12/23/2009 - Day 47 - Customized Tile Backsplash

Within five weeks of beginning the demolition of the old kitchen, we had the first official party.  Everything was done in the kitchen remodel except the lighting and spicing it up with some Kanika color.

I purposely painted the walls a light color, initially thinking that the black countertops would absorb too much of the overhead lighting. But the "light beige" color is actually a light yellow. A pastel yellow. I don't "do" pastels, so I knew that Kanika would eventually make a customized backsplash with vivid, tribal-colored tiles.

On December 23rd, rising from my sick bed like the bad girl that I am, I laid out 12 12x12" squares of 2" tiles on my work surface.  Using a large paint brush, I slathered on turquoise, copper, and red glaze over the tiles, overlaying and mixing them like I like to do (as I was told not to do in clay class!). Over the next few days, I reglazed and refired, adding layers of color to make them more vivid and interesting.