Tile art is a small arrangement of tiles, or in some cases a single tile, with a painted pattern or image on top. Tile art includes other forms of tile-based art, such as

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

micromosaic Micromosaics (or micro mosaics, micro-mosaics) are a special form of mosaic that uses unusually small mosaic pieces (tesserae) of glass, or in later Italian pieces an enamel-like material, to make small figurative images. Surviving ancient Roman ...

s, and stained glass. Unlike mosaics, tile art can include larger pieces of tiles that are pre-decorated. While mosaics use pieces of

tessera A tessera (plural: tesserae, diminutive ''tessella'') is an individual tile, usually formed in the shape of a square, used in creating a mosaic. It is also known as an abaciscus or abaculus. Historical tesserae The oldest known tesserae ...

e or another material to construct a pattern from small components, other methods, such as

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an in ...

carving Carving is the act of using tools to shape something from a material by scraping away portions of that material. The technique can be applied to any material that is solid enough to hold a form even when pieces have been removed from it, and ...

, and molding may be used in tile art. While mosaics are considered a type of tile art, there are many other forms that are also considered tile art.

Types of tile art

Many types of art can be considered tile art. Different types of tile art have different features and can be created in different mediums, such as ceramic, porcelain, glass tiles, and other tiled mediums. Listed below are some of the different types of artwork considered tile art: * Mosaics * Ceramic tiles * Stained glass * Carved tiles * Photo tiles * Tile

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

s * Engraving on a tile

Modern tile art

Design

Many modern tile art designs are based on abstract and pattern-based designs. These are non-representational, unlike than older tile art formats, such as mosaics, which were often portraits or other representational forms of artwork. The design on a piece of tile art may be used as decoration, but may also represent an idea, philosophy or pose a historical, religious or social significance. An example of such non-representational art is a set of tiles integrated into an interior or exterior design. The design of the tile art is often based on the theme of the surrounding design. As tiles are built into the surrounding, they can be installed seamlessly integrated into the surrounding area.

Usage

Modern tile art serves many purposes. The general definition of tile art includes many mediums and many different designs achieved by various techniques and media. For example, tile art may be used to decorate one's home, but must also be practical as a wall or flooring element, as the tiles in an interior design could be replaced by tile art. Tile art can also be used in the garden to complement the colors in the plants and foliage. Using modern printing technology, images can be digitally printed onto a set of tiles or a tile. This can be used in lieu of hanging paintings or using wallpaper.

Creation technique

The many different types of tile artwork mean that there are many different methods of creating a piece of tile artwork. * Engraving * Carving *

Painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

* Molding *

Printing Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ...

* Trimming * Tile staining

References

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External links

* Akiyama, Jin.
Tile-Makers and Semi-Tile-Makers.
''The American Mathematical Monthly'' 114.7 (2007): 602-09. Web. Artistic techniques Ceramic art Decorative arts