What's the deal with the tiles?

Visitors and guests of The Craftsman Bed & Breakfast, my home, always ask about the tiles displayed around the house.  Some just use them as a coaster and never give them a second thought.  Most though, pick them up for a closer look, rubbing their fingers on them for a feel of the designs carved in to them.  They investigate the mark and ask where we got them.  Most of the tiles are ceramic, but one is bronze and that is the one that guest are amazed by how heavy it is.

The collection started years ago.  Mike would escape the winter to get a dose of sunshine.  He traveled to Arizona for Spring Training.  No, he is not a Major League Baseball player, but of course, thinks he could be.  Anyway, he visited his snowbird parents and attended Mariner, Padre games in Peoria, Cubs in Phoenix and now the Rangers and Royals who are across the street from his parents house.  As they are not baseball fans, other activities were planned during the stay.  One of the places Mike visited as a child, visiting his grand parents, was Arcosanti.  Mike's brother Greg was interested in architecture, he is one now, so we made the first visit so he could see what was going on in the middle of the dessert.  At first Mike was not impressed, a bunch of hippies piling up dirt, covering it with concrete, excavating the dirt to make a building.  The more he thought about it over the years, the more he liked it.  So Mike visits the site every visit to check on the progress and to get some more tiles for his collection.  I think he like to jab his father, Jack as well.  Jack is not a fan, so yet another visit to a place he would rather avoid makes Mike smile a bit.  A visit a few years ago resulted in another find.  They have a bakery!  So we got a cookie for Jack and set off exploring.  I think he doesn't mind it so much now.

Arcosanti and it's sister Coasnti are the source for the tiles.  They also make bronze and ceramic bells called Cause Bells.  The sale of these pieces fund the project as well as other issues of national and global concern.  So Mike started with the tiles, the bells are very expensive, or as they say in Oregon, spendy.  Mike does have a bell now.  He was inspired to purchase the bell during a visit to Cosanti.

Walking through the grounds of Cosanti, watching the bells being made he encountered Paolo Soleri on a path.  Mike must have looked like a deer in the headlights as Paolo stopped and talked to him.  Mike explained that he had been visiting Arcosanti for many years and his collection of tiles.  They talked about the arcology of the site and how it was growing through out the years.  A brush with greatness!

So to help fund the idea, Mike purchased a bell.  Not wanting it to disappear or disturb the guests, the bell is hung inside the entry way to the dining room.

To find out more about Paolo Soleri and his vision, click on the hyper-links.  To see the tiles for yourself, click here to book a room.  We would love to have you for a visit.  If you find yourself in Scottsdale visit Coasnti.  On the way to Sedona, visit Arcosanti.