The Avant-Garden Shop: Your Garden & Bird Store

Month: January 2014

Garden Gate: Episode 30 – Motawi Tiles

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CHEX TV air date: Friday Jan. 24th, 5-6pm

Click here to watch this episode of the Garden Gate.?

ladybellPeople often ask how I find the products that I carry in the shop because they are so diverse and unique. Besides visiting gift and craft shows I also keep my eyes open when we are travelling. These tiles are the result of just such a trip.

My husband and I are fans of the architect Frank Lloyd Wright.? Over the last few years we have visited a number of his homes including Falling Water in Pennsylvania. Beautiful!

The visitors centres for these homes have little gift shops. We had noticed these beautiful tiles with some of his designs on them. I made note of the artists name and when we returned I began my research. I contacted the company and received information including a beautiful catalog.?

We felt more research was necessary, so we decided to take a road trip the next year to the Motawi studio in Ann Arbour Michigan.? There we received a personalized tour of the studio and saw every step of how their tiles are made.

There are 28 steps involved in the creation of these tiles! ?First a design needs to be chosen. The design needs to work in such a way to hold the glazes that they use within their edges. So the design often is adapted to work with their style. Once a design is approved, a template is made. Then a mold. Using their exclusive locally sourced clay a tile is created using a 60 ton press. It is hand trimmed and then fired in a kiln overnight.? Once removed from the kiln, an artist like ?Emily? adds the glazes in the appropriate sections. (You’ll see the name of the person who glazed the tile on the back of each piece) Once completed it is put back in the kiln for another firing.

If during any of these steps a problem arises, and the tile isn’t perfect it is either sold as a second or destroyed.

The results are here for you to see. Stunning pieces that can be displayed in a frame, on an easel or even worked into another tiling project.

Nawal Motawi founded Motawi Tileworks more than 20 years ago. A University of Michigan art school graduate with an interest in applied arts, Nawal learned tilemaking at Detroit?s storied Pewabic pottery. She returned to Ann Arbor after a few years and began making her own tiles in a small Ann Arbor garage and selling them at the local farmers? market. The rest is history. Today, Motawi Tileworks carries on the legacy of fine American art tile. They take great pride in their work, in creating something timeless and beautiful.

You?ll notice Nawal?s influence in the arts and crafts, art nouveau movement. Simply beautiful designs.

See more tiles on our website here.

Garden Gate: Episode 29 – Keeping birds warm during the winter

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CHEX Air date: Friday January 10th, 2014

Click here to view this episode of The Garden Gate.

We have been having some extremely cold weather conditions since late November this year. ?Ice storms, strong wind conditions and high snowfall mean food sources are covered. Birds need to eat almost constantly during the day to retain enough energy through our long winter nights. Here are a few things you can do to help.

SuetFeeder 7506FOOD
Keep feeders full. Birds are more attracted to feeders that are full. ?They can see the seed and then know that it’s worth their while to visit your restaurant.

Keep feeders clean. If seed gets frozen or some moisture gets into the feeder, the seed may not dispense properly or it may go moldy or rancid. Checking your feeders often and changing seed regularly is very important. ?If birds seem to be ignoring your feeders, it may be that the seed is bad or jammed inside the feeder.

Provide lots of peanuts for extra energy. Whether in the shell or out of the shell. Birds love peanuts! Peanuts are a favourite for Blue Jays, Woodpeckers, Nuthatches and Chickadees. Even cardinals like peanuts! Click this link to visit our website to see some peanut and suet feeders.

Suet is also an excellent food source through the winter. Make sure that you get good quality suet without filler such as cornmeal and millet.? Suet with cornmeal can get moldy easily as the cornmeal holds moisture. Avoid cornmeal. The more fat, peanuts and sunflower seeds the better!

winterroostphoto_s5SHELTER
Besides food you can also provide shelter. We carry this roosting box. Birds will crowd together inside the roosting box to share energy. If you’re going to make a box yourself, it’s similar to a bird house, but there are no ventilation gaps. This allows the space to warm up as the birds huddle together.

Birds will also huddle together in the branches of coniferous trees like spruce, pine and cedar. Plant coniferous trees next spring and put your feeders close by so the birds can go back and forth between the tree and the feeder.

Note: Cardinals love cedar trees!

heated bird bath with waxwingsWATER
Heated bird baths are great in the winter. They keep the water just above freezing and birds flock to this easily accessible water source. You don’t need to worry if they bathe, because their feathers will move the water away from their bodies. They need to keep their feathers clean of dust, dirt and insects. ?Their bodies are also warm so the water evaporates before it can freeze. It?s important to keep birds well fed so they are generating energy to help keep their body temp up.

Birds can melt snow in their mouths, but it takes a lot of extra energy to do that, so they prefer and open water source. If there is no other open water source near you, you’ll be surprised at how many birds you’ll see at your bath!

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