A Japanese-Inspired Ceramics Artist

Nancy Cannon is just one of those people who can’t leave her work at the office. Perhaps that’s because her office is the eight wooded acres where she lives in eastern Michigan. There she finds inspiration for her handcrafted tile and discovers her subjects in hummingbirds, frogs and dragonflies.

She had her start in ceramics, creating large wall hangings, before a friend asked her to reign in the magnitude of her pieces a bit and make some tiles for a project of his. Nancy says that those first few tile designs are still some of her most popular pieces, and she stumbled upon a niche for her work: nature-inspired tiles using bas-relief technique, which creates a three-dimensional result. But Nancy wasn’t finished refining her art.

Another serendipitous occasion forced her to fire a batch of her handcrafted tile in a raku kiln. “I was preparing for an art show and my electric kiln broke down,” Nancy recalls. “My only option was to do as much as I could with the raku kiln. The results were dazzling.” A traditional method, raku firing has been used for centuries to create cups for Japanese tea ceremonies. The unique coppery finish and crackles in the glaze are hallmarks of her raku method. To achieve this look, Nancy is only able to heat 12 tiles at a time. Within an hour, they’re glowing red and ready to be taken out.

Nancy removes them one at a time, immediately thrusting them into sawdust, where they crackle and smolder. “The raku process is very labor intensive and other tile artists aren’t so foolish,” Nancy jokes. But she wouldn’t have it any other way. Nancy says she loves to engage all of the elements when crafting her tiles: earth, wind, fire and water. “I also love the element of surprise in the process. Even though I use the same glazes with most tiles, each one is unique.”

Nancy’s singular source of inspiration is the creatures she finds on long walks on her property. She tries to depict animals and foliage in their own settings so they appear more lifelike. “Nothing in nature is done without extraordinary attention to detail and extravagant beauty,” she says. “I try to highlight some of that in my tiles.” Because she wants to feel a connection with her subjects, she rarely does custom work. “But occasionally someone will come along and make a request that seems to click,” she admits. Her tiles tend to range in size from 4 inches to 8 inches long and typically cost $25 to $46 apiece.

To see more of her work, visit allearthtiles.com.

Or e-mail Nancy at nancycannon@allearthtiles.com.