🎧 Collaborative Installations Lauren Kearns

Appears in the February 2023 issue of Ceramics Monthly.

The audio file for this article was produced by the Ceramic Arts Network staff and not read by the author.

Throughout the San Francisco Bay area in California, residents and visitors alike may come across one of the 20 tile and mosaic installations created by a team of two artists, Aileen Barr and Colette Crutcher. Much of the tile in these large-scale compositions is made by hand, which is not a small feat.

Combining Interests

Barr has a background and diploma in ceramic design from the National College of Art and Design in Dublin, Ireland. She discovered architectural ceramics and tile making while visiting New York City, and knew immediately this was the type of work she wanted to do. After returning to Ireland, Barr started creating community-based projects with other artists, providing workshops for a wide variety of groups. This work gave her the opportunity to learn about approaches to making public artwork and tile making.

Soon after moving to San Francisco in 2002, the commission for the 16th Avenue Tiled Steps was proposed by Jessie Audette, who had recently moved to the neighborhood from Rio de Janeiro, where there is an enormous tiled staircase called the Santa Teresa steps. She worked with Alice Yee Xavier, who lives next door to the steps and had been gardening the hillside at her own expense for many years. Together, they energized the neighborhood around the idea and asked artists to submit designs. Barr met Crutcher—a muralist and mixed-media artist who had begun exploring mosaics in 1996, as part of her interest in using recycled materials—when both were selected as finalists for the project. Although they did not know each other, the two agreed to work together on the project. Barr’s design was for all handmade tile and Crutcher’s was to be made using mosaic only. The pair decided to combine handmade tile and mosaic to create a more interesting design. They taught each other their methods as they worked. They realized how helpful it was to bounce ideas around and solve problems together as this project was so large and daunting.

Their process consists of working together from the design to the handmade tile and mosaic. Usually, they make the tile at Barr’s studio and then put the mosaic together in panels at Crutcher’s studio. 

Now that they are known for this work, commissions are initiated by people seeking talent for an installation. It started by word of mouth, and now Barr and Crutcher are sought after by groups. Sometimes they also apply for an advertised commissioned piece together with designs that they make based on the creative brief.

Process and Materials

The process of working on a public-art project has many parts. Once commissioned for an installation, the design process starts with the client or community, with a few back-and-forth reviews. Barr and Crutcher work together on the design and make samples of tile shapes and glazes. Once the design is approved, they start fabrication. 

When creating the components for their tile and mosaic installations, they use mid-range clays with either sand or grog (Laguna B Mix with sand, Hawaiian Red, 52 Buff with sand). They apply slips and commercial underglazes to the tiles and fire to cone 5. Often they mix the underglazes and slips to create new colors and interesting surfaces on the tiles. They use mid-range commercial glazes and they also mix them to create new colors and surfaces. Barr and Crutcher select translucent or semi-translucent glazes to “better show the decorative carving and stamping of the clay body.” Many tests are done to get the desired color and effect. 

Measurements are taken of the area and calculations are made for shrinkage. The design is drawn to scale and then copied onto clear plastic and the components are numbered. Slabs of clay are rolled out on a slab roller, the plastic design is laid over the slab and traced onto it, and the tiles are cut to size. At this stage, the tiles are also hand carved, stamped, or drawn on as part of the decorative process. Occasionally, Barr will create molds for tile, as in the Lincoln Park Steps. Stamps or rollers are used and designed for specific projects. The tiles are numbered to correspond to the design—a very important step! Once fired and glazed, the tiles are laid out on the design again, and if mosaic is being used, it is incorporated at this stage. The mosaic is usually commercial tile that is cut on a tile saw and then nipped to size. They also use leftover handmade tile from previous projects, cutting it on a saw and integrating it into the project. The tiles are glued onto a mesh or tile tape and then can be moved as large panels when ready for installation. Crutcher says, “Shrinkage is a huge issue for this kind of work. It’s predictable to a degree, but causes problems, especially when working with curved shapes. . . . Combining handmade tile with mosaic gives us the flexibility to adjust for shrinkage by filling in with mosaic.”

The installation is carried out by professional tile installers. While both artists have installed their own work in the past, for these larger projects, they prefer to work with tilers and oversee the entire installation process.

Individual Projects

In addition to the public-art commissions and community-based projects that they create as a team, Barr and Crutcher also work on individual commissions. 

One of Barr’s projects is the Lincoln Park Steps, which was created using all handmade tile. She says, “I am intrigued by the idea of making lots of small objects to create something quite large  . . . When the design has been approved and I’m happy with the samples, I love this stage of the project, when I can really concentrate on the process of making tiles . . . I feel very lucky to have been able to pursue this way of working and building a process and reputation over the years. It is a continuous learning process and each project offers a renewed feeling of excitement and energy.”

Barr says, “My main area of work is tile making. I create a lot more handmade tile when I work on my own commissions, and if I combine handmade tile and mosaic in a project, I like to cut the tile on a tile saw. Working in the arena of public art is not just about creating art, it entails collaborating with architects, contractors, etc. It’s everything from figuring how your art engages with the environment to how complicated installs happen. It’s about building skills not just in your creative life but in working with communities and creating meaningful partnerships and relationships.” 

In her own practice, Crutcher has pursued both tile making and ceramic sculpture since being introduced to the craft by Barr, and most of her individual public projects and private commissions now combine handmade tile and mosaic. “I began as a painter,” she explains, “and I still make paintings, collage, and assemblage work, plus paper-mache sculpture, which is much easier than ceramics!” However, she goes on to say, “I love color above all; there is a magic to ceramics that is enhanced by the unpredictable nature of the medium—though there’s also heartbreak along the way. I love to work spontaneously, and finding ways to fit that joy into the laborious tile-making process can be a challenge.”

She says what is important to her is to remind artists that the two, as a team, are among the few public artists who take on such large-scale projects without having the work commercially fabricated. She continues “Between the two of us, the sheer work, not to mention the responsibility of a project like this, becomes less daunting. It’s also great for community participation workshops to have two sets of hands. I’d also add that humor is essential when tackling an endeavor with this many potential pitfalls along the way. You have to be able to have a good laugh, regroup, and get back to work!” 

the author Lauren Kearns is a professional artist, teacher, and creator/owner of International Artists Residency Exchange, an artist’s residency program, located in Saint-Raphaël, France. She has assisted students of all ages and abilities in ceramics and continues to be an active and avid promoter of the ceramic arts.