Carly Quinn Designs
The process in which we create our hand glazed tiles is known as "Cuerda Seca" or "Dry Line"; an old world Spanish process dating back to the 15th century. During this process the outline of the design is drawn onto the tile using a mixture of wax and glaze, this acts as a barrier to keep the colored glazes separate. The colored glazes are then applied, when fired the wax burns off and the glazes harden to a glass like finish.
Creating Hand Glazed Tile Murals
Sketching Out The Ideas
We start each design from scratch. Our clients give us an idea of what they would like and we come up with a few very basic preliminary sketches.
Going Digital
Once the sketch is approved, the artwork is taken to the computer where it is digitally rendered. The layout, measurements, artwork and color scheme are all finalized in this stage.
Taking it to Tile
The digital rendering of the art is then drawn onto 6"x6" red Italian quarry tile by hand.
Glazing
Once the art has been transferred to the tile, it is then hand glazed using a variety of different colors and crystal glazes chosen by the artist and client.
Firing
All tiles are then carefully loaded into our kiln and fired at over 1,800 degrees in our studio located in Tucson, Arizona. The firing process takes several hours and often produces unique and unexpected variances in the glazes due to high temperature chemical reactions.
The End Results
The tiles are then unloaded from the kiln, securely packed and shipped to their destination ready to install. Each tile is waterproof, graffitti & fadeproof, weatherproof and extremely durable.