L'esperance Tile Works - 35 years ago in Troy, NY

Since we're celebrating 35 years in business, Don suggested that we play hooky last Saturday and take a drive past some old haunts of the first few years of L'esperance Tile Works in downtown Troy, NY.

Me, Dennis, and Don at Northeast Ceramic Supply

 We had to stop by our ceramic materials supplier, Northeast Ceramic Supply, to pick up supplies for some current projects, so we were headed to Troy anyway. When I started my business 35 years ago, Dennis Smith was an employee of Northeast Ceramics - he's now the owner (for many years!), and has recently located to a great new space on Monroe Street in Troy.

The Canon Building

My very first studio space was located in the Canon Building, in downtown Troy, on the corner of Broadway and Second Street. We were on the third floor, which previously housed law offices, and was a large open space, full of light from the corner windows. Troy didn't have an active arts community way back in 1979 when I was there, but it's changed and grown a lot since then. An amazing farmer's market was in full swing when we visited, and we ran into a number of people we knew. They sang the praises of the energy and artistic activity happening in downtown Troy these days. It made me want to move back!!

#2 Washington Place - my apartment for 5 years

At the same time I started the business, I moved to an apartment on the fourth floor of a beautiful old brownstone on historic Washington Park, about 6 blocks south of my studio space in the Canon Building - a beautiful walk away, rain or shine. It was the old servant's quarters for the building, and had the largest and best lit bathroom I've ever  had - fully tiled with what would become our bread and butter production tile. I didn't know that at the time, because I was using local terra cotta clay for all the tiles I was making, but this bathroom was tiled floor to wainscot with white crackle field, mudbase and mudcap. The 4 flights of walk-up kept me in quite good shape!

My windows on the 4th floor.

Washington Park

Laid out in 1840, the Park is one of only two privately owned urban ornamental parks in the United States. The gates were locked and owning a key was one of the privileges of being a tenant on the park.

Entrance to #2 Washington Place

I always loved the carved details of the building and seeing it again after so many years brought back a surge of great memories.

Cobbled streets of Washing Place

Parking was never a problem, but I remember many times getting stuck in ruts of deep winter snow on this street!

Troy is so full of amazing buildings that are decorated with historically significant ceramic tile, and I'll show a few in my next post.

Please visit my Etsy shop and view some of our lovely decorative tiles here -

L'esperance Tile on Etsy

Reproducing a Victorian style Tile - No. Eight

Time to finish up this blog series with this post on pressing and the next on glazing. Since the tiles haven't actually been set yet by the homeowner, I can't show you the finished fireplaces. But as soon as I get them I'll share...promise!

Our funky, but very cool and productive, hand press. We start by laying a slab of clay on top of brown paper.

The plaster mould is placed on top of the clay, with the design face down. My production assistant, Trish, is doing all the work here....I've never had finger nails that long.

We use a stiff plastic cutout on top of the mould to help distribute the pressure. The sound of a plaster mould cracking is just a terrible sound.

The mould is centered under the press box.

The press is pulled down until it reaches a stop bar that has been set to create a tile the thickness we want.

Excess clay is cut from around the plaster mould.

The knife is drawn through the clay but chopped down at the end to prevent "dogears" at the corners.

Stamping the back of the tile.

The plaster releases the clay easily from the mould. We lay the tiles on plaster boards that are part of our production shop.

The tiles need to dry up before the excess is cut from around the pattern.

We use drywall tools as tile cutters. They are generally well made and are sharp enough to cut right through the clay.

After the edges are cut off the tiles are left to dry for a few days. Then we sponge the edges slightly to soften the cut just a bit.

The tiles are fired in a bisque kiln along with the field tile, and then are ready to go to the glazing room for the glaze party! Check back soon for that post!

Part Six of my series on Reproducing a Victorian Tile

Here we are at part six of a ten part series on reproducing a Victorian tile, and I have to admit this is the best part as far as I'm concerned. I'm now ready to work on the shape, texture and details of the tile.

Using the original tile as a guide I begin to shape the details and depth of the pattern.

I keep the original tile close at hand and reference it often to stay as true as possible to the flow of the pattern.

I use one of my small round tipped tools to soften the edges of the leaves.

I use the flat edged tools to level the background and smooth away any lines created from my first tracing.

The large rounded tools help me create the sculpted petals and leaves. I also use them to smooth edges.

The larger flat edged tools are used to finish the background areas of the wax.

Here's the finished wax. One detail I forgot to photograph, which stands out in this photo is how I fix or touch up areas that I want to change after carving. I use one of my small scoop shaped tools that has some wax in it, and heat it over a small candle flame. Then I lay the metal on top of the part I need to re-carve and let the hot wax melt onto the surface. The black areas of the wax show where the carbon from the edge of the scoop tool filled in with hot wax. I then let the wax cool for a few minutes and re-carve the details.

Next I'll show the pouring of the plaster mould.

Anatomy of Recreating a Victorian Tile

We've been recreating Victorian and Craftsman style fireplaces for 32 years now, and it is one of my favorite things to do. I thought it would be fun to walk you through the process from start to finish on this project....so here's the start of it!

Original tiles from fireplace hearth

It all starts with either an e-mail or phone call from a potential customer, inquiring about the process and costs involved. We need to see the tile in question, to get an idea of complexity of carving and glaze matching. An e-mailed photo is OK, but we really need to have an actual tile in hand to make a good reproduction.

Close-up of original tile detail

The original tiles are usually covered in dirt and grime, and have the highest raised details worn off through the glaze and clay surfaces. I start with a good scrub with a plastic scrubby using just soap and water. If the tiles have been painted or varnished over, I use a wooden rib to scrap those off the surface.

 

After cleaning and re-firing the original tile

After cleaning the tile I re-fire it in the kiln to a very low temperature to burn off the debris that has absorbed into the unglazed clay body of the tile.

Above - an original tile / Below - an original tile cleaned and re-fried

Next up - Scanning the tile and reformatting for carving.

November Treasury

 Thanks, tookies, for including me in your lovely treasury!!

The End of October

Sometimes, I Am Startled Out of Myself,

by Barbara Crooker

like this morning, when the wild geese came squawking,
flapping their rusty hinges, and something about their trek
across the sky made me think about my life, the places
of brokenness, the places of sorrow, the places where grief
has strung me out to dry. And then the geese come calling,
the leader falling back when tired, another taking her place.
Hope is borne on wings. Look at the trees. They turn to gold
for a brief while, then lose it all each November.
Through the cold months, they stand, take the worst
weather has to offer. And still, they put out shy green leaves
come April, come May. The geese glide over the cornfields,
land on the pond with its sedges and reeds.
You do not have to be wise. Even a goose knows how to find
shelter, where the corn still lies in the stubble and dried stalks.
All we do is pass through here, the best way we can.
They stitch up the sky, and it is whole again.

"Sometimes, I Am Startled Out of Myself," by Barbara Crooker, from Radiance. © Word Press, 2005. Reprinted without permission, but I hope Barbara doesn't mind because this poem really struck me the moment I read it. (buy now) 

 As October comes to a close, a snow storm approaches - Hello Winter. No one can hold back the changes of the earth, no one can hold back the changes in one's life. 

Autumn in the Northeast

Out my studio window

 Fall in upstate New York is a wonderfully colorful time of the year. Nature is slowing it's productive phase and getting ready for it's winter nap, but the oncoming chill always creates an excitement and anticipation of winter in me. It's the change I love so much.

We planted this sugar maple to celebrate Harry's 10th birthday...he just turned 21!

The milk weed seeds are ready to fly!

One of the things that fall ushers in is the celebration of Halloween, which I always have enjoyed. The costumes, the parties, the candy, the candy, the candy! I've been making small skeleton ornaments for a while now, and although they sell all year around in my Etsy shop, I especially like them this time of year.

Mrs. Fancy Skeleton

Skeleton Pirate Magnet

Fancy Skeleton with Tophat who wants to PARTY!

Enjoy the brilliant colors before they disappear!!

Inspiration

Dry Ice Pits on Mars
Image Credit: HiRISE, MRO, LPL (U. Arizona), NASA

Who wouldn't be inspired by such an image? The inherent beauty of the forms, textures, and colors instill such wonder in me at the natural occurrence of these magnificent landscapes, that I ponder the definition of "GOD". I believe that one can find the greatest religion through the explorations of science.

Thanks to Astronomy Picture of the Day for my daily ponderings on the meaning of life!

SaratogaArtsFest!!

The annual SaratogaArtsFest is in full swing today and no amount of rain showers can dampen it's spirit!! Last night's performance by Triple Play was amazing, made doubly so with appearances by Chris Brubeck's dad, Dave, and Joel Brown's father, jazz clarinetist Frank Brown. This was my first visit to the Arthur Zankel Music Center at Skidmore College, completed 18 months ago....why has it taken me so long to get over there???

We've made the ArtsPass since it's inception 5 years ago, and this year I was really pleased to see so many people in one place wearing our creation. This year's color is turquoise, or as Pantone has labeled it "Lagoon".

Ken, Nan, Me, Sara, and Dave proudly displaying this year's ARTSPASS.

Close-up of the ARTSPASS -
designed by Christianne Smith of DesignsmithStudio
beads and silk cord from Linda Schrade's Saratoga Beads

Tonight we're headed off to

Delta Blues Night at Saratoga Arts

6:00 p.m.: Delta Rising (film screening)

Delta Rising is a fascinating film that documents the history of the blues, and more specifically, the birthplace of the blues, Clarksdale, Mississippi. With its abundance of blues clubs and museums, Clarksdale makes a legitimate claim for being the birthplace of the blues, a claim that is supported by the testimony of blues heavyweights. Featuring new interviews with, and performance footage of Morgan Freeman, Willie Nelson, Pinetop Perkins, Charlie Musselwhite, Mose Allison, Ruby Wilson and others.

7:25 p.m.: Dinner is Served!
Enjoy a box dinner of Hattie's Southern fried chicken (two pieces), cranberry cole slaw, and a biscuit with your Delta Blues!

7:45 p.m.: Delta Blues from Street Corner Holler (concert)
Street Corner Holler are traditionalists, but you won't find an academic bone in their bodies. With its raw, fearless, righteous mix of swamp boogie, buzzsaw blues and delta stomp, the street-corner sound of Mark Tolstrup and Dale Haskell has been honed to grab the audience as they try to stroll by. It's all achingly beautiful and haunting, music played with such honesty and abandon that you want to stay up til dawn.

9:15 p.m.: Open Blues Jam led by Saratoga Acoustic Blues Society
Bring your guitar or harmonica and stay after the concert for a round-robin jam session with Saratoga's own Acoustic Blues Society.

I'll let you know how much we enjoyed it tomorrow!!

But for now I'll leave you with a little of what we heard last night at the Triple Play concert - so good!!

Night Swimming

Synchronicity is a wonderful thing and I pay a lot of attention to those events that make strange and interesting connections. Our son Harry has excellent taste in music - I say so becasue I really like his choices for the mixed CDs that he makes for us. A recent gifted group of songs included REM's "Nightswimming", and somehow that song snuck unnoticed from my radar when it was released in 1993. Now it is stuck in my head, in a very good way. So today, when Etsy sent an e-mail loaded with treasuries with the theme "night swimming", I knew I just had to post a link to this great performance by REM along with one of the treasuries.

I hope you enjoy them!

'night swimming' by blackbirdtees

Fathoms - 8x8 photo ErinTyner $35.00	Oil Slick - Handmade Ir... JarosDesigns $
Sparkling Galaxy Druzy ... HouseThatCrowB... $75.00	Ghostfish fine art prin... studiomme $12.00
Smile -photo art earing... Raceytay $14.00	Cross bather minn0wbathers $135.00
Pine and cherry tree un... WinchesterLamb... $5.00	Polaroid Clock - How to... jerseymaids $55.00
Claylight Pendant - 5.5... lightexture $175.00	Peaceful Clarity Print StudioZen $20.00
EMBROIDERY HOOP ART Scr... sweetharvey $12.00	My delusions - Signed p... movezerb $19.00
aelalabbe $	The Stars Look Down Moxiedoll $110.00
Cosmic Tortilla 04 - Ne... LeiliDesign $45.00	black & white shore pos... treefox $50.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.