The Secret Life of Raindrops: The handmade ceramic tiles of Leah Shafir Zahavi
Garden at Night (Dimensions: 24.8” x 31.8” )
Mosaics by Ilana Shafir, integrated with Inspiration Pieces by Leah Shafir Zahavi
Leah Shafir Zahavi grew up in Ashkalon, Israel. As a child exploring this 4,000-year-old city on the Mediterranean, she breathed deeply the aroma of almond trees, listened to the receding echo in the rhythmic arches of ancient aqueducts, and discovered the Milky Way in vast desert skies.
Inner Piece Tile Collection: Milky Way (Dimensions: 4” x 4”)
Zahavi’s mother, world renowned mosaic artist Ilana Shafir taught her daughter the beauty in fragments, that singular pieces of chipped, forlorn ceramic held history and mystery that when pieced together could transform themselves into beguiling dreamscapes.
Zahavi’s path to tile artist was not immediate. Her first medium of expression was fiber, which gave her the basis for manipulating texture and understanding pattern.
Inner Piece Tile Collection: Song Bird Eating Red Berries (Dimensions: 6” x 6”)
Working in the humble material of clay, the Inner Piece tile collection is produced entirely by hand in porcelain, stoneware and terracotta, with lead free glazes. The designs, she feels, are cumulative. “They are created through layers of imagery that I build up starting from the green ware and continuing through various techniques of surface decoration between the two firings.” Textured objects are imprinted onto the soft clay, after which Zahavi uses drawing, carving, fluting, and slip inlay to build the final image.
Inner Piece Tile Collection:Secret Life of Raindrops (Dimensions: 6” x 6” )
The metamorphosis of clay to tile also relies on vivid color, memories of the heaping mounds of brilliant orange spices in the marketplace, the atavistic blue waves of the sea, the salty green grass that stubbornly adorns acres of sand dunes. Zahavi also utilizes Sgraffitto, a technique of ornamentation in which surface layers are incised to reveal a ground of contrasting color.
In addition to tiles in three, four and six inch squares, Zahavi has developed a collection of hand glazed free form ceramic tesserae called Inspiration Pieces, intended to be used as embedded elements in mosaics.
Inspiration Pieces-Mosaic Tesserae: Green leaves (Dimensions: each leaf 2” x 1”)
Her mother was the first to integrate these pieces into her archeological landscapes. Zahavi abstracts forms from the natural world, the pivotal inspiration for all her work.
Wishing Tree (Dimensions: 41.7” x 49.6” ) Mosaics by Ilana Shafir, integrated with Inspiration Pieces by Leah Shafir Zahavi
Zahavi believes that her tiles “can be the gateway for daydream travel, evoking memories of far away places.” Now living in the United States, the tiles and mosaic tesserae are the richly textured celebration of her former life in Israel. The sumptuous Medeterrain colors are balanced intuitively with abundant organic shapes to create a decorative surface cradled in warmth.
Resources: Inner Piece and Shafir Art
More by JoAnn:
Read More »White Gold Tile Flooring from Trend Aureo Collection
We LOVE Trend tiles and will be featuring several of their breathtakingly BEAUTIFUL tile flooring and walls tiles at The Decorating Diva.com. Trend captures the very essence of luxury living as illustrated in the above image. This gorgeous room located in the17th century Villa alle Scalette (Trend headquarters) in Vicenza, Italy features luxurious floor and wall tiles from Trend’s Aureo Collection.
The Aureo Collection tiles for floor (F) and walls (W) are hand-cut , glass mosaics hand-crafted from delicate 24 karat gold leaf (shown above in white gold).
The glass tile product names are listed below:
- aureo 004/F
- aureo 003/W
- aureo Gray
- Strass Swarovski Cristal
Photo Credits: photos by Trend.
Home Decor Buyer Resource: Trend USA Ltd. (Trend also has a showroom near the famous Design District in Miami, Florida)
Read More »Lapiz Ceramic Wall Tiles by Artisan Natalie Blake
Natalie Blake is an artistic genius and we fell in love with her incredible, beautiful and moving sculptural ceramic tile artwork displayed at the Ann Sacks booth (for Kohler ) at the recent Kitchen & Bath Industry Show.
We’ve selected a few of our favorites (it was hard to narrow them down – so many beautiful tiles to choose from) from Natalie’s unique and inspiring ceramic sculptural wall tile collections to feature on The Decorating Diva.com over the next few weeks. We hope you enjoy her creations as much as we do.
Our first pick – Natalie Blake sculptural ceramic wall tile featured above: Lapiz.
Photo courtesy of Natalie Blake Studios.
Home Decor Buyer Resource: Natalie Blake Studios
Read More »$1 Million Dollar Diamond Studded LuxTouch Tiles by Pietra Firma
We think even Lady Liz Taylor would be slightly green with envy at the above wall dressed in stunning diamond encrusted wall tiles by Pietra Firma.
LuxTouch wall, flooring and ceiling tiles are hand crafted with each individual black marble tile:
“ …inlaid with 95 brilliant cut diamonds, mother of pearl and abalone. The centre of the tile consists of a pitch-black agate circle inlaid with 19 diamonds and a mother of pearl flower petal pattern radiates outwards from the centre. Each of the petals is a single piece of mother of pearl inlaid with a large precious cut diamond and the black agate pieces between the petals are also inlaid with diamonds. The tile’s four corners are inlaid with mother of pearl and abalone shell, achieving a visually stunning counter balance with the radiating flower petals.
When inlaid, the diamonds sit slightly raised above the tile, which results in the maximum tactile and visual effect. Walking barefoot on a LuxTouch floor can only be described as a truly sensual experience. ”
The $1,000,000 price tag gets you one square meter of the LuxTouch tiles – calculated by number of gems and precious and semi-precious stones: “over 1000 diamonds, 2400 pieces of mother of pearl, 400 pieces of abalone shell and 500 pieces of black onyx”. Take a look at the Pietra LuxTouch tile details shown in the image below:
At a million dollars per square meter the diamond inlaid tiles aren’t for everyone but Pietra Firma wants to redefine true luxury:
“In the 21st century world of brand extension, inbuilt obsolescence and mass market dilution, the word “luxury” has been diluted and overused.
TRUE LUXURY is not affordable, democratic, mass market, universal, brand extension or mass produced and machine made.
TRUE LUXURY is highly skilled craftsmanship utilizing rare and precious materials, a complete attention to detail, unique, personal, passionate, indulgent, exquisitely sensual, beautiful and artistic. This unique approach to luxury will satisfy the needs of customers who have a deep appreciation of the true essence of luxury.”
Images copyright of respective companies.
Home Decor Buyer Resource: Pietra Firma
Read More »Barcelona Sculptural Ceramic Wall Tile by Natalie Blake Studios
Natalie Blake Studios creates wall art that captivates the imagination and the Barcelona ceramic tile collection proves it.
The Barcelona sculptural ceramic wall tiles are elegant, beautifully textured and are richly colored with awe-inspiring hues of red, orange, blue and green.
Photo courtesy of Natalie Blake Studios.
Home Decor Buyer Resource: Natalie Blake Studios
Read More »Ellen Blakeley of Ellen Blakeley Studio
Many of us walk by shattered glass strewn across sidewalks without giving the glass shards a second thought – other than swerving to avoid stepping on them. California based mosaic artist and principal of Ellen Blakeley Studio, Ellen Blakeley, on the other hand, sees a pool of glistening, broken glass as an artistic inspiration.
Meredith (Glass Mosaic & Wood Sculpture) Mosaic Art Now winner “Best in Show” 2010 |
Tiny Dancer (Glass Mosaic & Wood Sculpture) |
Vilnius (Glass Mosaic & Wood Sculpture)
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The Decorating Diva.com: Ellen, you’ve mention that the shattered, tempered glass was an accidental find that became the core of your artistic endeavors. Take us back to that day and tell us what happened when you brought the broken glass home and had that magical “ah, ha” moment, when you knew you had created something special.
Ellen: I was living in San Francisco and there had been a run on vandalism in the city in 1994. Teenagers where shooting the glass bus shelters to watch the dramatic explosion of the glass and leaving the piles of glass to be thrown away by the city.
I kept seeing these piles of sparkling coke bottle green glass lying on the streets and thought–look at all this free material. One day with my three year old daughter asleep in her car seat, I stopped at a shattered shelter and put about five pounds of glass in a box. I had picked it up with my bare hands, no problem-it was safety glass.
That night in my studio I painted a board white, glued down the glass and thought-oh, that’s nice if I want something light green. The following evening I painted a board with multiple bright colors and used a clear glue to adhere the tempered glass and that was the "aha moment." Once I realized that all the color was coming from underneath the glass and that I could think like a painter I knew I was onto something, that I had invented something. That was sixteen years ago and I’ve never stopped.
 Amazon,Water – Elements Collection Ellen Blakeley Studio |
 Gold Coast, Metal, Elements Collection Ellen Blakeley Studio |
The Decorating Diva.com: Did you always know that you wanted to pursue the arts as a vocation?
Ellen: My mother was a painter and my father was a writer, so my childhood was filled with art, music, books and an overwhelming spirit of creativity In school I was good at art and fair at everything else. I majored in art at three colleges: Franklin College in Switzerland, Virginia Commonwealth University, and finally at Mills College in Oakland, California. While at Mills I studied with ceramic artist, Ron Nagle and it was while doing graduate work in ceramics that I decided to commit myself to being an artist come hell or high water.
 Every tile is made by hand in an intricate process involving painting, layering, and hand placing the broken tempered glass to make a flat surface, which is then grouted and sealed to finish the tile. |
The Decorating Diva.com: What do creating art and/or design mean to you?
Ellen: Creating a design is a different process than creating a piece of art. The glimmer of inspiration comes from the same source, but a design must be repeated and is then ordered and sold repeatedly. A work of art is a one of a kind that is not copied or pre-sold. When I am creating a new design or working on an art piece, I am in an altered state of mind: time flies by and I am simultaneously excited, scared, timid and confident. Knowing when a piece is finished is crucial, as overworking it will dull the spontaneity and the magic.
The Decorating Diva.com: Being an artist can be wonderful (pursuing a dream and creating) yet, difficult at times (operating a business). How do you find the balance and the inspiration to manage both aspects of being an artist in business?
Ellen: I like being alone making things all day, so the artist part comes very naturally. Being a business woman is a different story. I could write a book on what not to do when starting your own business. I truly believe the only reason I have been successful is that the work is good and also original, and the design world is always looking for the next new thing. I keep moving towards doing less business and more art and it’s a seesaw most of the time. If I could do it all over again, I would have learned basic computer skills in a class.
Ellen Blakeley Studio’s True Blood glass mosaics – kitchen wall detail (Ellen’s house). 
Detail view of glass mosaic fireplace wall at Ellen’s house.
The Decorating Diva.com: What inspired the colors (Wild Mango, Amethyst Sparkle and Tropical H20) for the Pop Collection?
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Ellen: The hot pink, orange and lime green were inspired by Laurel True at The Institute of Mosaic Art (IMA) in Oakland, CA, where I teach as a visiting artist. When you walk into IMA you are enveloped in the hottest color palette imaginable-every square inch is bright and fun. The name Wild Mango is the name of a sizzling all female salsa band in San Francisco. Amethyst Sparkle was designed with The Purple People in mind (you know who you are). Bling to the max, a lavender jewel to satisfy that "over the top" itch. Tropical H2O comes from spending a lot of time in Miami Beach as a teenager and swooning over tropical weather, water, and that rush of diving in when you are hot. Naming the collection Pop is a nod to the Pop Art movement which was my first true love at age eleven, when my mother took me to the Pop Art show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
 Sweet Young Thing glass mosaic tile. |
 Turquoise Lace glass mosaic tile. |
The Decorating Diva.com: What’s next for Ellen Blakely Studio? Will you be expanding the mosaics line? Branching out into other product designs?
Ellen: I am always expanding the mosaic line with new colors. We just added nine new ones a few months ago and are starting to market them now. We have three sexy Valentine colors for February and there will be a spring water and blossom collection. I’d like to do new tabletops, chandeliers and translucent windows using my tempered glass technique too.
About Ellen Blakely Studio
Ellen Blakeley Studio creates custom hand-crafted mosaic tiles from recycled tempered glass – giving new life to discarded glass products.
Read More »2009 Christmas 12 Days of Design Notebooks {Days 10-12}
12 Days of Design: Christmas Gift Guide {Day 10}
12 Days of Design: Christmas Gift Guide {Day 11}
12 Days of Design: Christmas Gift Guide {Day 12}
All images copyright of respective owners.
Read More »2009 Christmas 12 Days of Design Notebooks {Days 7-9}
12 Days of Design: Christmas Gift Guide {Day 7}
12 Days of Design: Christmas Gift Guide {Day 8}
12 Days of Design: Christmas Gift Guide {Day 9}
All images copyright of respective owners.
Read More »
