Be Not Idle

El Greco knew a thing or two about warping. His elongated subjects are surreal (before Surrealism) without being truly distorted. In this particular painting, he employed a little time warping, too, because these saints are from different epochs.

But warped clay isn’t artistic. Just as a house built on sand cannot stand, a tile built on a warped board cannot be used. Or as Charlie Brown put it so eloquently, “Aaaargh!”

My first two tiles were ready for the kiln. As I transferred them to the wire shelves, I noticed something funny about the one with grapes. It was slightly bent as if someone had taken two kitty-corners and pushed them towards each other. I examined the pear tile and found no problem. But the thin board I’d placed them on had absorbed the moisture and bent.

I finished what should have been my final two tiles: the apple and the plums. Then I began a new grape tile. The old one will still be fired, but I’ll have to use it as hot pad or something similar. A wall tile must be perfectly flat.

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