All these tiles and artwork are made in my Bremerton, Washington, studio, which overlooks my garden of perennial and vegetable beds and a sloping bank planted with Pacific Northwest natives. I find the antics of the resident bees, bats, songbirds, northern flickers, owls, and squirrels both charming and challenging, but ultimately inspiring on a daily basis. I love being outside and tending the garden with my hands in the soil; I guess it comes as no surprise that I have discovered a way to keep my hands in the soil through my work. My tiles are my way of sharing with others my joy of being in nature.
With a background in graphic design, printmaking and watercolor painting, I started exploring the world of tilemaking in 1997 and haven't looked back since. Through continual experimentation I have been able to create a wide range of tile designs with only terracotta and white clays, underglaze color pigments and a clear finish glaze.
My technique with woodcarving tools, directly influenced by woodblock and linoleum printmaking, give the work a unique style and add unrivaled depth, texture, and liveliness not replicated by other tile making methods. It is a thirty step process, all by hand (no molds are used), that takes from six to eight weeks to complete. To read more about my process, here is a link to an article written about Red Step Studio in the Kitsap Sun.
Since 2000, I have been commissioned to carve unique tile portraits of homes and family farms, a grandfather fishing his special trout stream, a bride’s wedding flower, a family’s vacation trailer, house numbers, and fireplace murals. However, I am no longer accepting commissions.
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