Yes, yes, I know. If you've been following my page on Facebook, I've gone magnet crazy. But they are just so darn cute. I've been having a lot of fun in my studio making the tile coasters, and creating different designs and playing with paints and inks and stamps to create different effects. Here are some of my favorites on the left.
But then I flashed back to a conversation I had with my mom when I was visiting her this summer, which is, incidentally how, where, and why I got hooked on this whole hand-painted tile thing to begin with. After I'd spent a few hours playing with her inks and 4x4 tiles, she pulled out a sheet of little 1x1 glass tiles, and suggested maybe I could do something with those as well. I didn't at the time. But then on one of my strolls through Home Depot, on a 4x4 tile and cork run, I happened to see sheets of 2x2 tiles, and thought, hmmm... Magnets! (Top and Right Photos)Although primarily a painter, I really like the idea of art that is useful. I suppose many people would just call that craft, but I believe the line between arts and crafts is fuzzy - which is why they are mentioned simultaneously so often. Working on big canvases that will be put on someone's wall is great. Right now I'm having lots of fun painting on little tiles that people can enjoy in their living rooms, dining rooms, on their refrigerators, in their offices and lockers, and wherever else you might need a coaster or a magnet. After all, why not keep a little art with you where ever you happen to be?
