Depth in a Quarter Inch

I’ve always been interested in dying art forms. Bas-relief tilework is a craft that has mostly disappeared, and most people have only ever seen examples in old buildings.

The entire technique is built around layering. Every element sits at a slightly different height, creating an incredible sense of depth within less than a quarter of an inch. The skeleton comes forward, behind it is the large fan of folds, then the clouds, and finally the flat surface of the tile. None of those layers are actually very far apart, but the eye reads them as completely separate distances. You end up seeing far more depth than is physically there.

I’ve been sculpting for years, but almost always around the curve of a cup, and the curve does some of that work for you. A flat square gives you nothing. Whatever depth it has, you have to meticulously carve into it.

Tiles were sculpted this way in the 1800s, which is honestly a big part of why I wanted to try it. Over the last few years, I’ve found myself increasingly drawn to crafts that are close to being lost.

THE MAKING

THE PATTERNS

Same sculpt underneath every time. The glaze changes what you see in it.

STRAIGHT ON

Best regards,

Trevor