"Above all, with glittering eyes..."

This morning I started working on a tile using a Roald Dahl quote from the last lines of the book "The Minpins".

The quote reads "Above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it."- Roald Dahl I modified an image I created a few years ago so that I could add the text. In the past I carved the tiles. This time I rolled three layers of clay and stacked them. I originally was going to cut into the top layer and pull away the layers but then I decided to cut out the top layer separately as it seemed easier to me. I'm planning on casting this tile in plaster so I'm not so worried about the layers sticking together well enough to survive firing. I used a bit of water and scored enough to get the top layer to be secure.

I begin cutting out the text sections.

I transfered the image to the clay.

More layers are added.

I used a mini clay extruder to add a uniform edge to the tile and for the swirly clouds section. It's important to use really soft clay for extruding and to keep it moist with a spray bottle. These pieces dry out really fast.

The final image.

This was a fun project for me as it combined my love of clay, tiles, quotes and Roald Dahl.

Do you believe in magic?