MUSEUM TILES COMMITTEE

Overview of the meeting
There was a brief discussion of the project last night at the first meeting of the year. There are many aspects to this project that need further attention so it was decided that a committee be formed. If you are interested in the project, please feel free to join in. During the meeting, some additional points were brought up:
1. That the compositional layout would have to be agreed upon pretty soon (Louise)
2. The tile project might be a community based activity (June)
3. Some good research has been made concerning adhesives, clay, backboards, grout (Rosemary)

Museum Tile Committee (so far): Brigitte, Donna, Heather, June, Louise, Rosemary, Sandra

First Meeting: Tuesday, September 17, 2013 at the Guild - 6:30-8:30pm

A General Timeline for the first phase of the project might look like the following:

I. Brainstorm stage                                                       
1. We need to decide on the overall compositional layout (post image or wall):
          a. flowing line or elongated triangle
          b. Y shape of support beam

2. We should work with our site which is:
          a. Culture-based institution (local cultural world/collection)
          b. Nature-based garden museum (local natural world/collection)

3. Once the composition is decided, we need to consider how we will approach the tile work within that composition:
          a.  tile shape: organic vs geometric; square tiles vs shaped tiles
          b. approaches to imaging (determine minimal size for recognition;        
              styles might include abstraction, stylization, hybrid)
          c. technical considerations – best clay body (for -40 to +40), colour system (neighbor colours and/or complementary), types of colours (we need to know whether commercial colours, mason stains and oxides are suitable for our cone 6 or 10 firing), surface qualities (texture via imprinting?).

4. As a form of Public art, we will have to have a clear idea on what can be put up and how it is to be put up according to By-laws – this will need to come from City Hall via museum?

II. Plans &/or working models – the first presentation
5. At some point, plans and models will have to be presented to the Museum for approval. For this we should have a rough sketch of the overall composition, drawings of individual tiles and some actual tile samples that show the range of colours and imagery.

III. Production
6. Tiles will be made following models and according to agreed upon clay body, colour types and protective glaze. They will be fired uniformly to the same cone. They might be temporarily kept on a board in the guild once they are all completed.

IV. Installation
7. Mounting the tiles to their exterior site should follow public art guidelines for exterior works. We might consider a professional tile setter to put the work up.

If there is anything you would likje to add e-mail Louise at: loco1@telus.net