Since he incorporated in 2021 at Crest Tile and Mosaic, Inc., in Hilton, N.Y., Chris Resti, an NTCA Ambassador in his region, has been a rising star. He transitioned from almost six years of commercial work into specializing in small intricate jobs. And one of those small intricate jobs is turning a child’s drawing into a custom mosaic.
An aficionado of TCNA standards, Resti joined NTCA in 2022. In June 2023, he elevated his skills by attending the Artisan Revolution in Tile(A.R.T.) training, learning standards-based methods of creating hand-shaped mosaics using wet saws, ring saws and shapers. The following year, he and a group of his A.R.T. colleagues presented a panel at Coverings about the artisan tile movement and what the A.R.T. experience offers seasoned tile installers and joined some of his A.R.T. compatriots demonstrating hand-shaped mosaic creation at TileFest at the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works in Doylestown, Pa. (And they will reprise those presentations and demos at Coverings and TileFest this year as well). Last June, he became an assistant trainer at the 2024 version of A.R.T.
He’s keen on interacting with his community as well. In fact, in 2023, he held a drawing contest over the summer, inviting children to submit their artwork. The prize? A hand made Resti mosaic of the drawing, immortalizing it in tile!
The 2024 winner of Resti’s contest was Samantha Royston, a homeschooler, who made the drawing last September when she was 9 years old. Entitled, “Doggo at the Beach,” Samantha took top place from all entries. Samantha’s mom said, Samantha’s inspiration was “a few of her favorite things, dogs and the beach! We go to [neighboring town] Hamlin frequently and she loves seeing all the dogs. She said it was ‘extravagant’ and very cool to have her drawing turned into a mosaic.”
Resti transformed the drawing into a mosaic, fashioning it from all hand-cut ceramic and porcelain. He used a Dremel to create the freckles and dots on the dog’s nose. Finally, he hand made the frame.
Though this isn’t a drawing of the family’s dog Tater Tot, Samantha said “maybe we should get a dog that looks like the mosaic.”
Resti delights in his growing tile artistry skills, and uses them to bring delight to those in his community too.
Lesley Goddin has been writing and journaling since her first diary at age 11. Her journey has taken her through a career in publishing and publicity, landing her the editor position of TileLetter and its special publications in 2006. Her goal is to educate, inspire, recognize and encourage those in the tile industry -- especially the tile and stone contractor.
