Upcoming Classes 

 

 

 Check the full schedule here.


Bird Vessel Class

Saturday, April 11th
9:00am to 12:00pm


Little Clayer's Class


 

Take a class with your favorite little one!  (Ages 3-7 and Adults)

Sunday, April 19th 

12:00noon to 1:30pm

  Sign up Online


 


 

Basic Millefiore Clay Class


 

Saturday, April 18th

10:00am to 1:00pm

  Sign up Online  

 

Fish Mobile class

NEW Class!
Sunday, May 3rd 
12:00noon to 3:00pm

Layl's Upcoming Shows


"Windows Into Wonderment"
Lanesboro Art Center
February 7 - March 29

20th Annual Arts in Harmony 2015 Int'l Arts Show
Elk River Area Arts 
February 2 - March 26


New Silly Millies
Peacock Spectrum
Order our Free Tile Catalogs
planing guides


 
Tile Seconds
Like to  mosaic? Do you like a deal? If so our seconds and overrun tiles are for you! Click here to order!
Tiles 50- 90% off
Changing variety of colors; sometimes even decorative tiles; a portion are in pieces. You can request color preferences and we will do our best to fulfill your hopes. 
New seconds are added daily so 
check in often!
Contact Us
34 13th Ave NE
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55413
612-781-6409
March
Newsletter
 
 

Sara Rabie in her office, in Grenada
Our latest travels have made us realize how small and interconnected the world is.  The story of our connection with Sara Rabie started somewhere in the Facebook world, when she began following Layl or possibly even before that.  The next time Sara came from Grenada with her daughter, Sadie, to visit family in Minnesota, they took one of Layl's classes.  Then Sara ordered one of Layl's pieces and hung it in her office, in Grenada.  About a year or so later Layl's sister Farah and her husband Jason were sitting in Sara's office in Grenada as he was getting ready to enroll in medical school at St. George's University.  Farah kept looking at this sculpture and finally when Sara asked "Do you have any questions?" Farah said, "Yes. Who made that sculpture?"  Sara said, "Oh it's an artist in Minnesota: Layl McDill." Farah just about fell on the floor.  Here she was on an island far away from the Midwest and there is her sister's art on the wall!  
Farah, Layl and Josh
in the Jungles of Grenada

Now that Farah and Jason are living in Grenada, Josh and Layl, of course, went to visit them.  Layl was invited to teach another class to Sara and many other new fans of polymer clay in Grenada.  

But the amazing connections don't stop there.  Layl and Josh were wandering the streets in St. George when they found a sign for ceramics.  Eventually they tracked down a storeroom of pottery and got to talking with the businessman, Badre, who had figured out how to use the local clay to make ceramics.  At some point Layl mentioned that she was teaching a class and showed him her bracelet to describe the art she makes.  This made him ask, "Did you teach here before? I think my daughter took your class?"  Layl said, "No, it wasn't me." And he said, "Hmmm, I think it was with her friend Sadie."  Ah-ha!  Of course he was also connected to Sara - she had taught what she learned from Layl to Sadie and her friends!

Yes, it's a small world.  And this is only the beginning for us. We hope to go back to Grenada to see if Josh can work with Badre to make tiles with the clay of Grenada.  We will keep you updated on this new adventure.

Layl and Josh


 Find us on Facebook 

Project of the Month
A fireplace over a existing brick surface. 
The original fireplace in this home had a relief keystone design 
that the owners wanted to retain. They chose to transform the fireplace from brick red to Avocado Green. 
They used  Stone Hollow Tile  a ccents for all four corners of the fireplace.

Custom Pieces by Layl
The custom orders have really piled up for Layl so the next few weeks will be all about creating these pieces.  Layl loves the process of working with a customer to create a piece that is just right for them.  Sometimes customers see a piece she has already made but want their 
Sketch
own version and sometimes customers propose a totally new idea that they know Layl's style will take in a fun direction.  

The current piece she is working on is a "stone" wall for Cecelia Boone. Cecelia purchased a wonderful ceramic jester while traveling in Italy and wants Layl to make a wall for him to sit on.   Layl did some sketches and Cecelia gave her input, including suggesting possible objects that will be placed in the wall.  As Layl is creating the wall she is posting it on Facebook so Cecelia can see the piece happen before her eyes and offer any ideas that may occur.  
First section of the Wall in progress

Northeast Minneapolis Arts District Wins best Arts District in the country!
During the month of February
USA Today had a competition to vote for the Best Arts District in America. The Northeast Minneapolis Arts District won! Layl and Josh have been very involved with the arts district since it began in 2003 and in the NE arts community with Art-A-Whirl for the past 20 years. (Josh is currently president of the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District.)  This win is a validation of the hard work ALL the artists and community members have put forward to build an arts community that benefits so many.

A Community Celebration of the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District, "The Best Arts District in the USA!" will take place on April 1, 2015 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the recently redesigned third floor events space of the Solar Arts Building, 711-15th Ave NE, Minneapolis, MN 55413. 

Thank you to all that voted! We look forward to seeing many of you at this coming event, during Art-A-Whirl or throughout the rest of the year-- in the Best Arts District in the country!

 

Follow Josh and Layl Daily

 


Like us on Facebook
Find tile artist Josh Blanc at 
Clay Squared to Infinity. Follow him as he makes tiles and creates his latest art.

 
The Bird Balancer
  
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