Twin Cities Tile Tour
Saturday, October 25, 2008
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
A benefit for the Handmade Tile Association
www.handmadetileassociation.org
After expenses have been paid, money raised will be used as an HTA scholarship fund for new tile and mosaic artists.
Join us for a day-long bus tour of beautiful handmade tiles and mosaics that have been created and installed by artists and craftspeople in public spaces throughout the Twin Cities. While there is a thriving local community of contemporary handmade tile makers, tile making as an art form has a long and fascinating history in our area. We will meet at our studio, SoMi Tileworks, at 9 a.m. for continental breakfast and board a bus at 9:15 to begin our guided tour. Led by Norma Hanlon of SoMi Tileworks and Josh Blanc of Clay 2 to Infinity Gallery and Studio, we will visit historic and contemporary tile installation sites throughout Minneapolis and St. Paul. The tour will feature visits to Lakewood Cemetery Chapel which has a magnificent interior of Italian glass mosaic installed in 1910, the American Swedish Institute with its historic Swedish tile stoves, the College of St. Catherine Chapel which features amazing arts and crafts style tiles made by Ernest Batchelder and various other tile and mosaic installation sites.
After the tour, you will return to the SoMi Tileworks studio for a hands-on tile making experience. You will learn about the studio's tile production methods and have the opportunity to make a bas-relief tile of your very own. The tiles will be fired and glazed and mailed to you approximately two weeks following the tour day.
A box-lunch will be furnished for each participant. The cost for the Tile Tour will be $135. Current members of the Handmade Tile Association will receive a discount of 10%. To register, please call Norma Hanlon, SoMi Tileworks at 612 824 3325. You may also register by email at norma@somitileworks.com. Payment can be made by check or credit card. Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover cards can be accepted.
