A few months ago I worked on a very colourful project – painting our original plaster tiles.
With some valuable advice from a retired master craftsman, Eric Gjerde and I worked together to create unique tiles which look like paper, almost feel like paper, but are in fact made from plaster. They contain patterns that repeat and expand and can therefore cover a flat, solid surface. We are both very interested in working with different materials and plaster is one I am already rather familiar with.
By themselves, the raw casts are captivating; however the urge to cover the pure white plaster surface was too hard to resist. Working with oil paints and traditional painting methods, I had great fun creating colourful patterns on these great pieces. As usual, nothing was planned in advance, the colours were mixed intuitively resulting in great depth and overall harmony. I was very lucky to have some professional tips from my friend Xavier Noël, a professional gilder, who kindly helped polish my skills.
I’m incredibly pleased with the solid gold tiles, the way the light reflects and how they bring their surroundings alive. I like the idea of taking a rather simple plaster object and turning it into a spectaclar piece of 23 carat gold! It’s fascinating to see people’s reactions as they approach these tiles. Slowly, they realize that they are unsure of what is in front of their eyes: solid gold, bronze cast, ceramic, painted paper, folded paper… I love trompe l’oeil!
If you are interested in more information or in purchasing any of the following tiles please feel free to contact me.
