Relief carved Celtic heart ceramic tile

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6x6 Celtic Knot & heart tile

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The very ancient festival of lupercalia, February 13-15 in honor of Lupercus, god of sheperds and partly in honor of Lupa, the she wolf that suckled the orphans Remus & Romulus, founders of Rome, is said by some to be the origin of Valentines day. In Roman tradition the festival began with the Luperci (brothers of the wolf) priests. Foreheads smeared in sacrificial blood wiped from the knife with milk soaked wool, wearing only a goat skin, they would circle the city of Rome hitting women who lined the route with shaggy goat thongs. This was believed to ensure the barren fertility and the pregnant easy deliveries. Another of the festivities included eligable men drawing maiden's names from an urn, who they would pair with for the remainder of the festival and sometimes longer. Around 496 AD Pope Gelasias, feeling that this pairing of couples was not in keeping with the Christian teachings, ended the festival and replaced it with St. Valentines day whom he declared the patron saint of lovers (that being a whole other story) February 14 then became the day for men to draw the names of saints from the urn and spend the following year emulating their drawn saint. This practice fizzled out and by the 15th century Valentines day had returned to coupling eligable singles. Attemps to revive the saint pairing later never caught on.During medieval chivalry days the Valentines custom was to draw names in pairs, the man then wearing his chosen name on his sleeve, honor bound to attend and protect her. The 17th century saw the custom of exchanging elaborate hand made cards with flowery verse. Pre fabricated cards and a reduction in postal rates in 1797 ushered in the practice of mailing Valentine cards. Suddenly, most likely due to the anonimity of the mail, great numbers of racey, sexually suggestive cards began to appear. A great stir was caused amongst the prudish Victorians and several countries actually banned the exchange of cards due to the large number of obscene Valentines circulating. In the late 19th century the Chicago post office rejected tens of thousands of cards as not being fit to be carried through the US mail. Valentine cards were not to be stopped and today February 14, jokingly refered to as a 'hallmark' holiday has the highest sale of cards than any other day of the year and I'm sure there's a good smattering of sexually suggestive ones among them. So Happy Lupercalia!

Decorative relief carved Celtic ceramic tile willow tree set

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10 x 21 three piece relief carved, ceramic Celtic willow tree set

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The willow tree figures prominently in the mythology and folklore of many cultures, associated to the feminine lunar rhythms of life and utilized throughout history for healing, tools and spirituality. It is a symbol of romantic love, healing, protection and fertility. Along with the hazel and birch, willow is known to be one of the best woods for water divining and the bark has been used for it's pain relieving qualities since ancient times.

In the Celtic tradition February is the month of the willow which has long had an association with Pagan rituals involving the enhancement of psychic abilities, to connect with intuition, dreams and visions and to poeticly inspire writing, music & images.

A tree of dreaming, inspiration and enchantment.

Sacred to the moon.

Decorative relief carved ceramic crocus tile

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3x3 ceramic relief carved crocus tile

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Imbolc, the ancient pagan festival of the lactating ewes, celebrated on the 2 of February marks the center point between fall equinox and summer solstice, the dark half of the year. A time to prepare for growth and renewal by blessing seeds & tools and paying homage to the dieties of fertility, especially the goddesses in their maiden aspect. Hearth fires are doused and rekindled and candles lit to honor the strenthening of the sun. Ibolc is a sacred day of the goddess Brighid who's snake emerges from the womb of the earth mother to test the weather, this being the origin of ground hog day. The crocus, being a member of the iris family, associated with Eos, Venus & Aphrodite as well as the sun, mars, leo & fire is one of the traditional decorations used to celebrate Imolc.

Decorative handmade relief carved ceramic dragon tile

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Happy year of the Dragon!

This is our 14 x 7 half round dragon tile #2 surrounded with custom shaped field tile.

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Dragons are deeply rooted in, and their legends permeate Chinese culture from ancient times untill today. The benevolence of the dragon signifies greatness, goodness and blessings, many Chinese still often refer to themselves as decendants of the dragon. In ancient China there was not doubt of their exsistance and great respect was shown for any writing or art depicting dragons. Being a divine mythical beast, dragons can ward off evil spirits and protect the innocent, the ultimate symbol of good fortune. According to Chinese mythology dragons lived under the earth, surfacing only in the second month of the Chinese calendar to create rain & thunder. They looked like snakes and had no wings but could still fly.

This is the year of the less selfish and opinionated water dragon. Being less power hungry than the other dragons tend to be, the water dragon can accept defeat gracefully.  A good negotiator knowing when, where and how to apply pressure. They are a little on the over optimistic side and must remember to relenquish the unfeasable in order to concentrate fully on the most rewarding endevors.

Relief carved decorative handmade ceramic swan tile

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12x12 ceramic swan tile, relief carved & handpainted in underglazes with a clear gloss glaze finish.

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Swans feature strongly in the mythology of many cultures the world over. For the American Navajo the white swan could call up the four winds, Australian aborigines considered the black swan as wives of their All father and in Greece the swan was and is the symbol of the muses. Norse Valkyries often took the shape of swans and flew singing though the skies. They appear throughout Irish folklore, often in the disguise of fairy women. At times such as summer Solstice, Beltain or Samhain when the veils between worlds are thin, swan maidens can take on human form. In the Celtic tradition the swan is associated with dieties of healing water and sun. Sacred to bards they are shape shifters that have mastered the elements of water, earth and air. The swan is known as the Hamsa bird in Hinduism, signifing the divine mind and the breath of spirit...

Relief carved ceramic humming bird tile

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6x6 relief carved humming bird ceramic tile

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A Maya folk tale

In days long ago the sun god Baalam Kej transformed into a humming bird to escape the anger of his beloved Lady moon's father. The lady moon, unaware of the transformation came upon this humming bird and was magically drawn to him. The humming bird showed no fear and allowed himself to be captured by lady moon and carried home. Lady moons father known as the creator and supreme god was so pleased by his daughters happiness he had a special house built in lady moon's sleeping quarters especially for the humming bird. That night the sun god and lady moon eloped. They have made a perfect match of day & night ever since.

Decorative Celtic handmade ceramic tile installation

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These days we tend to think of ceramic tiles as mainly funtional, but they also possess a particular beauty which has played a major role in thier development through the ages. There have been periods throughout history where, in many places of the world, ceramic tiles have flourished primarily as decorative, adorning numerous palaces & public places. Increased movement along trade routes, wars, political unrest and religious fervor have all played a part in the blending of cultures. The subsequent exchange of artistic ideas, techniques and materials lead to the evolution and development of tile making. Since ancient times skilled craftsmen and artizans have been respected members of many societies, often employed by the governments of thier countries and traveling to centers of commerce & wealth to practice thier skills.

The tradition of hand crafting tiles which dates back to prehistoric mans first recognition of clay as an artistic medium is experiencing a present day renaissance throughout North America with hundreds of small artistic tile studios emerging and many large manufacturers refocusing thier production to include decorative ceramic tile lines.