In the Islamic Tile project, each student reproduces the designs of Islamic Spain in the late Middle Ages on a ceramic tile. These designs are remarkable for their rigorous geometric forms, which are generated by subdividing a circle with a compass and straightedge into three, four, six, eight, or twelve divisions. The intricacy of these geometric designs compensated for the Islamic religious injunction against images (iconoclasm). The project was conceived as an interdisciplinary activity incorporating aspects of Islamic history, mathematics, and Spanish culture.
The tiles are created over a period of months. They originate with a design on paper, which are carved onto a soft ceramic tile with pinheads before the most time-consuming phase begins. Three coats of underglaze are painted onto the tile in class, at lunch, and after school before the tiles are taken to be fired. The matte underglazes are transformed in the final product into bright, glossy colors. Wooden frames are constructed and stained, and the whole assembly is sold to the students to recoup the cost of materials.


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