Annual workshop returns to Motawi Tileworks in Ann Arbor this weekend
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - The Ann Arbor Art Fair is just days away, but another art event will be taking place on Saturday that draws big crowds.
Motawi Tileworks will be holding its annual Make-A-Tile event outside its studio on the city's west side.
Each participant will be able to make up to three tiles. The first tile costs $15, and each tile after that will cost $20.
The event began after the tileworks decided to stop selling their tiles at the Ann Arbor Art Fair during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We stopped participating in the Art Fair, but we still love that week of celebrating art in Ann Arbor," said retail manager Sarah Fuller. "We have such a vibrant and supportive arts community in Ann Arbor and it attracts so many people with that same love and passion and appreciation for art. So, we still wanted to participate in that week just in a different way, especially because it allowed us to have a workshop."
Fuller said the tileworks sets up two outdoor tents and welcomes participants on a first-come, first-served basis. She said hundreds of people turn up each year to try their hand at making a Motawi tile.
History of the tileworks
The tileworks began as a one-woman operation in 1992 when University of Michigan art school graduate Nawal Motawi started making tiles in her garage and selling them at the Ann Arbor Farmers Market.
One commission led to another, and 31 years later, the business has roughly 50 employees and operates in a large studio on Ann Arbor's west side making the distinct tiles.
"In terms of the aesthetic of Motawi, it's really based in historical design," said Fuller. "So, many of those signature Motawi tiles that you see come from open-source historical material, a lot of it based in the Craftsman movement, but we have also expanded. We have a license with the Charley Harper Art Studio and the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation."
Each tile is handmade and goes through a meticulous process before making it to the gallery.
The tiles are pressed into molds and then fired in a kiln before being dipped in glaze. If they're decorative tiles, they will be individually hand-piped by artists at the studio.
Gary Helm mixes Motawi's 65 different glazes. He said it's a science.
"We're doing an oxidation firing," said Helm. "At that high temperature in the kiln, there's a chemical reaction that goes on. So, the glaze's molecules actually separate and oxidize."
Helm said a unique characteristic of glazes is their ability to change color at high temperatures. A glaze that is red when wet and dry on the tile has a deep green tone.
Saturday's Make-A-Tile event will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the tileworks at 170 Enterprise Dr. In Ann Arbor. The event will also feature a staff art sale.
For more information, visit www.motawi.com.
