Artist Yoshiko Yamamoto is a self-taught block printmaker who strives always to fuse Japanese design sensibility with fine craftsmanship. Several years ago, Nawal Motawi, a longtime admirer of Yoshiko’s work, approached her for a collaboration. Motawi thought Yamamoto’s bold prints would work well as a raised-line tile design. She was right. Yamamoto’s graceful, swaying scenes brought the clay to life.

Near San Luis Obispo, California, there’s a state park named “Montana de Oro.” There Yamamoto first sketched the scene that would become this ethereal ceramic seascape.

The 6×8″ tile is finished in a Dard Hunter Studios Oak Park frame made of quartersawn oak. Its finished size is 9-1/2 x 11-1/2″.

Every Motawi tile is made by hand and with heart in Ann Arbor, Michigan.