Tiles

Artist Statement 

For this project, we were told to make 4 tiles that were the same.  This way, you can move them around however you'd like and they could create something new but also create the same image when turned in the original direction. 

During this project, I focused on pattern, texture, size, unity, color, and movement. I liked the idea of creating a circle as it creates unity and almost "traps" the boats and everything inside. I have not perfected glazing yet, but the colors do go well together. I didn't want to make the boats too big because they should be less big than the body of water. I placed eyes on the outside as they reminded me of seagulls but also to create unity. I like how it looks as if the boats are moving (movement). 

Before making the tiles, I spent a lot of time sketching. I knew I wanted to include the circle -- yet, I had somewhat of a hard time getting a perfect circle. I had other ideas like a checkerboard and a different boat scene. I chose this one as I thought it looked the most balanced and had the key parts to the project (1 layer, 2nd layer, 3rd layer).  As I mentioned above, the eyes on the outside remind me of seagulls and can also portray the message that lobstermen are being watched by animal life. I had some trouble when getting the tiles out of the molds but learned to be gentle with them. I would always clean them up once out of the molds. Glazing is hard -- not just the color matching but also the application. These tiles specifically had small spaces and I often had to wipe glazes when I messed up. Overall, I am satisfied with the result of the tiles and thought the mold-making process was beneficial to understanding how molds work.