Relief carved ceramic green man tile

Happy May Day!

This is our 6x6 relief carved green man tile, shown here in a dark green underglaze with a clear gloss glaze finish. Available at earthsongtiles.com

Durring the 16th & 17th centuries in the UK May Day was celebrated with garlands of flowers and leaves. These garlands became increasingly elaborate to the extent that they would cover an entire man. This became known as Jack in the green, associated with the green man, one of the most powerful fertility symbols throughout western culture. By the turn of the 19th century, the Victorian disapproval of bawdy, anarchic behaviour replaced the somewhat lewd lord & lady of the May and their practical jokes with a pretty, demure May queen. The noisy, drunken Jack in the green vanished altogether from the May day parades.

The Jack in the green custom finally enjoyed a revival in the 1970's and continues in some places today.

Relief carved ceramic thistle tile

4x4 Relief carved and handpainted thistle tile

Available at earthsongtiles.com

The thistle, a favorite food of many song birds, especially finches, is an ancient Celtic symbol for nobility of both character & birth. It has been the national emblem of Scotland for well over 500 years.

This is an excerpt from a Robert Burns poem, writen in reply to        

' The Guid Wife of Wauchope House'  a poem writen to Burns by Elizabeth Scott 1787.

The rough burr-thistle,

spreading wide among the bearded bear

I turn'd the weeder-clips aside

A'n spare'd the symbol dear

No nation, no station

my envy e'er could raise:

A Scot still, but blot still,

I knew know higher praise.

Decorative Handmade Moon & Sun ceramic tiles

Relief carved 8 x 8 Sun man and Moon woman tiles

Available at earthsongtiles.com

The skies, for ancient peoples, were a screen on which they projected their most profound speculations and spiritual needs. As the prime source of light and heat, the sun combined with rain to bring forth and sustain life. It's active, creative energy was considered to be a male attribute, and because of its high position in the heavens and the clarity of its light, the sun was reguarded as all-seeing, and was worshipped as a ( mainly masculine) god in a number of civilizations.

The moon is generally seen as feminine, partly owing to the correspondence of the lunar month with the menstrual cycle. Constantly changing from phase to phase and varying its position in the sky, the moon is fickle in character, but at the same time symbolizes resurrection, immortality and the cyclical nature of all things. It stands for the power of the dark, mysterious side of nature, and the moon goddess was almost universally perceived as the weaver of fate and controller of destinies, in the same way she controlled the tides, the weather, rainfall and seasons.

While the sun and moon symbolized the principal gods, the stars embodied those of lesser importance, whose influence on human fate was more remote. The moon as queen of the heavens is often shown haloed with stars to symbolize the obeisance paid to her by the other forces of nature.

Relief carved Saraswati ceramic tile

4 x 16 Saraswati tile shown here in honey underglaze with a clear gloss finish

Available at earthsongtiles.com

Saraswati, a river Goddess in early history is better known now as the Goddess of knowledge and art, representing the free flow of wisdom & consciousness. She is also associated with anuraga, the love for and rythym of music, she plays the music of love and life on her vina.

There is a legend that when Shiva opened his third eye, the flame that eminated from it threatened to destroy everything in it's path. Saraswati undaunted, knowing that it would only destroy that which was impure took the shape of a river. She carried the flame deep into the sea  transforming it into a fire breathing mare and declared the creature would stay underground as long as wisdom was sought after on earth.

Love song of the frog

Love song of the frog

Decorative relief carved raven ceramic tile

Happy April fools, a good day to feature one of our custom instalations with the trickster raven in it.

Although the origins of April fools day remain a mystery,  historians believe it evolved directly out of one of the many ancient renewal festivals practiced by cultures around the world. These festivals held to celebrate the return of spring often involved ritualized forms of mischief and mayhem. The wearing of disguises and playing of pranks was common. Social order was symbolicly challenged for a strictly set time then restored, reafirming the stability of the society and the cycle of life. It is frequently suggested that the feast of Lud,  held in honor of Lud an ancient Celtic god of humor,  was the forerunner of April fools day.

Handmade, relief carved ceramic frog & fern tile

6 x 12 relief carved ceramic frog & fern tile

Available at earthsongtiles.com

Frogs have featured prominently in the folklore of many cultures around the world and continue to do so right up to modern pop culture. Connected to the moon and the symbol of new beginings, fertility, transformation & good luck, frogs were often considered representatives of the water spirits by the Druids. In Scotland stone frogs are often given as house warming presents, a good luck symbol to be kept in the garden. The frog goddess Heket was worshiped by Egyptians, to whom the frog symbolized life itself. In China the frog represents the lunar Yin, it's spirit being associated with healing & good fortune.

Breaking the silence

of an ancient pond

A frog jumped into the water

A deep resonance

One of the thirty odd translations into English of the famous Haiku by Matsuo Basho 1686