 From Liberty, Tennesee Arlene Knaak lives on the 165 acres where she raised her family. This beautiful setting is also where she creates unique botanical ceramic tiles.
She says, "I fell in love with this matter called clay in high school and have played with it and created pottery ever since. Several years ago, I went back to hand-building techniques with clay. The wall art tiles keep me creative and the juices flowing."
Her botanical wall art consists of handmade clay tiles. She makes impression in the soft clay with real plants, leaves, and berries. The tiles are then kiln fired and stained. In the final firing is similar to raku: a smoke-firing in straw. The smoke-firing leaves straw patterns in the clay, and the heat from the fire changes the coloring. Arlene particularly enjoys the straw-firing technique and how it affects the appearance on the surfaces of the tiles.
Her wall pieces have universal appeal, and enhance any decor, whether contemporary or traditional.
Scroll down for more information about the artist My fundamental view is that our home, office buildings, or any area in which we dwell and spend a lot of our time can be about much more than just a hum drum space. There are many aspects of a room such as, doorways, mantels, windows, etc that would be enriched and made more visually interesting by using ceramic architectural artwork. This artwork could be tiled arches, utilizing designs that give our eyes images of nature and earthliness, all the while enhancing the doorway or window on which it is installed. Hanging sculptural or tiled ceramic art along hallways or corridors, creates a visual area for one to follow and feel connect with.
--Arlene Knaak
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815.776.1010 
