Three Ceramic Reliefs

White Window and Woods, approx. 3" x 3"

Clouds in a Black Square, approx. 3" x 3"

Central Park from the 21st flr., approx. 4" x 5"

These pieces continue ideas explored in my painting, specifically landscape and window, the stage (buildings in Central Park flanking center like curtains, layers of trees then distant buildings center stage), and minimalist squares with a central focus in the cloud relief. The top image is of the test tiles I'm beginning to make, a new adventure. I think they have the peaceful quality in a lot of my landscapes, a richness in color, and pronounced texture, of course. They are three-dimensional paintings.

At the end of the eighth century the Greeks (of course) invented baked clay tiles for the functional purpose of waterproofing the ceilings of temples. The Metropolitan Museum of Art New York has a nice example. I love this Islamic one with an arabesque. This 16th century French platter done reflects the interest in science at the time with reliefs of snakes, frogs, and bugs. Both the unappetizing subjects and the raised forms make it unlikely dinnerware. It seems as though the artist enjoyed making this unconventional, imaginative object. I do like it better than this foo-fooy platter relief, also done in France, at the beginning of the 1600's depicting Pomona, the goddess of gardens and orchards. I think I just don't like women being treated as decorative objects, not so much that she is shown on a plate, but the way she might as well be anything else depicted. No special thought is put into showing her thoughts, personality, or expression. I'm all about expression.