This is the link for the images of the tiles in Christ Church

Good morning all.

The day has dawned sunny and bright, streaming through my window around 4.00 am.

The internet in my room  is too slow to do the blogs, so it means showering and dressing and coming down to the lobby for coffee and good cyber stuff. I don't think they would appreciate me in my jamas.

I've added a link to the images of the tiles in Christ Church. Its difficult to put them in an easy format in this blog, and I want to share a number so click on the link above and you will have access to them.

I've had no chance to design anything yet, but it will happen some time on this trip.

You might be interested in the way they are made.

Encaustic tiles are ceramic tiles in which the pattern or figure on the surface is not a product of the glaze but of different colors of clay. They are usually of two colors but a tile may be composed of as many as six. The pattern appears inlaid into the body of the tile, so that the design remains as the tile is worn down.Encaustic tiles may be glazed or unglazed and the inlay may be as shallow as an eighth of an inch, as is often the case with "printed" encaustic tile from the later medieval period, or as deep as a quarter inch.

Encaustic or inlaid tiles enjoyed two periods of great popularity. The first came in the thirteenth century and lasted until Henry the Eighth's reformation in the sixteenth century. The second came when the tiles caught the attention of craftsmen during the Gothic Revival era, who after much trial and error mass-produced these tiles, and made them available to the general public. During both periods tiles were made across Western Europe though the center of tile production was in England.The floor in the Church is so shiny it just glows and it feels amazing to walk on such beauty.

Our tour began very early yesterday. I was up at 4.00 and at the airport at 5.00 to meet the group. 

We traveled the width of Ireland, from Dublin to Galway to begin our adventures today.

I walked down into the main street of Galway yesterday. It was busy and very colorful. Musicians entertained the 100s of  tourists and locals visitors and I shot only one photo.

However, today, under sunny skies we are off to the Aran Islands so I imagine the camera will be used well there.