(Photo by Mike Conte) Here’s the back of the paper coat. The seals on the upper back are cut outs that are gesso-ed on to the etching paper. The x-ray style of showing parts of the inside like the ribs and stomach is common in Alaska coastal areas where wood food bowls and drum skins were decorated with these types of images. Most of my time is taken up making art tiles with the local clay from the glacial mudflats and it was fun to make something different.
A model wearing the coat was posted a couple of weeks ago. She did a fantastic job of selling it to the audience.
How do I get in touch with you about purchasing tiles? I’m interested in 4″ maple leaf tiles. Thanks. Cathy
Hello Cathy Kelly,
You can email me or call (907) 306-6477. Were you interested in one of the 4″ maple tiles on the blog, I can see if the one particular one is still available, and I can also email small pictures of others similar to it for you to chose from. How many were you interested in? When you’ve selected the tiles you want we can do an online payment over the phone. Shipping is usually under $15 and includes insurance and delivery confirmation.
-Ed, Tile Artist
Hello I found it. Thanks for watching Pho.
Great looking item that coat- very unique, interesting stuff (as usual).
G
Hey! This is great! Who hosts the Anchorage object/runway??
The International Gallery of Contemporary Art, IGCA, based in Anchorage, is one of the sponsors. This was the second year of the event that occurs in late January.
Hi Ed, I was going thru art and rearranging it in the Studio and I was placing your Tiles I bought at the Pottery workshop in Pomona 2005 or close to that time. I just love them so I thought I would look you up on Facebook since the whole planet is on it and sure enough you too have your space in space. Love what your doing now. Wish I could same the same for my work. Its beautiful but so expensive its not a mover in this market. I have done one big instillation here in the area at a Doctors office as a room divider and it came out great. I take my photography and fuse it 3 piece’s of plex it looks 3 D when done and you can see thru both the front and back so it lets in light yet it offers a divider or just unusual Art. I have a few piece’s on my web site but its hard to see the real effect. http://www.backwallstudios.com If you want to take a look. Keep up the good Art and if I ever get back to Alaska I be sure to look you up. All my Best Pinky Blackwell
Hello Pinky,
Wow. Amazing how time flies. I was just starting with the tiles and 2005 was the first year I sold them at the weekend market in downtown Anchorage. I remember walking back, maybe from lunch, with you, your friend, Norman Carlson, the guy who put together the encyclopedia of American art tiles, and we came upon a couple of young ladies sorting through vintage clothing on the sidewalk. We took pictures of them because they were pretty.
Each year is better than the last, but it has been hard to expand outside of Alaska. I’m lucky that people are still vacationing in Alaska, and in greater numbers. Only went to Denver, Chicago, and Seattle this year for arts and crafts fares. Did the Lincoln Center in New York City last year and did well, but it is really expensive to stay in New York! I can’t complain. I never thought this would be an accomplishment, but I went to three great botanic gardens in the space of one year: Brooklyn, Chicago, and Denver. I don’t know why this urge to see plants came about; in Pomona the smell of organics or vegetation seemed overwhelming, maybe because Alaska’s cool summers keep a lid on fast decay or something like that. Anyway, I’m rambling. Hope the economy picks up and your business takes off. Thanks for the note.
-Ed Mighell, Tile Artist (amongst other arts)