Handmade tile is the foundation of our industry, and hand-set tiles are the foundation of our trade. Both of these aspects of the passion of tile are celebrated in April and May during industry and public events.
A.R.T at Coverings…and beyond
The tile artisan movement continues to pick up momentum through the growing community of ace mosaicists, and precision installers who use their creativity and expertise to customize residential and commercial projects. Fueled by support from the NTCA, LATICRETE and industry partners ike Dal-Tile, Tile Tools, ARTO, and others, about 30 experienced tile installers have challenged themselves and expanded their skills in crafting hand-shaped mosaics through the Artisans Revolution in Tile (A.R.T.) training programs. Master trainers Lee Callewaert of Dragonfly Tile and Stone Works and Joshua Nordstrom of Tierra Tile led these programs in 2023 and 2024, with another scheduled for fall 2025 in Nashville.
This month, you’ll catch several A.R.T. demonstrations and talks at the Artisan Showcase at Coverings. They will include a panel discussion on participants’ experience of the program itself, live ring saw demonstrations that illustrate how tools can be used to form intricate patterns and shapes to customize installations for customers. Also planned is a pre-mounting demonstration by Callewaert and Nordstrom.
And next month, the A.R.T. crew will travel to TileFest, May 17-18 in Doylestown, Pa., at the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works. Last year, A.R.T. graduates set up a tent to demonstrate and craft mosaics using wet saws, ring saws and shapers, and explained their process to the many visitors. They will reprise that experience this year, with veterans of the original 2023 program, and some new participants from the 2024 class sharing their experiences and perspectives. This is a perfect opportunity to educate visitors about the creative possibilities available using commercial tile and stone – a complement to the handmade tile component of TileFest itself.
The A.R.T. 2023 graduates who conducted demonstrations at TileFest and educated visitors about the creative potential of artisan tile installation. (l. To r.): Matt Blood; Seth Ready, A.R.T. Assistant Trainer, Chris Osterritter; Aryk Snowberger and Chris Resti.
The A.R.T. at work creating hand-shaped mosaics at TileFest. (l. To r.): Matt Blood, Chris Osterritter and Aryk Snowberger.
Tile Fest May 17-18
TileFest, a veritable Hogwarts of handmade tile creativity and history – takes place at the site of the two-story reinforced concrete tile factory that Henry Chapman Mercer built between 1911-1912. The Moravian Pottery and Tile Works is a WORKING factory, still making tiles in the Mercer Arts and Crafts style – and there are tours of the factory held during the event. The building and grounds become an outdoor marketplace of contemporary, vintage, and antique tile: the largest annual gathering of tile makers and collectors in the United States.
The event is sponsored by The TileWorks of Bucks County, The Tile Heritage Foundation, the Bucks County Tourism Grant Program, and Merola Tile. A portion of the proceeds will go to CERF – the Craft Emergency Relief Fund – that serves artists through emergency relief, preparedness, education and advocacy, and has provided support to those affected by the fires in LA and Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina.
In addition to the veritable garden of hand crafted tiles by local and national makers in every style on display and available for purchase at the event, The TileWorks has activations and activities planned.
May 10-14, the week before TileFest, Sherri Warner Hunter, known for her large scale public commissions and community projects, will teach a five-day workshop in creating totems and finials, using foam forms and bases of carved concrete.
During the festival, an exhibit of 120 tiles made in the Mercer style by fifth graders from Sol Feinstone Elementary School, Newtown, Pa., will collectively form a tile menagerie.
A “Tile Throwdown” – in its second year – invites visitors to create their own works in clay.
Local charity Travis Manion Foundation empowers veterans and families of fallen heroes with a range of programs and training, and will offer a community-building opportunity to paint stars to be installed in Freedom Square in the center of downtown Doylestown.
Since the theme of TileFest this year is “Stories in Clay,” it’s fitting that The Middle Bucks Institute of Technology will sponsor Tile Talk, collecting the oral history around tile. Attendees and makers will share stories of the history of the area, influences, what tile making as part of American culture means, and more.
The “Wild Clay” exhibit is presented by the Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, Delaware Valley University. TileWorks uses “wild clay” dredged from nearby Lake Towhee for its tiles, and this exhibit explores the natural materials used in ceramics, how they are creatively utilized and the importance of Henry Mercer’s philosophy of the handmade, human-centric approach in a 21st-century technological society.
Members of the Tile Geeks Facebook group – many located on the east coast, make an annual pilgrimage to TileFest, and this year is no exception. Each year they embark upon a unique project using TileWorks Mercer tiles, sometimes a personal project like a planter they created last year as a memorial for a friend of Jim Garbe’s, or a fireplace surround or other projects that are sold or auctioned to raise money for TileWorks.
For more information on these events, visit coverings.com and thetileworks.org/.
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.
