Tile Garden Bench, Welcome and Install

Tiled garden bench awaits you.

Mosaic Mural; Corrales, New Mexico Style

  A finished mosaic back splash is a perfect touch to a custom home, Corrales, New Mexico style.  Incorporating handmade tiles of barrel cactus, flowering Yucca, flowering agave, and flowering aloe, along with a Jack Rabbit, butterflies, purple cactus, a family of quail,gecko, hummingbirds, and the sun peaking through the clouds. The project took two days to install.  The owners were so gracious to me as well as their 6 well behaved cats.  Since I never got around to Go Pro-ing the installation,  here are some still shots of the process.               My travels…

My New Mexico Trip

My trip  to Corrales, New Mexico is fast approaching. I have been hired to install a tile mural in a residence.  The tile is pretty much completed…fired and laid out. Even though it’s a fairly small size mural, only 48″ x 24″ tall, the challenge is getting it to fit in an intermittent concave niche, sight unseen.  That means allowing for slight design changes.  I am positive it will all work out beautifully. This is the basic tile layout with an aloe garden and hummers, flowering fence post cactus and blooming yuccas and blackbirds.  This is all handmade tile, glazed…

Arroyo Garden Murals

Last week was the completion of the tiled murals I was hired to make and install.  This is my first commercial job and it actually went pretty smoothly.  No different than installing for homes.  Well… maybe a little different.  It’s  a mans world in a construction zone.  Being one of the 3 women…everyone was very respectful and helpful. As promised, I told you I would post pics of the project.  I didn’t have a Go-Pro.  I wish I could’ve had one but maybe the next project, which is coming up this summer. I decided to have professional pictures done of…

Lead by the Spirit

Many things inspire me, all day long. Here are a few Shadow Box  sculptures that were inspired by gardening, bird watching and nature with a bit of  whimsy. Hummer with Wild Flower Ceramic Shadow Box                          

A Month of Hearts

Ahhhh, February 14.  A day for love.  A day for sweetness.  A day for affection. Are you at a loss of what to get for your lovely love?  I have some ideas. I love hearts.  I make them all year long.  Hearts with wings, flaming hearts, hearts with leaping rabbits, hearts with birds, hearts with pockets for cats to hide in, American Flag hearts… So many to choose from: These are available at my Etsy shop:   https://www.etsy.com/shop/RobinChladDesigns?section_id=6939494&ref=shopsection_leftnav_4     As I announced in my blog back in January, I am enamored with Essential Oils and not just any essential oils. I…

New Work in the Old Pueblo

So it’s February.  January flew by.  I feel I was only present for half of January because what ever was going around…..you name it, I caught it!  I am glad to see January ’16 leave. And good riddance. Meanwhile, I have been busy with new designs for an up coming tile mosaic job I have been hired to create.  It’s always exciting to have a new challenge, a reprieve from the daily bread and butter. I will give you a sneak preview…..based on the mural I designed and created for a Rocky Point, Mexico sea side residence over the summer/ 2015.  I…

June is Wedding Month. Give something unique.

June is the month for weddings.  Do you know anyone who is getting married this summer?  I do.  My nephew is getting married.  I am excited for him and his future wife.  His mom and dad are so proud.  And I know what I am going to give them.  One of my botanical pottery pieces.  I have recently designed some fun, whimsical serving dishes, spoon rests, dipping bowls, candle holders, change catchers.             I also have keepsakes for weddings and anniversaries.   It’s a tradition to give a pomegranate to a Jewish wedding couple.  Why…

New Botanical Pottery, Agave Cactus

Agave Serving Dish set. One of my favorite plants of the Sonoran Desert is the Agave Cactus. There are many different agaves but all of them hold inspiring beauty. What attracts me to them is their elegant long leaves, their texture and their spikey sillouette against the landscapes. And so I have created these whimsical serving plates or spoon rests. It makes a great table decor or give as a wedding gift. Each one is handmade from highfire clay and glazes with food safe glazes. These are available through my website at http://www.robinchladdesigns.artspan.com

Sincerest Form of Flattery

          There have been times in my career that I have been very protective of my designs.  I have had experience designing very marketable products that made my small art business grow and the work I designed was sought after. At the time, it was exciting, exilerating and a feather in my cap.  But I remember being overly concerned about someone or some company coming along and knocking off the designs I created.  That was 25 years ago, so I was still learning and still maturing. Now, yes, it is business smart to protect and copyright…