decoration techniques
The plain un-glazed tile is like an artist's canvas and we use a variety of techniques to make each tile a work of art. For example glazes can be applied with fine brush as one would ordinary oil or watercolour paints; or a single glaze can be applied to a moulded tile and the variation in depth of the glaze will produce extraordinary effects. Even so called 'plain' glazes produce wonderful depth and colours.
Glazes are a mixture of ceramic materials which when 'fired' to temperatures between 800 and 1300°C are, quite literally, changed to glass so that the tile is glazed. By carefully selecting the components of the glaze we can create rich and subtle colours and effects such as the degree of transparency and gloss. It is even possible to individually formulate a specific glaze that will complement your chosen colour scheme.
Depending on the project or your personal preference we use the following tiles:
Hand made 'flat faced' tiles. 4" square edged tile(104mm sq 10mm thick), 5" square edged tile (127mm sq 7mm thick), 6" square edged tile (152mm sq 10mm thick). These tiles, although hand made, have fairly regular edges and are flat faced, making them easy to lay.
Hand made rough edge tiles 4" rounded edged tile (105mm sq 6mm thick), this tile has a fairly square, rounded edge and very gently undulating surface. 5" rustic tile (125mm sq 8mm thick) this tile has all the obvious characteristics of a hand made tile, it has irregular edges, a gently undulating surface and varies in thickness. It is very popular, as once on the wall it looks very hand made and could be likened to antique tiles.
Hand made
4" dimple tile (102mm sq 8mm thick) the edges are rounded and uniform, the face of the tile has deep indentations which reflect the light.
Machined tiles A very uniform tile 6" 150mm sq 9mm thick.
Dados and listello We have a range of dado rails and listello (pencil) tiles
You can see some of the results in the Tile Galleries on this site but to really appreciate the tiles you need to see the real thing - so don't hesitate to get in touch with us.
A huge diversity of styles and decorating techniques are used allowing an unlimited range of design possibilities.
Hand painting
Glazes are painted onto the tile by hand as water based suspensions which enables the artist to achieve intricate and delicate designs. It is often necessary to repeat the painting to obtain the required clarity. We have available a wide range of glazes producing the full spectrum of colours and finishes including ones we have created ourselves using tradition metal oxide recipes that produce an extraordinary depth of colour. The painting can either be on a single tile or a set of tiles.
On glaze
This approach is used with tiles that are already glazed. The glazed tile is decorated with ceramic paint and then kiln- fired to create a permanent decoration. This is particularly useful if you have already chosen a manufactured tile but would like to add some individuality to a small number of them. The best results are obtained with plain white or pale coloured tiles.
Relief
Relief tiles have a raised pattern produced when the clay is still malleable (ie before any firing). When covered, usually with a single colour glaze, the glaze 'breaks' across the relief and produces wonderful variations in the hue and depth of glaze.
Silk screening and decals
Highly detailed and complex images can be created by transferring glazes to the tile using decals or traditional hand silk screening.
