Studio

Welcome to my studio and Petra4Design webpage!

I am happy you are here and that you are interested in my art work.

 

What are Tile Paintings?

I use bisque (already fired) tiles as my canvas and underglazes as my paint.

Tile sizes range between 1" x 1" (2.5 x 2.5 cm) to  12” x 12” (30 x 30 cm), or 3" x 6" (7 x 14 cm);

they can also be round or rectangle and can be arranged in any comi.

The tiles I use for my art work are mostly 6" x 6" (15 x 15 cm) or  8" x 8" (20 x 20 cm).

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Upon completion of applying underglazes, I will fire my tiles in an electric kiln to a temperature to cone 05

(around 1900 F or  1000 C) to make the underglazes “hard”.

This is called glaze firing. The glaze firing melts the glaze that is on my tile into a protective, glasslike coating.

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After the firing process the tiles are ready to be installed.

 

Tiles can be used as accent tiles, usually in smaller sizes. Larger formats can be used for a backsplash or as
a design feature for your fire place or pool or even for an entire wall.

My tiles can also be framed and presented on a wall like art work.

 

What is my process?

Once I have an idea or ideas, I take my journal (or whatever paper I can get my hands on at that moment)

to sketch my ideas out.
While sketching I will go through several phases, thinking about size, color and how and where my art work

will be displayed.

I usually use watercolor pencils for my sketches.

 

For a commission, I will choose several sketches to share with my client.

From there we will narrow ideas down even more.

Upon request, I will make original size color copies to be placed into the location.
That way my client and I can determine size, color and motif better and make, if necessary, adjustments.

Included in the process are up to 2 test tiles to get a better idea about the choice of color.
Each additional tile and firing will result in extra cost.

 

When motif, size and color are chosen, I will start selecting high quality bisque tiles in the desired size.

I lay the tiles out and transfer the picture outline with pencil onto the tiles. Now I can start the painting
or better glazing process.

 

How does Tile Painting look like?

The following pictures show a step-by-step process of a 32” x 24” (twelve 8” x 8” tiles) art work.

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Please keep in mind, underglazes need to be applied in at least three layers.
That means that every color, shape and line you see has been filled with underglaze three times,
with drying times in between.

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Depending on size and detail, my art work might take 2 to 8 weeks to complete.

 

Before firing, glazes look very pastel like. After firing the "true" bolder colors will come through.

The firing process will take 2 to 3 days.

The kiln slowly heats up to the desired temperature and also has to slowly cool back down to the outside temperature before opening.

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All tile paintings are hand painted, unique and custom made.

Small imperfections are common and are a sign of the hand made process and good quality of the work.

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For a more detailed step-by-step description and photos, please see "work in progress".