David B. Kelly, Architect (retired)
“CITY SCAPE” 15″ by 18″ Paper Mosaic on Maple Panel
Ceramic Tiles, Tile Panels, and Porcelain on Steel Panels
Collages, Paper Mosaics, and Works on Paper
I am a retired architect who, before retirement began designing ceramic tiles by having my original pen and ink drawings converted to decals which were then fired to the ceramic bodies, Because my drawings are one color line only, decals were a natural extension of my work. I began with studies inspired by the Aesthetic Movement, because of its motifs’ affinity with line drawings.
At first, I questioned the aesthetic integrity of decals, blindly accepting the validity of the popular evaluation of them as being of lesser quality than hand painted images. Soon, however, I realized that decalcomania is only the benign process of image transfer to a ceramic surface and therefore is not necessarily an indicator of the quality of the object. I came to believe that the commercialized attempts to cheaply emulate painted wares had caused the negative bias. I saw an analogy between decals and prints.
MODULE DETAIL: Monumental Panel: “VENETIAN PALAZZO II” The overall design without framing elements is 50″ wide by 85″ high (25 modules total ) The detail shown corresponds to the uppermost left module of the 25, measuring 10″ by 15″ Use of tiles this size eliminates the grout lines exhibited by the grid when using smaller dimensioned tiles. I envision these large works to add stronger imagery and architectural presence to areas that require a more assertive design.
TILES: Designs developed utilizing a 2 tile alternating matching scheme
“Rococo Chinoiserie Toile” 8″ by 8″ Porcelain body tiles that allow for exterior installations
When first starting my explorations of designs, I quickly realized that I was not satisfied to reproduce the designs of the instantly identifiable types: the Delft, the Portuguese azulejos, the Mexican talaveras, the Persian Izniks. Searching for inspiration, I encountered a two tile matching design at a Columbus, Ohio showroom. This design scheme used an A tile and a B tile which are set in an alternating matching pattern, however each of the two tiles matches the other on all 4 sides. This allows an expansion of scale of the image and field and also allows complete vertical and horizontal flexibility.
Intrigued by this idea, I turned to my garden, or rather, to my terrace, which contained a hanging container of fuchsias. The exotic shapes of the flowers, the linear quality of the stems and foliage presented themselves as an image that would lend itself to spilling across two tiles.
I have always preferred to draw rather than to paint and this choice was only strengthened by my architectural education where we were exposed to the last vestiges of the Beaux Arts traditions of fine ink rendering and the study of shades and shadows. Because of my use of ink and rapidograph technical pens, my designs were easily transformed into decal of line only and one color.
ABSTRACTION: “BIRD”S EYE” I created many designs of non traditional images, sensing a need for fresh interpretation in contemporary settings.
Tile designs executed as collages
As I developed more and more designs, rather than create decals, obtain, decorate, and schedule the firing of ceramic tiles, I began to explore manipulating prints of the designs. Simultaneously, I encountered the exquisite Japanese Washi papers which are inspirational in themselves.
Also, at the outset of my explorations, I turned to the Aesthetic Movement for inspiration because of its emphasis on “drawn” or engraved images. I was intrigued by the juxtapositioning of patterns which, in turn, were set against botanical images, often rendered realistically. These ideas were readily translatable to collages and I enjoyed the additional avenues of expression.
“AESTHETIC SPARROWS” sold
“BLUE FUCHSIAS” sold “ASH WEDNESDAY” 8″ X 16″
Paper Mosaics
Working with beautiful papers challenged me to an efficiency of materials. Having acquired a trove of exquisite handmade Italian papers, I was reluctant to waste even the smallest scraps which I retained and filed according to basic color. The small pieces, beautiful in themselves, reminded me of Louis C. Tiffany, who viewed the waste glass from the large window projects as having potentialities for an alternative use in the creation of lamp shades, I laminated a few pieces to a backing board and discovered the similarity in appearance to the tesserae of mosaics.
Porcelain Printing on Steel Panels
“L’Ete” 15″ X 30″ Rococo panel after Pillement can be printed in any one color on white background. Actual size of 16″ by 31″ allows margin around image. Ga steel panel can be ordered with back mounting components for installation to various materials.
Because of my work being related to the decoration of ceramic surfaces by decals, I was constantly constrained by the limited scale of the decal manufacturing process. Modern digital printing of decals has advanced greatly and innovations like porcelain printing have been exciting. As an example, this 15″ by 30″ Rococo Chinoiserie panel can now be executed in porcelain fired to a steel panel, completely eliminating grout lines. The complete vitrification of firing allows the panel to withstand UV light degradation as well as the freeze/thaw cycle challenges. The use of steel panel offers an extraordinary flexibility of dimension impossible with tile. Of course, the design can still be executed in porcelain tiles. The use of color has also been vastly improved by the technological advances and has opened new vistas.
