Fabrication and Prep for the Bleecker Co-op Memorial Project

Making the bear "cartoon" for custom tile fabrication in Bleecker Co-op's ceramic studio.

A team of five artists -- Tristan R. Whiston, Anna Camilleri, Henry Campos, Katie Yealland, and Chantelle Gobeil -- worked on fabrication for two very exciting and labour intensive weeks in order to prepare for opening the studio to community contributors on January 29.

Clay slab fabricaton.

 The 24 piece cartoon is labeled so that nothing is lost in the collaboration between the mixed media (carpentry, wood, paint, mosaic) studio and the ceramic studio.

Cutting glass tile.

After the MDF boards were sealed and cradled, the scaled grid was rendered to guide wood construction and carpentry.

A Weldbond dilution (1 part Weldbond to 5 parts water) was used to seal and prime all wood.

2000+ glass gems were treated with paint and clear coat to produce custom colours.

Building level 1.

Our colour and materials palette.

Thinking about next steps.

Planning for the integration of level 3, which is being produced in the ceramic studio
under the leadership of Henry Campos.

400+ particle boards screws and Weldbond were used to build a stable (and non-porous) structure.

Custom Ceramics for the Bleecker Coop Memorial Project

The Bleecker Coop Memorial Project features several custom fabrication processes including handmade  tiles produced in Bleecker Coop's own ceramics studio: Studio 85  founded by ceramic artist Henry Campos. 


Henry led the first of two ceramics workshops (January 17 and 30) with more than 10 coop members.  It seems appropriate that  contributors are producing two special elements of the artwork -- the Great Bear and the blue orbs, which are an abstracted representation of the Great Bear constellation, most commonly known as Ursa Major.

Handmade ceramic tiles.

Brushing on glaze.

Henry describing clay particle structure.

A demonstration of how to test slab depth.

Eva, Noel, and Liliana rolling out their clay slabs. 

Liliana preparing canvas grounds.

Gary working on the wheel.

A demonstration of rolling technique to produce consistent slab depth.