Hearts of Stone

Heart of Stone One
4.25" ceramic tile, 6.25" rosewood frame

I was painting these tiles while watching Dickens of London, a 13-part 1976 Masterpiece Theatre mini-series about the life of the author (played by Gene Foad as a young man, morphing into Roy Dotrice as he aged). Not only does it provide details about Charles Dickens that I didn't know before, but it is also an interesting reflection of life in the Victorian age. (Dickens was apparently obsessed with the young queen.)  

I was so absorbed in the drama that I did not pay enough attention to my painting. Halfway through the tiles I realized I had painted each one with the same colors in the same order, so after firing they would all look alike.

Heart of Stone Two
4.25" ceramic tile, 6".25 rosewood frame

Usually, before I start painting, I label each color on the tile like a paint-by-numbers canvas so I don't get confused. Many of the glazes look alike before they are fired, and of course, none of them look the same pre-firing.

Especially as some of the glazes move around in the kiln and some are stable, I need to be careful which glazes I put next to each other to get the effect I want.

Heart of Stone Three
4.25" ceramic tile, 6".25 rosewood frame

When I realized what I had done (oh horror!) I had to figure out a way to give each one a different look. Even though I had spent a considerable amount of time up to this point, I decided, what the heck, I will experiment by painting a layer of different colored glaze over the glazes already painted on each tile. They will either turn into a muddy mess or something interesting will happen.

Heart of Stone Four
4.25" ceramic tile, 6.25" rosewood frame

I finished laying down the first two coats of glaze, waited until they were somewhat dry and then covered the tiles with the extra layer of glaze.

So although each tile started out looking pretty much the same as the next one, they each took on a different personality after firing.

(Photos and designs copyright roslyn m wilkins)