A new kitchen in Washington DC gets a new hearth treatment

I sense a renewed  interest 

in hand painted ceramic tiles.

My tiles are hand painted with Italian powder pigments.

This is how they look before they are fired.  

I begin by painting circles on once fired bisque tiles.

The books are there to steady my arm.

I center the tiles on the Banding Wheel and place the color laden brush on the tile and let the wheel spin.

(keeping fingers crossed that the lines will meet where they began)

There is a shop in Deruta Italy, (Mondo Ceramica) where I purchase my pigments, glazes and brushes. 

There is enough to last a lifetime. 

I recently noticed that I use more yellow than any other pigment. That could be an excuse to head for Deruta on our upcoming trip to Italy in April. 

I might even stop in at the Scuola d' Arte and visit with my favorite teacher.   

Once the images have been completely painted,  2 coats of clear glaze is applied. 

They will now go into my kiln and be fired to 1823 degrees Fahrenheit.  

This is when the pigments fuse with the clear glaze and this is when the magic happens.  

 The firing cycle lasts a little over 24 hours.  

The colors will never fade, they are permanent.  

They are painted in the 600-year-old Italian Maiolica tradition. 

The only difference is that they are painted in Utah, and not in Italy.  

My tiles will last many lifetimes no matter how many times you scrub or clean them. 

 This is my favorite kind of tile to paint.  

They all tell a story. 

Spring is coming to our neck of the woods.  

Hallelujah. 

Gina

Surprise, Surprise

The first flowers growing outside

and Kumquats growing inside, in my greenhouse. 

 I had no idea that Kumquats were forming on my little tree. 
 I couldn't see them when they were green.  

Brought these candied Kumquats from Italy. 
Wish I knew the recipe. 

Have a lovely weekend dear friends, 

Gina 

Grafton

Grafton today

Alive and well.

Where on a starry night and in the middle of Summer you can dance with the descendants from this almost forgotten place of the American West.  

Really not forgotten because of a catchy little tune 

from the Movie "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid".  

The open space in front of the old schoolhouse was the perfect place to film the now famous bicycle ride scene.  

The marker announces "Killed by Indians April 2, 1866".

Gravestones are everywhere.  Mounds of graves, unmarked, are everywhere.  

I had the uneasy feeling that I was walking on their graves.  In fact, I fell over that stone in front of the enclosed gravesite.  

Too young to die.

It's a lovely valley.

 Brigham Young, the leader of the Mormon Church, sent his followers to this valley with the mandate to grow cotton. 

My Friend and every day walking partner Lynn has added this interesting note about this charming little house:

It was actually my great, great Grandfather who built this house.  My Grandfather was born and raised in Grafton.  One of the sweet things about the house is the detail in the brick, especially the foundation.  When they came to Grafton, of course it wasn't full of pastures and orchards as it is now, and I think he wanted something pretty for his wife in what must have seemed a God-forsaken place.  To have taken the extra time to make that brick detail seems a lovely thing to me.  

The house Lynn's great, great Grandfather built.  

There it is on the left. 

Many from the same family.

Repeated floods, Indian raids and famine finally drove out the last resident in 1945. 

And did you know that Zion National Park is just a half hour drive down the road?  

Wishing you a wonderful week. 

Gina 

The not-to-be-forgotten bicycle ride

Grafton Utah, near Zion National Park

It takes about half an hour from the charming little town of Springdale to drive to the ghost town of Grafton, Utah.

Grafton, near Zion National Park, Utah was the filming site for
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.  

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x31qhtm

Have a great weekend dear friends, 


Gina 

I was there, a Quiz

I was there, yesterday

Do you recognize this place?  

Many of you have seen it. 

Maybe not in person. 

I will tell you in a few days. 

Gina

Happy Valentine's Day

It's a very special day!

It's a day when we can throw caution to the wind 

and 

eat an entire box of chocolates. 

Have a most wonderful Day. 

Gina 

http://ginaceramics.blogspot.com/2011/02/-to-wear-all-year-around.html

and here is the direct link for just the hearts

http://www.exatmo.de/20366/trachten-schmuck-prachtvoll-verziert.html