Concept

 

The colorful patterns were influenced from years of travel to other countries where decorative patterns adorn architecture, pottery, art, fashion, furniture, and other items. 

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In fact, my first attraction to talevera tile originated from a fascination with pottery I found in shops around Italy during trips there (1997 & 2001).  Other influences from those trips include mosaic tiles I saw in the ruins, particularly the ones in Pompeii.

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Later travels to Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, and Greece expanded my adoration of the decorative patterns found on architecture, pottery, tiles, and the like in those countries.

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Prior to coming up with the concept for this project I researched Italian, Greek, Moroccan, Spanish, Mediterranean, Mexican Talavera, and some Islamic tile patterns.

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I found the ornate lines and shapes in purples, greens, oranges, blues and yellows against a gleaming white background appealing and decided that aesthetic would work best in the hall with the walls painted yellow.  

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Initially, I thought about hand-drawing Zentangle (a workshop I had taken in 2017) patterns for each individual square “tile” but a friend suggested I try stencils to make it easier. After creating an assortment of Zentangle, Zendala, Mandala, and border patterns to practice I realized she gave me sage advice and opted to heed it. 

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The first stencils I tried were pre-cut versions purchased from Etsy to test out before purchasing more materials or equipment.  With those stencils I explored a couple different paints, selecting acrylic paint pens as my medium of choice for this project. 

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Being my first project of this kind, studies on canvas gave me a better grasp of the tools and informed my color combination preferences.

 

Having completed the project, with a heightened understanding of using stencils to aid the process, I decided to invest in a craft cutting machine so that I can create my own unique patterns to use in future projects.