Ceramic artist Carol Crockett lived in the California redwood forest as a child, where she spent many solitary hours playing on the soft forest floor beneath those beautiful giants. Carol took delight in the texture of the redwood bark, the unfurling fern fronds, the cool dampness of the moss, and the company of the jays and banana slugs. La Honda Creek flowed past her home and brought an endless variety of formed and shaped earth and wood. These early forest impressions continue to influence Carol’s tile design strongly.
Carol lived in San Francisco when she was older, where she fell in love with the architectural ceramic works that adorn many of what were to become her favorite buildings. When she saw nature’s influence in the design of these classic ceramic works, she knew that she wanted to make tiles.
Carol began studying the works of an early California innovator in tile, Ernest Batchelder, and the designers at Malibu Pottery, Cal Art, and Claycraft. She also became interested in the philosophy of English designer William Morris and his followers.
Carol’s first tiles, a series of forest animals, were made in 1979. Her tiles are still completely hand-made. Beginning with an idea, she carves the image. She then makes a plaster mold, presses the highest quality clay into the mold, and waits for the tile to dry. The tile is then hand-trimmed, glazed, and fired at over 2200 degrees, allowing it to withstand extreme weather exposure. Carol’s current work includes both decorative tile and custom-made architectural tile. She continues to draw inspiration from the infinitely changing themes of nature and from the integrity and vision of the early twentieth-century pioneers of tile-making.
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