*****IMPORTANT***** If you would like to send me photographs of the pieces in your collection, please be aware that all cell phones and many regular cameras have GPS built in to them. Criminals can use the EXIF data captured by … Continue reading →
To view posted photographs of Tom and Mary Blakley’s art work, click on the “Galleries” tab on the line just below the header photograph, which is a close-up of one of Tom’s glaze tiles. A new page will open up … Continue reading →
The photographs in this post were sent to me by a woman who bought them from Tom and Mary in the mid-1970s. By that time, they had run out of easily accessible driftwood to mount their creations on, so they … Continue reading →
A visitor to the blog contacted me this afternoon and sent me this photograph of a very early piece by Mary, which I thought others might enjoy viewing, This piece is mounted on a 16″ x 32″ piece of 3/4″ … Continue reading →
Tom did all of the glaze formulation and experimenting, while Mary put Tom’s findings to use. While Tom was the technician, he did play with his results, using fish and face plaques as “tiles” but it was Mary who was … Continue reading →
I did not know that Mary had a form of synesthesia, known as chromesthesia in the academic world, until after she had passed away. This fact explains her fascination with music and color – she loved classical music and played … Continue reading →
It is a fairly common misperception that the work of the Mary Blakley Studio was solely that of Mary Blakley. I had the wonderful fortune to establish contact with a collector in Miami who has a varied collection of Tom’s … Continue reading →
Tom was many things, but cartooning was the love of his life. When he found that the market for cartoons drawn on paper and published in magazines was declining in the early 1960s, he started cartooning in clay and his … Continue reading →
I’ve reached out to the larger community to try to find pieces made by Tom and Mary and I’ve met some wonderful people who have volunteered to let me take photographs of the pieces that they have. I’ve been busy … Continue reading →
In my recent post on the MB button, I ended on a note about the rarity of the “TB” button. Well, I found one – on a character plaque owned by a person here in Homestead. A close up of … Continue reading →
On January 5, 2014, I gave a PowerPoint presentation in the Pioneer Room of the First National Bank in Homestead about the history behind Mary Blakley Ceramics. It was sponsored by the Homestead Center for the Arts. Many people collect … Continue reading →
This small piece, about 5″ wide by 12″ tall, which is in the collection of a Homestead resident, is very interesting. When I first saw it, I was very puzzled, because the glazed flowers, buds and vase are painted with … Continue reading →