Motawi Tile is made by the sibling duo of Karim and Nawal Motawi and their staff of talented artisans. Nawal studied
sculpture and ceramics at the University of Michigan and learned tile-making at Pewabic Pottery. She is the stubborn
one of the pair and the artistic force behind the Tileworks. Karim, also educated at the U of M, runs the production
studio and teaches tile-making classes. He is the sweet-talking process innovator.They make Motawi Tile in their Ann Arbor studio using locally produced clay and glazes mixed on site to their own
recipes. Their aesthetic influences include early 20th Century decorative artists such as Mary Chase Stratton, Adelaide
Robineau, Louis Sullivan, C.F. Voysey, William DeMorgan, and Dard Hunter. Their designs have evolved from Nawal’s
continuous exploration of historical decorative art combined with some brotherly suggestions by Karim.The Motawi Tileworks was founded in 1992 when Nawal set up a table at the Ann Arbor Farmers Market and was
commissioned to create her first fireplace installation. Six months later she was joined by her brother Karim and they
moved the studio into a two-car garage. Today the Motawi Tileworks employs around 20 people and occupies its own
12,600 square foot studio and showroom.Motawi is an Arabic name, as are Nawal and Karim. Their father, Kamal, is from Egypt where Motawi is not so unusual.
Their American looks come from their mom, Karen.Motawi polychrome tiles are produced in the ancient tile-making process known as ceunca style. "Cuenca" means
"basin" and also happens to be a town
and a province of Spain. The term refers to the small raised lines of clay that make up the "basins" into which we put our
glazes. Each glaze is pooled by hand into its area with a glaze bulb. The cuenca process is very similar to the cloisonne
jewelry-making process. Every tile is hand-glazed and each is unique.
Motawi relief tiles are essentially bas-relief sculptures which are dip-glazed in a single color.Motawi Tile is sized to fit together using a 3/16" grout space. The actual size of a Motawi Tile is 3/16" less than the
stated or nominal size. Thus a 4x4 is actually 3 13/16" x 3 13/16" square. Motawi field, polychrome and relief tiles are Motawi's art glazes vary significantly in shade, hue and surface quality. This natural variation is intrinsic to their beauty.
generally 5/8" thick. Each tile has a notch on the back for hanging.
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