COTANGENT

By Daphne Cardillo

                                          Ceramic Tiles

                   You see them everywhere; on floors, inner walls and outer walls, countertops and table tops, tombs, walkways and sidewalks.  These thin flat pieces of baked clay and ceramic that were once in the domain of our bathrooms and kitchens are now crawling out.  Ceramic tiles are screaming out loud everywhere -- bright, clean, cool, and cold!  I just think they’re overdone.

                   Tiles were long used for centuries in the East in secular palaces and private homes.  They later spread to the western world for decorative and symbolic purposes especially in the Middle Ages by men who built cathedrals.  Soon they found their way in houses and other public structures.  Made of fired clay, stone, or concrete, tiles evolved from the ancient craft of pottery making.

                   But the tiles I think that have been overdone or indiscriminately used are the ceramic tiles.  At the downtown area, there’s a sloping sidewalk done in smooth tiles.  Ceramic tiles can be slippery even when dry.  I experienced this several times while walking in high heels inside stores and office buildings.  At times the sole of your shoes get stuck on the grout.  And now these ceramic tiles come sparkling on sidewalks that are not always flat and get rained on anytime.  Already slippery even when dry, how much more when they get wet!  Concrete tiles would have been more suitable on pavements.

                   Then there are the stairs covered with ceramic tiles.  At least one or two I’ve stepped on have some kind of stopper lined at the edges with another material.  But these narrow spaces for going up and down now done in ceramic tiles is not really that safe especially in a fast paced public place.

                   Ceramic tiles indeed are nice for finishing surfaces.  These thin flat pieces of baked clay or a mixture of clay and ceramic come in a variety of sizes, textures, colors, and patterns.  So they offer a wide range of design possibilities.  They are also easy to clean.  Ceramic tiles resist heat and moisture and those highly glazed ones can even fend off scratches and stains.

                   Aside from the usual bathroom works, ceramic tiles are very decorative to use as a backsplash.  Though they are widely used as countertops, stones like marble and granite are still more durable and convenient to work on with their smooth flat surfaces.  But now ceramic tiles are widely used as floor finishing, making the interiors of our modern structures look clean and bright.

                   The first time I felt weird about this ceramic tile craze was when I visited my uncle’s grave in Maasin a few years back.  The tomb was done in those 4x4 white tiles reminiscent of the bathrooms and kitchens of earlier decades.  At first glance at the top, it looked like a laundry area in the middle of a big lot.  A set of black tiles lined across the sides only cut my gaze and changed my perspective.  The tomb was beautifully made and elegant but my first impression of a washing area still holds in my mind.

                   Another time was when I passed by a house the outer walls were covered with ceramic tiles in a very nice color and design, but unfinished.  Months later, I saw the same set of tiles on a tomb in a public cemetery.  A member of the family in that house died recently.  And I don’t know but they could have used the tiles intended for their house on the tomb.  Or they could have just used a different set of tiles.  The continuity just sent me the creeps.

                   Sometimes, a trend can lead us to great creativity especially with the versatility of the ceramic tiles.  But it can also lead us to the disastrous, the bizarre, and the superfluous.

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