When roaming the Las Cruces Farmers and Crafts Market, the art of Red Dog Tileworks is one striking display that always catches my eye and lures me in for a closer view. Specifically, the vivid shades and elaborate embellishments are what make Red Dog's unique presentation of pottery so inviting. Surprisingly more beautiful than the artwork itself, is the story behind it.
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| Jesse Rhodes, Red Dog Tileworks artist |
Finding artistic inspiration in the patterns crocheted by his late mother, this Cruces vendor transforms dainty doilies into templates used to decorate clay pottery. Red Dog Tileworks owner, Jesse Rhodes, does this by imprinting his mother's detailed doily designs onto his hand-made clay tiles, bowls, plates and paperweights. Then Rhodes fires his pieces to perfection at temperatures reaching 2,000°F and glazes them in bright, brilliant hues.
Following multiple firings and glazes, a final clear coat completes this labor of love that began as the intricate needlework crafted by a mother long ago. Given new life in the form of her son's colorful clay creations, this alluring artwork is admired and appreciated every week by many a Cruces market goer, including myself.
