gallery
Summer Artisan Gallery 2024
Collaboration, innovation, and craftsmanship elevate projects
by Lesley Goddin, Editorial Director and Senior Writer
This month’s Gallery showcases a pair of stunning projects that depend on craftsmanship, artistry, collaboration and innovative solutions to wow and impress.
– Lesley Goddin, lesley@tile-assn.com
ILLUMINATING ARTISTRY
“In the enchanting realm of tile artistry, where creativity knows no bounds, one name shines brightly - Tony Kavanagh,” said Bill Jones, Founder of Illuminiche. Tony Kavanagh, Owner of Flooring Concepts, LLC in Wauwatosa, Wis., created a mosaic masterpiece of a blue jay, installed within an elegant geometric-design kitchen backsplash for his own stunning kitchen! Kavanagh, a graduate of the A.R.T. 2023 program, chose a rhombus tile by Metro Tile in four colors and gloss and matte finishes. The project incorporates the additional element of light through his collaboration with Illuminiche, Jones’ custom lighting solution.
“As a tile artisan with a passion for turning spaces into masterpieces, Tony’s artistry transcends boundaries, bringing to life unique and captivating designs that speak volumes,” Jones added. The installation reflects an “unwavering dedication to his craft” and “meticulous detail” that resulted in a depiction of the jay in an installation that Jones describes as “sheer beauty.”
Tony Kavanagh, Owner of Flooring Concepts LLC in Wauwatosa, Wis., outfitted his own kitchen with this stunning backsplash design featuring a custom-made mosaic and Illuminiche lighting solution.
For the backsplash, Kavanagh peeled each tile off the mesh sheet and individually hand-set them, using LATICRETE MultiMax thinset and SPECTRALOCK grout with two times the recommended amount of gold DAZZLE to create a luxurious luster to the installation. Local LATICRETE rep Jeff Kimmerling added support when necessary.
The signature mosaic comes to life by daylight or night, thanks to the Illuminiche collaboration with Bill Jones.
For the backsplash, Kavanagh peeled each tile off the mesh sheet and individually hand-set them, using LATICRETE MultiMax thinset and SPECTRALOCK grout with two times the recommended amount of gold DAZZLE to create a luxurious luster to the installation. Local LATICRETE rep Jeff Kimmerling added support when necessary.
For the mosaic, Kavanagh “drew a to-scale sketch and took it to my mentors’ studio, (Lee Callewaert and Maria Meyer with Dragonfly Tile and Stone Works) to verify if my design was even doable,” Kavanagh said. “With a few tweaks and Lee’s support, I had a working template. I started selecting colors and textures of tile, cutting the shapes on the ring saw (which was very time-consuming) and polishing edges on my shaper. I immediately knew I was in love with making mosaics.”
Kavanagh’s collaboration with Jones of Illuminiche truly elevated the project and brought a radiant dimension to the work. “The custom lighting solution provided by Illuminiche not only enhanced the artwork but also added a touch of magic that brings the mosaic to life, day and night,” said Jones.
The mosaic is set in an elegant geometric mosaic that gets an additional sparkle from LATICRETE SPECTRALOCK DAZZLE grout.
“The piece all put together needed lighting, and I didn’t know how to accomplish this until I found Bill Jones and his company, Illuminiche,” Kavanagh said. “It was the only permanent solution to provide the specific dimmable light I needed. Bill was able to make me a custom lighting kit to retrofit my opening to my exact dimension my mosaic was built to, and I received it within days. It became the thing that effortlessly showcases my piece. It literally doesn’t turn off in my kitchen.”
“Tony’s journey is a testament to the power of artistry, mentorship, and collaboration. As Tony continues to push the boundaries of mosaic art, his vision for the future is clear – to become a destination for mosaic art, inspiring a new generation of craftsmen,” Jones concluded.
Photo credit for all photos: Jill Emmer Shine On Photos
RIVER OF GLASS
You never know where a master bathroom project may lead. Josh Vassallo, Owner of Vassallo Tile in Wimberly, Texas, had a recent opportunity to tile a master bath with 24" x 48" marble for the floor, 12" x 24" Thassos marble on the wall and a copper hexagon tile in the shower pan.
A graduate of the 2023 A.R.T. program, Vassallo suggested a mosaic in the client’s niche, but they declined. But they did want Vassallo to create a mosaic feature wall for their bedroom using scrap pieces from the bathroom project mixed with mercury glass – a steal for $1,000. Though he jumped at the chance, the clients reneged; they were going to create the mosaic themselves.
Not surprisingly, Vassallo heard from the clients when the fun weekend project didn’t go as smoothly as they planned. They still wanted Vassallo’s expertise and artistry, but only for $750. “By this time I figured, ‘Why not?’ and ‘Yes, please!’,” he said.
The finished feature wall that was a complete steal for $750!
Vassallo collected scraps of 24" x 48" floor tile, copper hexagon tile, mercury glass and Thassos marble, then templated the insert that would eventually have the finished feature installed.
He created a 4' x 8' work table framed out with 2x4s to receive 2" Schluter building foam that he could stow away when not in use. When laying out the large pieces, he discovered that the Thassos clashed with the other tile colors, so he swapped out some Carrara marble sheeted hex he had on hand that looked great with the colors.
It took some wrangling within the template to attain Vassallo’s vision: the space between the large marble forming a flowing river of mercury glass. He and his wife worked with all the different materials to accent the tones within the marble. Vassallo tinkered with the pieces, rearranging them to get the best match of shape and color, delighted when a piece of Carrara or brass perfectly accented a part he was working on. He and his wife got deeper into the creative flow state and the piece started to come together.
Working with large marble pieces and adding accents to bring out the tones in the stone.
With large pieces adhered to 1/2" foam, Vassallo was able to trace shapes for the mercury glass on 6 mil clear plastic with a Sharpie, working from one 24" section to the next, inserting the glass and fine tuning as needed. It was nearly ready to go, but the glass sat approximately 3/8" lower than the marble and tile. Vassallo used carpet protector as mosaic face tape to pull out the glass. “I laid large pieces of the carpet protector covering the section I wanted which protruded onto the already-set large marble pieces,” he explained. “With a utility blade, I carefully cut and separated them into sections, then carefully lifted them out onto a flat surface to be pre-mounted.” After premounting was finished, Vassallo installed the glass into where it would rest, building up to the desired height with a ARDEX X77 high-strength thinset.
Close up of the glass, stone, and accent tiles.
Vassallo’s moveable worktable, set up on saw horses, gave him plenty of room to work, but was easy to stow away when not in use.
Pre-mounting the piece.
“We couldn’t be happier with how the piece turned out,” Vassallo said. “We were sad to see it go and joked that we should just keep it. All joking aside, the piece is exactly where it was meant to be. “If I were to do it again – or another similar piece – I would charge 10 times the cost. But we all have to start somewhere!” he concluded.