Tiled with Personality ARTISANAL BEAUTY

Handmade architectural tile has unmistakable characteristics that can’t be captured by manufactured tile.

- BY MARY ELLEN POLSON

A matte-finished slate glaze gives this fireplace surround designed by Motawi Tileworks a richness appropriate to the English Tudor manor.

From stunning proprietary glazes to historically inspired techniques, it is the work of human hands that guide the making of such beauty, every step of the way. You won't find a mesh backing, of course, and the differences don’t stop there.

ABOVE To create this bas-relief tile mural for the fireplace of a 1928 American Foursquare, Mei-Ling Hubbard of Pasadena Craftsman Tile drew the design at full-scale on vellum, then laid the vellum on wet clay. She traced the design onto the clay, then carved it down over several days. LEFT & OPPOSITE The woodsy bas relief reflects motifs carved into the vintage mantel. TOP LEFT The design is drawn at 108 percent scale to allow for clay shrinkage.

Art tile is generally thicker than production tile (at up to one-half inch or more); standard sizes like 4x4 are “nominal,” meaning slight size variations will allow the tiles to create their own rhythm once they’re part of a backsplash or fireplace surround. Quality handmade tile almost always shows the artistic signature of its maker.