that, if necessary, the frame can be easily taken apart while the clay is moist. This frame is placed on a plaster bat or piece of paper and the clay forced firmly into its corners and sides, working toward the centre, until the frame is completely filled. It is then turned over in order to make sure that the under side of the clay is thoroughly welded together. Care should be taken to use sufficient clay to bring both surfaces well up to the surface of the frame, scraping off the surplus clay with a straight edge. While the clay is moist, one side is chosen for the back, and this is hollowed out to prevent warping. The hollowing may take the form shown in the right-hand tile at the top of [Plate XIV], or it may be in the shape of channels 3⁄4 of an inch or more in width, separated by ridges 1⁄2 of an inch wide running across the back of the tile. Whichever method is used, the depth should be about 3⁄16 of an inch and not over 1⁄4 of an inch. Even when the utmost precaution is taken, the tile is very liable to warp. It should therefore be dried slowly and with the greatest possible evenness of exposure on both sides. The greatest help of all is found in the use of the so-called "grog." This is made by grinding to a powder clay that has been fired once and shrunk, but not glazed. It is used by mixing it with the clay before it is moulded, in the proportion of one part grog to three of the clay. It may be added here that grog will be found of great assistance not only in making tiles but in making other ware. It will not be necessary, however, to burn clay for the express purpose of making grog. The occasional failures which develop at the first firing of every batch of pottery will furnish an adequate supply.
Tiles
[Plate XIV]
Decoration.—When the tile is dried and shrunk a little it may be easily taken from the frame, but it should be allowed to get quite stiff before decoration is applied. While the hardening process is going on the decoration may be studied. The three general methods of decoration considered under the flower bowl—viz., the sunken line, the modelled surface, and the painting with under-glaze or over-glaze—are all available for use with the tile. If it is to be a tea tile the modelled surface must be treated with considerable caution, otherwise there may result an uneven surface for the teapot to rest upon.
Firing.—In giving the tile its first firing it is safer to stand it on one edge in the kiln, but not on the floor of the kiln, as the intense heat of the floor would be liable to shrink that side more than the others. It may be supported on two stilts or it may be placed on one of the shelves. For the glaze firing the tile should be placed flat on the stilt.
Tea Tiles.—The tiles illustrated at the top and bottom of [Plate XIV] were designed and made to serve as rests for a teapot, a bowl, or a vase. It will be noticed that the centre is left free with one exception, which is given as an interesting variation from the general rule. The free space is an advantage in giving relief to the design and in furnishing an even surface for the teapot or bowl to rest upon. In the decoration of rectangular tile forms the general principles as to variety of measure or shape in space divisions hold true. Emphasis should be concentrated at the corners in order to strengthen the design.
Fireplace Tiles.—Some of the tiles illustrated in [Plate XIV] would be entirely appropriate for facing a border around the opening of a fireplace. This is especially true of the middle design shown at the top of the plate, on account of the lines which project through the corner design nearly to the edges of the tile. This makes it especially adapted to repetition in a facing or border.
Pottery, Designed and Made by Schoolgirls
[Plate XV]
Decoration of Tiles.—It is in the field of painted decoration, however, that the most attractive possibilities in fireplace tile designs are found. The framed tile illustrated in [Plate XV] opposite—an example of over-glaze painting—is intended for use as a colour accent for the wall. This tile is painted in matt glaze between raised outlines. Three similar tiles are illustrated in the middle row in [Plate XIV]. The right-hand one, like the framed tile of [Plate XV], is a matt over-glaze, but the outline instead of being raised was slightly depressed. The other two are examples of under-glaze painting. They were painted on moist clay, as described in the problem of the bowl, and afterwards covered with a bright glaze. In this case the glaze was itself coloured, thus adding richness to the colour scheme. The repetition in a tile facing of landscapes, designed to be complete or nearly so, would be tiresome. It is better so to design the entire facing that it will be made up of a series of very simple landscape motifs, each fairly complete in itself, but all so related to each other as to form, when joined, a larger, somewhat conventionalized, landscape. A treatment of this kind lends itself to many other decorative schemes.
The fireplace offers a great opportunity for design, not only in itself, but as related to the decorative scheme of the room in which it is placed. It should not be forgotten that it is, in a sense, the focal centre of the room. This fact, together with its comparatively small size, makes it possible to give it a strong and rich note of colour, accenting the prevailing colour scheme of the room. Tiles, properly designed and applied, offer a rich and varied field for charming effects in colour and texture.
[XI]
DECORATIVE WORK IN LEATHER, COPPER, AND OTHER MATERIALS
To become an artist in dealing with tools and materials is not a matter of choice or privilege; it is a moral necessity; for a man's heart must be in his skill and a man's soul in his craftsmanship—Hamilton Wright Mabie