Counters That Keep the Piece :...

To Randi Landon, a broken dish is not a disaster, it’s an opportunity. He pieces together bits and pieces of ceramic--tiles, dishes and other objects--into kitchen counters, tabletops and whatever else occurs to him.

Landon, a folk artist, lives in a 700-square-foot cottage in an area of Laguna Beach that was spared in the recent fire. The house changes with his art. In the nine years he’s lived in the house, he’s reworked the tiny, galley-sized kitchen three times. A few months ago, Landon antiqued the wooden cabinets red and designed a colorful tile counter that is the focal point of the room.

“This is the kitchen I’ve always wanted to do for myself,” Landon said. “When I’ve done tile kitchens for clients I’ve tried to talk them into these colors, but they usually want all-white or all-black tiles with very little color. The black and the white tiles in this counter hold the bits of bright color together, which is reflective of my work, which uses black and white with color to make the pattern move.”

Landon, 34, began studying ceramics at the Laguna Beach School of Art and Design and has been apprenticing for five years with Laguna Beach’s master ceramist, Marlo Bartels. In addition to his own, Landon has tiled six bathrooms and six kitchens, including a kitchen at the San Francisco Folk Art Museum.

To get the swirling circle design in his kitchen, Landon used the center of a 12-inch dinner plate. Incorporated in the design are tiles he colored and fired himself as well as some he purchased. Periwinkle blue tiles from Mexico, a sea-green fish tile by a Mexican artist and a small ceramic face add interest to the black and white background.

For those adventurous enough to create their own out-of-the-ordinary counters, Landon explains the basic steps:

“First you measure the countertop, checking to make sure it’s level so you don’t get areas where water settles. Then you buy wonder board at a building supply store to fit the size of your counter.”

Wonder board comes in 4-by-8-foot and 4-by-6-foot sheets that can be cut with a regular razor knife into the needed size. Wonder board is fiberglass-backed, so it won’t leak or rot, Landon said, but you might want to put tar paper under it for added protection.

If the counter includes a sink area, Landon suggests installing a self-rimming sink to ensure a proper seal.

After cutting the board into the correct size, put it on the counter, drill holes into the countertop to secure it and screw the board to the counter.

To attach the tiles and ceramic pieces to the board, a concrete adhesive called “thin set” is spread on the wonder board. Tiles are then set in place.

“Do a section at a time. Don’t spread the thin set all at once and then try to hurry the tiles down. Thin set sets up very fast, so just do a small area. Also, if you do too large an area, your eyes will get tired and you won’t see vacant spots in your design. Your eyes need to rest.”

When all the tiles are set, fill the remaining spaces with grout, which is available in many colors.

When working with broken tiles, make sure any jagged edges that could cut hands are smoothed out. Keep some tiles with factory edges intact to use for the edges of the counter.

To make the counter look special and come out right, some artistic principles need to be applied. “Think of the area as a canvas,” Landon said.

Landon visualizes what he wants the finished counter to look like before he begins and doesn’t need to draw a preliminary sketch. However, the beginner might want to draw an exact pattern first, since Landon’s designs came after years of study.

“I usually start with something dramatic, like the center of a dinner plate, a ceramic face or tile object and put that (above) a sink, a stove or in the center of the area to be tiled.

“If you lay out all the big pieces first after the specialty ones, it’s easier to make your pattern. In my case, I created a white field first with the large white tiles then added the black tiles to break up the white.

“This is very much like working on a white canvas. Plus, since the white tiles are larger, they are easier to pop out if you make a mistake or change your mind about the pattern. After that I added small bits of my favorite colors.”

Landon’s tile work does not end with kitchen counters. His work extends out of the kitchen into furniture like the tile-covered table and bench in his small dining area. This and other of his folk art works were part of a show last year at the Santa Barbara Art Co.

His furniture is made differently than the counters, since he uses polystyrene foam, cement and metal bars to make it strong enough to sit or stand on.

For some of his furniture pieces, he builds wooden cabinets and then adds tiles to the top. Landon studied to be a furniture designer in 1977 at the San Francisco Art Institute. Besides furniture, Landon also makes tile-covered flower pots, patio benches and standing figures holding plants.

“Every time my art changes, my house changes,” said Landon. “I’m going more and more into folk art, both with the furniture and with large paintings like the one in my living room. And since I’m going in that direction, I’m going to paint the rooms in this house ruby red, yellow, green and blue.”

Landon has to be content with changing the inside of the house, since the exterior of his cottage is considered historically significant and cannot be changed.

The cottage, built in 1939, is one of the oldest structures left in north Laguna.

“This was one of the first houses built here. It used to be on 12 1/2 acres with a large barn on the property that had been brought in from Fullerton. There was an ocean view here until 1951.”

Inside, though, anything goes. Here paintings lean against walls, with some acting as room dividers. Day of the Dead art purchased during Landon’s many trips to Mexico are placed around the rooms and the bathroom has his colorful, handcrafted tiles along the wall behind the sink.

Landon, who has a deep appreciation for both American and Mexican folk art, has three works currently on display at the Palace of Fine Arts outside of Mexico City.

His work coincides with a revived interest in American folk art, idiosyncratic design and artworks made with found objects.

And they act as yet another reminder to think twice before throwing anything away.

That plate fragment or broken tile could be the start of something big.