Motawi Blue Marsh Tile

About This Item

The sibling duo of Karim and Nawal Motawi and their staff of talented artisans make these beautiful tiles in their Ann Arbor, Michigan studio. They use locally produced clay and glazes mixed on site from their own recipes. Their aesthetic influences include early 20th century decorative artists such as Mary Chase Stratton, Adelaide Robineau, and Dard Hunter.

Based on a print by William Rice from 1925, the Marsh was created in the spirit of Arthur Wesley Dow who was a landscape artist and educator of the early 20th century. William Seltzer Rice (1873-1963) moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, where the region's Arts and Crafts movement was flowering. He was talented in several mediums, but block printing ultimately became his favorite, for it gave him the opportunity to combine his skills of draftsmanship, carving, and printing. California's flora, fauna, and landscapes--from the Sierra Nevada to the Pacific--were the subjects that fed his creativity.

The shadowed cattails in the foreground contrast beautifully with the setting sun.

6" x 6".