Vase & Flowers Rug #3

I designed this Vase and Flowers Rug mural in 2002 with the idea that it could serve as floor art. I imagined it enhancing the entry of a house where a visitor, upon entering, would be greeted with the colors of a vase with flowers and other objects. I included many features of life and imagination including the sun, moon, stars in the sky, bees and hives, rain drops that evolve into sperm shapes as they fall, and a fairy. I framed the image with a fringe to help establish that this is intended to imitate a rug pattern. Since making the first mural set (#1), I have experimented with different coloring and have found that there are no limits to the combinations that I like. My wish is that this design and color combination eventually is integrated into someone's special place. 

This mural set is made of light cream colored porcelain fired to 2200 degrees F. I colored it by hand with underglaze and then applied a uniform clear glaze to the surface of the tiles. Areas of the mural that are not colored show the cream color of the porcelain. I fired these tiles to 2200 degrees F so this set is very durable.

The tiles have relief-carved effect where the "higher" areas are about 1/16" higher than the "lower" areas. This texture of the pattern should provide enhanced traction for anyone stepping on the tiles with wet or muddy shoes. And this art piece can be cleaned with a damp mop!

The set measures approximately 31-1/8" wide by 38-3/16" tall when laid out without grout lines. It would be a bit larger where permanently installed with grout lines. The tiles are about 0.325" (just over 5/16") thick at the thicker (higher) areas.

If mounted on a floor I suggest professional installation to ensure proper support and durable grouting. It can also be mounted as kitchen wall tile or as a kitchen backsplash or even as decoration to a pool or hot tub area using the standard methods with mastic and grout (although the grouting process may take some patience). Since I cut these tiles (when the clay is still wet) using a straight edge and pizza cutter, there is some variation in the tile dimensions (please see photos below to confirm). For this reason, I suggest a grout line of 1/8" or greater. The textural pattern of my tiles do present a bit of challenge when grouting but professional installers suggest use of a tile grout bag to force grout between the tiles and minimize grout on the tile surfaces

Alternately, this mural set can be removably mounted on any clean, flat painted wall or surface using 3M Command strips. 3M claims, and it has been my experience, that these strips are surprisingly strong and can be removed without any damage to the wall, wallboard (like nail holes) or wall paint. I suppose they could even be mounted on a ceiling but I haven't tried it (yet).

I made 2 spare side, 3 top/bottom and one corner border tiles for this mural set only in case some warped or cracked in the final firing. As it turned out, all are flat and there are no cracks so these spares will be included with the set. I could put cork on the backs if the Patron would like to use them as trivets.

I liked mural set #1 so much that I mounted it on our living room wall. I gave set #2 to a neighbor. So I will be very interested to see where this set finally settles. My hope is that the Gentle Patron will send me a photo of its installation.