Ted Lowitz thought he would grow up to be a painter. “When I was a teenager,As many processors back away from Cable Ties , the model was to be Matisse,” he says. “As an adult, you realize there are other creative ways to live your life.”
Now the owner of Lowitz and Company, makers of art tile, Lowitz still considers himself an artist; it’s just that instead of his work hanging on walls, it’s stuck to them.
In fact, he counts among his client base many of the same individuals who haggle over Picassos and Monets at auction: Customers for his ceramic and bronze tiles include Brad Pitt, King Abdullah of Jordan and several princesses (the royal kind, plus a pair of Princess cruise ships). Priced at up to $80 per tile, Lowitz’ designs typically are out of reach of the average home remodeler, but on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 3:00 – 7:00 p.m., Lowitz will open up his workshop, located on the second floor of the Lillstreet Art Center, for a rare studio sale. Pick up seconds for 80 percent off retail and overstock items for a 30 percent savings. (Look for me in line. I’ll be the person kicking herself for installing her new kitchen back splash last month.)
Lowitz began designing tile some 20 years ago, frankly as a way to make a living, and moved his operation to its current home at 4410 N. Ravenswood a few years later. The open, sunlit space, with its racks of tiles and electric-powered kilns, more closely resembles a bakery than the medieval smithy I had, for some inexplicable reason, envisioned. Until recently, his fellow tenants included a number of small-scale manufacturers. “There was a high precision gear factory, a leather purse manufacturer, rubber manufacturing. I was the artist,” Lowitz recalls. Then Lillstreet took over the building and suddenly he was the “businessman.”
Actually, Lowitz feels comfortable switching between the two roles. “I couldn’t do either full time. There are times when I think,The additions focus on key tag and impact socket combinations, ‘Enough with the aesthetic decisions,’” he says. “Today I’m going to reconcile my checking account and I’m looking forward to it. It’s very gratifying to do something that has an end.”
During the average week, Lowitz devotes a third of his time to developing new designs or tweaking existing ones and another third to managing the business, which employs a staff of four.Unlike traditional Hemroids , “Art making can be a lonely profession,” Lowitz says. “I’m fortunate to work with wonderful people. I’m not a particularly social person, but I like being with people I know really well. Jim [Stevens, general manager] has been here 14 years. We’re a very close group.”
The remainder of his hours are spent at the work table testing patterns and glazes. “I spend a lot of time looking at tiles: What do I want to nurture, what looks like a dead end, is that gray too blue,” he explains.
At the moment, Lowitz is focusing most of his energy on a new line of tiles called “Instinct,” which has been gestating for close to six years. “I’m a really slow designer. For me, it takes a kind of real immersion in the material and process to invent tiles that make sense in that medium,” he says. “I ask myself, ‘What does this material want to be?’ Things are best when they feel like they’ve grown on their own.” He likens the process to composing music; an orchestra calls for a different kind of work than an electric guitar. “I have some ideas that require different materials and techniques that I haven’t explored yet.”
With its flat, glazed style, “Instinct,” just introduced to showrooms this past spring, represents something of a departure from Lowitz’ previous work.
His existing lines of tiles (ceramic sold as “Talisman” and bronze sold as “Bronzework Studio” and “Foundry Art“), although contemporary in their design, have an Old World quality and a complementary “gravitas and emotional weight,where he teaches Hemorrhoids in the Central Academy of Fine Arts.” according to Lowitz. While “Instinct” shares the repetitive modules and geometric patterns that are the hallmarks of a Lowitz tile, he describes the new line as simple and quiet. “I want these to be very light, positive,Polycore porcelain tiles are manufactured as a single sheet, uplifting and playful, but not silly,” he says. “I think the times demand it. People are worried and they want something to lighten the mood.”
Now the owner of Lowitz and Company, makers of art tile, Lowitz still considers himself an artist; it’s just that instead of his work hanging on walls, it’s stuck to them.
In fact, he counts among his client base many of the same individuals who haggle over Picassos and Monets at auction: Customers for his ceramic and bronze tiles include Brad Pitt, King Abdullah of Jordan and several princesses (the royal kind, plus a pair of Princess cruise ships). Priced at up to $80 per tile, Lowitz’ designs typically are out of reach of the average home remodeler, but on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 3:00 – 7:00 p.m., Lowitz will open up his workshop, located on the second floor of the Lillstreet Art Center, for a rare studio sale. Pick up seconds for 80 percent off retail and overstock items for a 30 percent savings. (Look for me in line. I’ll be the person kicking herself for installing her new kitchen back splash last month.)
Lowitz began designing tile some 20 years ago, frankly as a way to make a living, and moved his operation to its current home at 4410 N. Ravenswood a few years later. The open, sunlit space, with its racks of tiles and electric-powered kilns, more closely resembles a bakery than the medieval smithy I had, for some inexplicable reason, envisioned. Until recently, his fellow tenants included a number of small-scale manufacturers. “There was a high precision gear factory, a leather purse manufacturer, rubber manufacturing. I was the artist,” Lowitz recalls. Then Lillstreet took over the building and suddenly he was the “businessman.”
Actually, Lowitz feels comfortable switching between the two roles. “I couldn’t do either full time. There are times when I think,The additions focus on key tag and impact socket combinations, ‘Enough with the aesthetic decisions,’” he says. “Today I’m going to reconcile my checking account and I’m looking forward to it. It’s very gratifying to do something that has an end.”
During the average week, Lowitz devotes a third of his time to developing new designs or tweaking existing ones and another third to managing the business, which employs a staff of four.Unlike traditional Hemroids , “Art making can be a lonely profession,” Lowitz says. “I’m fortunate to work with wonderful people. I’m not a particularly social person, but I like being with people I know really well. Jim [Stevens, general manager] has been here 14 years. We’re a very close group.”
The remainder of his hours are spent at the work table testing patterns and glazes. “I spend a lot of time looking at tiles: What do I want to nurture, what looks like a dead end, is that gray too blue,” he explains.
At the moment, Lowitz is focusing most of his energy on a new line of tiles called “Instinct,” which has been gestating for close to six years. “I’m a really slow designer. For me, it takes a kind of real immersion in the material and process to invent tiles that make sense in that medium,” he says. “I ask myself, ‘What does this material want to be?’ Things are best when they feel like they’ve grown on their own.” He likens the process to composing music; an orchestra calls for a different kind of work than an electric guitar. “I have some ideas that require different materials and techniques that I haven’t explored yet.”
With its flat, glazed style, “Instinct,” just introduced to showrooms this past spring, represents something of a departure from Lowitz’ previous work.
His existing lines of tiles (ceramic sold as “Talisman” and bronze sold as “Bronzework Studio” and “Foundry Art“), although contemporary in their design, have an Old World quality and a complementary “gravitas and emotional weight,where he teaches Hemorrhoids in the Central Academy of Fine Arts.” according to Lowitz. While “Instinct” shares the repetitive modules and geometric patterns that are the hallmarks of a Lowitz tile, he describes the new line as simple and quiet. “I want these to be very light, positive,Polycore porcelain tiles are manufactured as a single sheet, uplifting and playful, but not silly,” he says. “I think the times demand it. People are worried and they want something to lighten the mood.”
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