About
Handmade Mexican Talavera Ceramics
Choosing
Handmade Mexican Talavera Tiles
Purchasing
Talavera Tile
Where
Do Talavera Tiles Go?
The
Making of Talavera
Taking
Care of Mexican Handmade Talavera Tiles and Accesories
About
Handmade Mexican Talavera Ceramics
Tierra
y Fuego talavera is molded, glazed and painted by hand,
following century-old techniques, at our factory in Central
México. Our tiles depict earthly tones, warmth colors
and rustic characteristics.
During
the colonial times of the 16th and 17th centuries the Spanish
brought to México their knowledge of pottery, and
tile making. The name of talavera was given after the potters'
town of Talavera de la Reina, in Spain, which is located
just a few miles south of Madrid.
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Choosing
Handmade Mexican Talavera Tiles
Since
each individual talavera tile piece is handcrafted and free-hand
painted, these are their unique characteristics: paint
smudges, mild variations in size (1/4 of and inch), surface
contour (not perfectly flat), and color variations. Some
may have minute chips on the edges, and occasionally marks
of bird's legs can be noticed. The crazing phenomenon is also another remarkable attribute of our handmade tiles,
this takes place slowly over time. This effect may be enhanced
if constrasting color grout is used. Talavera tiles have
been around for centuries, so you can be sure that when
you purchase our tiles, they are going to be timeless, and
display a powerful impact in just about any décor.
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Purchasing
Mexican Talavera Tile
Experts
in the tile industry recommend that when you buy any kind
of tile, whether is our tiles or anyone else's tiles, you
should purchase as a rule of thumb five to ten percent more
than what you expect to use, depending on the project. Reasons:
miscalculation of the surface area to be tiled, and/or breakage
during or after installation.
Furthermore,
since this is a handcrafted product we recommend ordering
all tiles for a project at one time as there may be greater
variations between batches, particularly with color.
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Where
Do the Talavera Tiles Go?
Your creativity and imagination probably have the answer.
However, to name a few places, our tiles can be used in
interior and most exterior environments. Such as kitchen
back-splashes, bathroom showers, fire places, or/and stairs.
They can also be installed on light duty countertops. Talavera
tiles are not frost proof. Talavera is not suitable to be
installed in freeze and thaw conditions.
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The
Making of Talavera
1.
A lump of clay is transformed into a desired shape manually
on a potters wheel or with a mold and then left to dry for
several days.
2.
Once dried is ready for its first firing, what emerges from
the kiln is baked terra cotta or "jaguete".
3.
The piece is dipped into a chalky liquid glazed, which gives
it the unique shine and color.
4.
The painter painstakingly freehand decorates the piece.
An understanding of the based mineral color complexities
is essential, as the colors of the raw glazes used are different
from the colors that are finally produced.
5.
Finally, the piece is fired again, at temperatures 700°-1000°
C. Brilliance and final coloration are determined by the
temperature and kiln time.
Click
here to see pictures of the making of talavera.
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Taking
Care of Mexican Handmade Talavera Tiles and Accesories
We
recommend "soft" non-abrasive cleaners. Abrasive
cleaners may scratch the surface of the tiles.
Talavera
colors and shine will not fade with proper care. We recommend
NOT to use abrasive cleaners, as they eat-up the finish.
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