Pushing Past Luck

Tile artisan Jay Reese is accustomed to clients’ quizzical looks over his preferred mode of transportation: the bicycle. They wonder, reasonably, how he’ll transport heavy products from his Odyssey Co-op Gallery studio to their homes. They don’t know that when he’s loaded down with delivery materials, the ardent environmentalist often rents a van — despite his bike-centric beliefs. “[Bikes] cure what ails society,” he says. “Plus setting tiles is hard on the body. Cycling relieves pain, and when I arrive at a job site, I’m warmed up and ready to go.”

Reese installs his handcrafted ceramic tile flooring, backsplashes, fireplace surrounds, and more through his mythically named Sisyphus Tile. “The Sisyphus myth represents the human condition, and ties with my beliefs about the meaning of life,” he declares. But there’s not a lot of variety in pushing boulders, so in real life his work ranges from traditional symmetrical motifs in muted tones to brightly colored, fantastically cut tiles whose irregular curves echo the innovations of Spanish modernist architect Antoni Gaudí.

“Recently I created an Escher-esque parabolic design that seems to go off into infinity,” he says. He’s also inspired by the public installations of New York outsider artist Jim Power — aka “Mosaic Man” — for their color, quirkiness, and accessibility. Reese apprenticed with a local tile artist, Mark Hall, for a decade, and worked for a well-known regional company. But after finding that mainstream tile didn’t suit his art because of its perceived bland colors, he taught himself, through trial and error, how to make tiles from raw clay. 

He anticipates releasing his own “Wild Clay” tile line, sourced with clay harvested from a friend’s Weaverville artists’ compound. Reese’s clients are split between those who want something lovely, yet neutral for resale, and customers who desire brightly hued statement niches — small-area, affordable projects. Despite his disinclination for everyday colors, “if a client imagines it, I’ll execute it,” Reese maintains.  

He loves the process as much as the product. For him, firing is an always-worth-it gamble. “You never know, after combining an 11-day, two-firing process with a magical reaction between glaze, clay, and the atmosphere, what you’ll see when you open the kiln. Even a disappointment’s a valuable lesson.”

He remains philosophical yet practical about Sisyphus’ growth: “I get in the studio every day and make tiles.” As for attracting future clients, “luck is where preparation meets opportunity,” he declaims. It’s the fun factor he ultimately counts on. “Humans have worked with clay for 10,000 years. What kid doesn’t like playing in the mud?”

Jay Reese, Sisyphus Tile at Odyssey Co-op Gallery, 238 Clingman Avenue Extension in the River Arts District, Asheville. For more information, call 828-708-2124 or see sisyphustile.com.