Mary Richmond Design

Mary Richmond Tiles Now on Etsy

Although I've had a shop on Etsy for almost two years now I only started listing my tiles there seriously this week.

In fact, I opened a second shop where I will be putting all my ceramic work, including the jewelry and small sculptures.

So far I haven't listed a lot but I did list a few murals like this chickadee one.

And this flower basket one....

You can see more here.

Back to the Tile Studio

I have not advertised or marketed my ceramic tile business in over a year and still the orders trickle in. Most are from people I've done business with in the past though some have found me through internet searches.

Interestingly all my recent orders have been tiles like these. They are Delft tile knockoffs in terms of using a corner design and painting in cobalt blue on a white glaze but I don't think the Delft folks have anything to worry about quite yet. Their glazes are quite different and their designs much more refined.

I first played around with the Delft idea about 20 years ago when a client wanted a Delft sort of look in her kitchen but with a Cape Cod feel and theme.

I have found using the cobalt glaze on white to be a popular choice, whether for birds, beach scenes or just a few single tiles popped into a larger field of white tiles. Some people just use the corner designs and let that be their tile statement.

Herons are always popular and this panel has found its way into many homes.

This old panel from a tile store that changed up their display shows some of the scenes I designed for my Cape Cod Delft line.

This particular store took down these designs years ago and I think almost everything they've sold of mine since has been based on these designs. Makes me laugh every time because they were so sure it was old news.

And in the world of tiles right now it's all about glass and stone....

and there are still lots of people looking for a more traditional look like this.

Glass and stone are great but they are also cold and unyielding and many people are beginning to look for something warmer and more personal.

All things run in cycles and tile is no different. Over the years I've learned to go with the flow and supplement my income when times are slow.

I fight myself sometimes about being in the tile business but over the last few months of meeting with designers and clients I've come to realize I really like the interactive part of my business. I like that my tiles are in people's homes and loved by them. I have people call me years later to buy more tiles for a renovation or a grown child's kitchen and they tell me wonderful stories about what my tiles have meant to them.

I'm off to the studio today to make a lot of tiles for a kitchen north of Boston. And guess what designs will be going on them. You got it--more Cape Cod Delft!

Tiles Delivered!

These are just some of 170 tiles I delivered today for a job in Connecticut. I finally got to meet a lovely lady I've done business with for probably 15 years but we have never met!

Every now and then she calls me with a job. Sometimes the job is tiny, 4 or 5 painted tiles for above a sink or along the top of a fireplace but this time it was for a whole kitchen backsplash.

It was so much fun to finally meet her and her husband since she and I have talked so much on the phone over the years.

We went with a very traditional Delft style design but with my own touches. It was particularly fun to this design right now since I'll be going to see the Delft factory itself (yes, in Delft, Holland!) in the last week of May! Can't wait.

Here is a close up of the designs. In this order there were 24 painted designs and the rest of the tiles just had the petal and dot corners.

Every time I do one of these larger jobs, especially with all the other work I have going on, it makes me wonder why I take it on. But then I see how excited and happy the client is and I get invited right into the next one. The truth is there are things I hate about the tile business and things I love about it. Every now and then I think I should just quit...

and then I don't.

Ever feel conflicted by elements of your art related business?

New Tile Photos

Every now and then I get an order that just goes wrong. This little bunny mural was one such order. The woman who ordered it originally ordered something totally different over a year ago. She decided she wanted bunnies instead of birds and even a different size mural. We agreed on a design and then everything started to go wrong.

The order got lost in my move. All sorts of other complications happened, including one mural getting lost in the mail. Anyway, it is done and shipped and hopefully she'll have it on Tuesday. Yes, I got insurance and tracking info.

Here's a close up of one of the bunnies. I don't know what it is about these little guys but everyone seems to love little rabbits. I have sold many, many cards and prints of these two little rabbits as well as many other rabbits. They're so appealing in an innocent, cute sort of way, I guess.

I also delivered this panel today, another piece that got put aside with all the hubbub going on. The kids came to my studio over a year ago and we did a kitchen design around some of the prints they made. These were the leftovers and the woman kept saying, "No hurry," which one should never say to me.....Anyway, she was very happy with these and while I was there I took pictures of the mural I did for her.

These flowers were taken from a fabric swatch she brought to my studio and they match the curtains across the room. She is thrilled with the tiles and it was fun to talk with her about her home and all the decorating she's been doing. This is their retirement home on the Cape and they are very excited and grateful to be here. It's nice to be a part of someone's excitement and gratitude.

Here's a close up of the mural.

It's great to be able to photograph my work with a digital camera and see what I've got right away. I used to agonize over taking these photos and then have to wait and hope and get copies and well, you know.....it was much harder!

Today I download them on the computer, upload them to the blog, to Flickr and have them immediately available to email to clients, etc. I love it!

I will post my Art Every Day efforts later tonight or tomorrow.

Bird Tiles

An interesting and rather nice thing about my tiles seems to be that the people who love them really love them. When they do their kitchens over they want the tiles to remain. Personally, I'd probably be very ready for a change, myself, so it always surprises me when this happens. Very often the tiles get broken in the renovation or the size requirements change so the customer gets back in touch with me and we do a new design. Some clients want the very same design they had before. Guess if it's not broke, why fix it?

This client recently doubled the size of her kitchen, changed the layout and added a marble counter. She also changed the height of the counter relative to the window and the shelf so even though she wanted the tiles to remain the same as the ones she's had for years they had to be redone. The birds are all local birds she can either see out her window or on the way to the beach and all have a particular meaning for her.

It's always fun to work with such an enthusiastic client and then get to see the finished room to photograph.

This kitchen is so different from the one she had before and yet the tiles still fit in nicely. Of course the fact they are mostly neutral colors helps.

Over the next few weeks I'll be working on my portfolio and will be out and around photographing my work installed in people's homes.

So much of my work goes out in little cardboard boxes that it's nice to see it up and in use, the way it is meant to be.

It's always interesting to me to see the way people integrate my work into their homes. This part of the tile wall is obviously part of a much larger visual scheme and as the tile artist I have nothing to do or say about that. Often the client is so focused on the small picture they forget the larger, whole picture. Fortunately this installation works with what's going on behind it pretty well. The backdrop is pretty neutral and the views outdoors are all of trees and beautiful gardens. There are also a few bird feeders busy with birds so my birds will feel right at home.

When Tiles Are Fun

It's been a while since I posted a picture of my tiles but today I went to deliver a few tiles to this home and had a chance to photograph the kitchen and fireplace I did there this summer. Tile commissions always seem to take a long time. There's the meeting with the client, the first stage of the design, the next meeting with the client, the approval of the design and then the tiles must be made, dried, cleaned and bisque fired before being painted and glazed and refired. Then they get delivered and approved, the tile installer must come to install them and then come back to grout them and well, you're starting to get the picture.

I'm always amazed at the two day projects accomplished on HGTV because my projects sure take longer than that!

These tiles are what I call my Cape Cod Fossil Tiles and have sea horses, shells and sea stars impressed in the wet clay. After the bisque firing I wash them with several colors of underglaze to give them a watercolor effect. After they are dry they get several coats of clear glaze and are fired again.

This kitchen is in a summer home and is almost completely white so the owner wanted something colorful and beachy and yes, a little Cape Coddy, so voila!

The reason I was at this home was to deliver 2 tiles to be fitted into the top row of the fireplace. You can see where they are missing in this photo. After several somewhat panicky calls from the homeowner I was able to work things out with the tile installer and all is well. I brought along a nice handpainted tile with a cork back she can use as a trivet as a little gift to help ease her unhappiness and I have to say all worked out quite nicely. She loves the tiles in both the kitchen and the living room and I will go back to photograph the finished piece in the next few weeks. These tiles are from my Cape Cod Delft series and have a somewhat floral corner design in cobalt blue.

Thanks to all who wrote comments and sent me emails about my decision (or lack thereof) about my tile business.

I've decided to not give it up but to not actively market and pursue it either. I'm just going to let it do its organic ongoing thing. Right now I have three tile orders on my order board and another on the way. None are big but all will make a nice contribution to my travel fund/ IRA. That's what I've decided to do with the money I make from my tiles so it's still a business but not what I expect to support me. This way it is fun and I can take the jobs I want. I have contracts in place to use for every order and I think this past year of errors has taught me alot about myself and my work habits. I've been overbooked and overwrought and it's been showing.

Most importantly, I've learned to not overpromise and underdeliver. By the way, the paper that gave up all its freelancers has just taken my column back so that's pretty cool too.

Thoughts on Making a Living as an Artist

As I prepare to close my shop I am very busy writing several articles for local publications on such things as young artists making their way, creating a home office and a few book reviews as well as interviews with the authors. I am also finishing a tile commission for a local business. All this transition work and writing has opened up many questions for me about my own work and the path I have chosen.

These drawings on tile represent a logo that I will repeat a dozen times for an installation. The rest of the installation involves small murals of general sea and beach scapes.

These little scenes and pictures of birds, especially sandpipers, have been paying my bills for many years now. I started painting tiles when it was suggested to me by a woman I knew who owned a shop selling specialty tiles. I was 25, pregnant and wanted to do something that used my painting ability while parenting my yet unborn child. I had hoped to be a gallery artist but that wasn't happening for me at that time and when this showed up, I said thank you, and took it.

After 18 years of custom painting tile murals and making my own ceramic tile I left the business to become a naturalist and writer as well as open up more time to paint "art". Three years ago I came back into the tile business when I was offered a shop and living space that were available for an "artist in residence." Once again, the tiles became my bread and butter although I have continued to work in watercolor and pastel as well.

Today I interviewed this young man, Matthew Schulz of Schulz Gallery in Osterville MA. He is 28, (a year older than my oldest daughter) and he opened this gallery when he was 23. He recently won the Duck Stamp Competition, has had his work accepted in many prestigious shows, is a member of the Copley Society and other juried organizations and is asking $14,200 for this painting, which he fully expects to get.

To be fair, he has had significant family and financial support and still lives at home, but the important thing is he has held true to his dream, himself and his talent and has persevered and succeeded. It is not hard to imagine him with a lifelong successful career.

Sometimes I wonder what I did wrong. I don't really like the gallery scene so often I tell myself I chose not to go that route. It seems artificial and pompous to me. It usually involves a lot of people standing around in a big room with pictures on the wall pontificating on intellectual and aesthetic ideas that often sound a lot more like bulltwinky than appreciation if you know what I mean. And then there's the whole collector scene where many paintings stay wrapped in vaults, waiting for their price to raise so the collector can make good on their investment. I tell myself that at least I do something that's functional, something that's useful and brings beauty into someone's home.

The truth is I have spent most of my prime years raising a family, coping with the ups and downs of extended family and friends, keeping body and soul together financially while running a busy business and well, living my life. I've spent more hours at the hospital, pediatrician's and veterinarian's office than in galleries, I'm afraid. I've clocked more hours caretaking people than caretaking my artist career and I've spent more time painting tiles than painting paintings.

So what now? Do I have what it takes to be "an artist"? I don't know any more. And when I look at how I spend my days I know that I am an artist already, no matter what anyone else thinks. I may not show in prestigious galleries and maybe I never will but I have shared my work with many, many people and made them happy....and that's a good thing, I think.

Over the next few months it is my goal to do more drawing and painting outdoors, to keep going on my oil painting and to just keep working. Who knows what comes next?

Watercolors and Ceramic Tiles

Here's a picture of the latest tiles I painted for a kitchen backsplash. They are going in a single row between a counter and a shelf, both with brownish gold granite with black in it. There are blank tiles being used as well and yesterday we added a few more birds to round out the numbers the client needed. These tiles are 5", a size I am using more and more as the new stoves and counters are coming in with higher risers.

The woman I did these tiles for is replacing tiles I did for her about 25 years ago and she wanted the same designs. These are my old classic tiles, still very popular with people who want specific birds illustrated.

This is the watercolor I did in my moleskine yesterday, continuing with the idea of each page having just a bird head, painted pretty loosely.

And here is today's piece. I love working quickly and wetly with my watercolors. It's sort of the opposite effect from what I do on the tiles, which is usually much more detailed and controlled. A time and place for everything, including technique and expression.

Watercolors, Hand Painted Tiles and a New Intern

Another day, another watercolor, another bird....

More tiles, more birds....

and a new intern from Sandwich High School through the School to Careers Program...She'll be with me through April, working on her drawing and painting. We're trying to figure out how to get to some life drawing classes but their schedule and her schedule are clashing for the moment.

Today I had her do some drawing with ink and then some work with black, gray and white pastels.

In the fall the students are seniors and in the spring they are juniors. It's been two years since I had a junior. They have such wonderful, innocent energy, very different from the seniors. The seniors come in pretty stressed out about putting their portfolios together while the juniors are just excited to really be working in an artist's studio....funny how much difference a year or really just about 6 months can make!

I love working with these kids in this program. They're motivated, talented and open to everything. They're excited and willing to work really hard. They want to achieve, to succeed. You hear so many things about kids that are negative and yet I see so many positive, hard working and just all around great kids through the programs I'm involved with. There's still plenty of hope out there....

Watercolors and Ceramic Tiles

These days I'm only in the studio from Thursday to Sunday. The rest of the week I'm trying to take a little time off, am visiting clients and catching up on my writing and financial record keeping.

This morning I started my day in the studio with this little watercolor in my moleskine book. It's a warm up piece, one of my favorite ways to start a day in the studio.

I also painted and glazed these bird tiles for a kitchen installation due this weekend. I paint a lot of birds on tile, especially shorebirds. There are times it feels a bit monotonous but mostly I really like to paint birds and find individual personalities in the birds, even when painting the same species.

I met with a client in the shop, prepared a mailing and chatted with my assistant. All in all, a good studio day.