A wall of glossy red 3D relief tile above a white mantel, with candles and a birch log on the shelf

Relief, in ceramic

3D Impressions in clay,pressed, not printed

The pattern is pressed into the clay body, not printed on the face. It throws a real shadow that moves across the wall through the day, and it gives the glaze somewhere to gather.

Patterns
Five
Surface
Pressed relief
Glazes
Seventy six colors
Made in
Gardena, California

3D Impressions in Clay

Five patterns, pressed in red clay

Each one is formed in red clay and glazed, so the relief does two things at once.

It throws a real shadow that moves across the wall through the day, and it gives the glaze somewhere to gather. Color pools in the low ground and pulls thin over the high ground.

Five patterns are cut for these ceramic wall panels. Compton, Compass Star, Buckle and Target at 6x6, and Bowtie at 2x12.

Available in the Premium High Fire and Signature Low Fire ranges, and figured on a 3/8 inch joint. Every one is made on the Monrovia red body, the same bisque under Oleson, Monrovia and Studio, and fired in Gardena.

Walls, inside and out. These are ceramic wall panels and tiles. Ask us before you put them anywhere else.

The patterns

Five patterns, four at 6x6

Depth is the whole design.

Compton and Compass Star are cut in flat facets. Buckle and Target are curved. Bowtie is the only one that is not square, and it locks into its neighbors rather than sitting beside them.

Line drawing of the Compton pattern, a panel of shallow folded facets seen at an angle

Compton

6x6

Actual size
5 3/4 by 5 3/4 inches
Pieces per sq ft
4
Weight per piece
2 lb
Packaging
16 per box, 30 boxes per pallet
Line drawing of the Compass Star pattern, rays converging on one corner, seen at an angle

Compass Star

6x6

Actual size
6 5/8 by 6 5/8 inches
Pieces per sq ft
4
Weight per piece
3.28 lb
Packaging
8 per box, 30 boxes per pallet
Line drawing of the Buckle pattern, a raised band crossing a rounded ground, seen at an angle

Buckle

6x6

Actual size
6 5/8 by 6 5/8 inches
Pieces per sq ft
4
Weight per piece
9 lb
Packaging
10 per box, 30 boxes per pallet
Line drawing of the Target pattern, concentric quarter rings in two opposite corners, seen at an angle

Target

6x6

Actual size
6 5/8 by 6 5/8 inches
Pieces per sq ft
4
Weight per piece
1.8 lb
Packaging
20 per box, 30 boxes per pallet
Line drawing of the Bowtie pattern, waisted bars laid in courses so each one locks between the two above it

Bowtie

2x12

Actual size
1 7/8 by 11 7/8 inches
Pieces per sq ft
6
Weight per piece
1.05 lb
Packaging
46 per box, 30 boxes per pallet

Coverage is figured on a 3/8 inch joint. Order a sample of any pattern before you specify it.

Compass Star, four tiles to a star

Glazing

Two programs, both open

All five patterns are open to both, so the choice is the color and not the range. A relief face gives the glaze somewhere to go, and it shows a color twice: thin on the high ground, deep in the low.

  • Signature Low Fire Fifty six colors The broad palette. Whites, grays, browns, the whole spectrum through to the greens.
  • Premium High Fire Twenty colors A shorter, earthier range. Ash, May Gray, Black Diamond, Walnut Spice, Copper, Elder Green.

Finish Gloss, Satin and Matte across the two programs. Forty six of the colors are gloss.

Body Made on the Monrovia red body bisque, the same body as Oleson, Monrovia, Studio, Scirocco and Peninsula.

Unglazed Every pattern can also be ordered unglazed, in the red body itself, where the relief carries the whole thing.

Availability Both programs are open to every ARTO ceramic product, so no pattern here is held to one palette.

Working from an older sample board

  • Ice Storm is now Celeste Blue
  • Aqua is now Sea Foam
  • Turtle is now Tortoise
  • Alabaster is now Linen

No image of a glaze is the glaze. Order a sample before you commit a wall to a color.

Ceramic glaze colors

Seventy six colors, order the chip

Laid out so a family reads as a family. Click any square to order that color as a chip.

Signature Low Fire Fifty six

Premium High Fire Twenty

Installed

On the wall, and in the light

Six projects, and the last one is a pattern that is not in the range. Click any photograph to open it full size.

  • Buckle around a fireplace, with the fire lit
  • Bowtie laid on end, in a running bond
  • Buckle wrapping a fireplace surround
  • Compton laid on end, so the folds run tall
  • Target, four tiles to a circle
  • A pattern pressed to order, not one of the five

Every piece is pressed and fired by hand in Gardena, so the relief and the glaze both vary from piece to piece and from firing to firing. Order a sample in the color you are considering before you specify it.

Ceramic glaze colors

Seventy six colors, order the chip

Laid out so a family reads as a family. Click any square to order that color as a chip.

Signature Low Fire Fifty six

Premium High Fire Twenty

A screen is not a glaze. These squares are photographs of fired samples and they shift with your monitor, the room and the light. Order the chip, put it on the wall, and look at it at three different hours before you specify it.

The material

Built to outlast the install

The craft is in the maker's hands. The performance is in the fired clay body. ARTO publishes CSI 3-Part specifications and installation guides so architects and designers can specify with confidence.

  • The mix

    Red Body Ceramic, Pressed in Relief

    Handcrafted in Gardena from high fired terracotta, on the same Monrovia red body bisque as Oleson, Monrovia and Studio. The pattern is pressed into the body rather than laid on the face, so the relief is the tile itself. Every piece is made by hand, so size varies across a run.

  • The color

    Seventy Six Colors, Both Programs

    Signature Low Fire and Premium High Fire, all seventy six open to all five patterns, or unglazed in the red body itself. A relief face shows a color twice, thin on the high ground and deep in the low. Shade variation runs from V2 to V4 depending on the glaze.

  • The documentation

    Specs and Downloads

    A CSI 3-Part master specification covers clay tile, 09 30 13 Quarry Tile. Cleaning, efflorescence and sealing guides are in the technical library.

  • The application

    Walls, Inside and Out

    These are ceramic wall panels and tiles, for interior and exterior walls. Ask us before you put them anywhere else.

  • The industry

    Industry Standards

    Member of TCNA, NTCA, and CTDA. Custom products are available with project-specific testing on request.

  • The decision

    Sampling

    Always order a sample before you commit. What you see on a screen is not what your hand will know in the room. Samples ship from our Gardena facility.

Material truth

Rustic Elegance

Rough and refined at the same time. A handcrafted edge where no two pieces are exactly alike. Glaze fired over handmade clay, in a palette that reads differently at every hour of the day.

It is not a marketing phrase. It is a material truth. Far from perfect, and that is the whole point.