A wall of KLE tile in blue and white, the hand drawn line running from tile to tile, with papyrus fronds laid across it

Handpainted series

KLE Series,painted, not printed

Two drawings on an eight inch square, made to order in blue and white, in white alone, or in a color you choose.

Body
Red clay, 1/2 inch
Size
8x8
Designs
Two, in two colors
Made in
Gardena, California

Cuerda seca

The line keeps the colors apart

A line is laid between the color fields so the glazes cannot run together in the firing. It comes out of the kiln matte and dark against the gloss.

Two drawings, A and B. The line runs to the edge of every tile and picks up on the next, so a wall reads as one drawing rather than a grid of them.

Nothing is held back for a warehouse. Both drawings are painted when they are ordered, in blue and white, in white alone, or in a color from the Signature Low Fire range.

Walls, inside and out. Ask us before you put it anywhere else.

The four

Two drawings, two ways to have them

Design A and design B, each painted in blue and white or in white alone. The line is the same in both. Only the fields it holds apart change.

  • Design A, blue and white

    KLE8-A-WHITEBLUE

  • Design B, blue and white

    KLE8-B-WHITEBLUE

  • Design A, white

    KLE8-A-WHITE

  • Design B, white

    KLE8-B-WHITE

Body
Red clay, 1/2 inch, square edge
Nominal size
7 7/8 inch square, called 8x8
Coverage
2.25 pieces per square foot at a 1/4 inch joint
Weight
1.9 lb a piece
Packed
22 to a box, 45 boxes to a pallet
Painted
To order, in Gardena, California

Painted by hand. The line wanders a little from one tile to the next, and a screen will not hold the glaze exactly either.

Applications

Where KLE can go

Three, and that is the list. This is a handpainted wall tile at half an inch, so it goes on a wall indoors and it goes on a wall outside.

  • Walls Walls Inside and out, at 8x8.
  • Indoor Indoor Kitchens, baths, halls and lobbies.
  • Outdoor Outdoor Courtyards, garden walls and loggias.

Send us the drawing. If the wall is anything out of the ordinary, we would rather see it before the tile is painted.

Laid up

One drawing, not a grid of them

The line runs off the edge of one tile and picks up on the next. Click any photograph to open it full size and step through the set.

  • White alone, on a wall above a counter
  • Designs A and B in blue and white
  • The same two designs, laid up another way
  • Blue and white and white alone in one field
  • White alone, six tiles

Every tile is painted and fired by hand in Gardena, so the line and the glaze vary from piece to piece and from firing to firing.

Custom

Tell us the color

The drawings do not change. The glaze does.

Blue and white and white alone are the two that get painted most often, and they are the two on this page. Either drawing can also be painted in a color from the Signature Low Fire range, on the same 8x8 tile, at the same coverage and the same weight. It is written as Custom KLE 8x8.

Tell us the color. Name the glaze, or send us something to hold it against, and say roughly how many square feet you need. Nothing is painted until it is ordered, so the color is settled first and the kiln follows.

Hours
Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm
Address
15209 S. Broadway St, Gardena, CA 90248
Tell us the color

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, Square Edge

    Handcrafted in Gardena from high fired red terracotta, half an inch thick with square edges and corners. Every piece is made by hand, so size varies a little across a run.

  • The color

    Two Colorways, and a Range Behind Them

    Painted in blue and white, or in white alone, on an eight inch square. A custom order takes its color from the Signature Low Fire range instead. The line between the fields comes out of the kiln matte and dark against the gloss.

  • The documentation

    Specs and Downloads

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

  • The application

    Walls, Inside and Out

    Interior and exterior walls, and that is the whole list. Every piece is painted and fired by hand, so the line and the glaze vary from piece to piece and from firing to firing.

  • 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.