We were lucky to catch up with Tamara Gentuso recently and have shared our conversation below.

Tamara, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

The Nashville Clayscape, a ceramic tile map of Nashville, may very well be my magnum opus. Completed in May 2020, this whimsical, folk art interpretation took three years to complete with all 192 square-foot tiles, which on installation, measure 25’ long by 8’ tall.

It began with a call for work at the local airport… I didn’t get the bid, but I did end up with an idea that wouldn’t leave me alone. Within a month, I’d reworked the idea of a Nashville-themed ceramic mural until if would fit perfectly right on the Clay Lady’s Campus where I have my studio. With the help and encouragement and provision of supplies by the people of the clay world, especially the owners of the Campus, I began what would eventually end up being a three-year project of the heart.

This tile mural map took more than six months of research, with me zooming around Nashville via Google Street View or my Mini Cooper for much of that time! Using images or sketches, a template was made for each of the 192 tiles with thumbnails taped on these “map grids” for future carving.

As far as what went into the Clayscape, I strove to include iconic buildings and places; landmarks; parks; colleges and schools; local businesses and restaurants; public works of art; and more. In addition, I also tried to show the general architectural style and feel of many of Nashville’s neighborhoods. All of this means that the Nashville Clayscape is something like a slice of life for that little three-year period…many of the places and buildings on the map actually no longer exist, such is the growth of this city I call home.

Work on the Nashville Clayscape was started in May 2017, and the mural was installed outside on the Artist Co-op Building’s outside parking lot wall there on the Clay Lady’s Campus in Nashville TN in May 2020.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Tamara (Tammy) Gentuso, and I am a clay artist based in Nashville, TN. Trained as an RN, I left the medical world with the birth of our firstborn. Once the children were a bit older, I began working as a freelance photographer/photojournalist. Seeking to stay a part of my youngest son’s world when he turned sixteen, we two took a pottery course on the Clay Lady’s Campus. Enchanted with it, two weeks after the class, I rented a studio there and dove into the world of clay. I spent two years working on mastering the potter’s wheel and when satisfied with my progress, I allowed myself to begin sculpting—something I’d dabbled in many years before.

I have now been a part of the clay world and an active member of the Clay Lady’s Campus for more than a decade. As a clay artist, whether I am sculpting or hand-building, the feel of clay between my fingers is a centered and calm place for my mind, and it pulls me back to the studio again and again.

Inspiration for my work stems from a lifelong fascination with folk art and its innocent refusal to follow rules. Woven throughout my work is the idea of home; and I often portray it in a whimsical, folksy style. A bit wonky, a tad eclectic, I seek to bring my viewers into a safe and quiet mental space through my art.

Most of my work is hand-built and starts with a photo or sketch and the creation of a template. Construction and drying may take up to several weeks before bisque firing can occur. Once out of the kiln, surface treatment of most of my pieces begins with a manganese wash to make details pop; then I continue with an arsenal of underglazes, bright and bold, topped with clear glaze before the final firing.

Though the Nashville Clayscape — a handmade ceramic tile mural map of Nashville, TN — is the largest of my projects, I am probably just as well known for my littlest works, my Wee Little Houses. Wee Littles are a line of handmade, brightly colored, and detailed, tiny ceramic houses—each one is completely unique with no molds being used to create them. Beginning back in 2015 as a way to recycle clay scraps, Wee Littles have now morphed into a line that has been carried in a number of gift shops both here in Nashville and elsewhere.

With the cool weather of autumn, however, I dive deep into making handmade porcelain tree ornaments and am especially pleased with a line of jazzy angel ornaments–they make me smile every single time I lay eyes on them, truly.

One more thing I want to share is that I love color. In the real world, you’ll find me dressed in jeans and a tee shirt –probably black or gray haha — but in the studio, my work is bright and colorful and calls out for your attention! They are happy and make you smile–my very goal. This world is hard and dark and confusing…if I can bring a smile to your face, I’ve achieved my goal!

: Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Mental and spiritual health are of particular importance to me, and one of my primary goals is to highlight the importance of and encourage the growth of strong and safe homes, how ever it is that they are defined.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a full-time artist is being able to scratch that itch that invades my mind at night!

As I settle myself for sleep, many nights my mind is not as ready as my body, and thus begins a litany of project ideas and colors and color combinations and textures and and and! Sleeping with these kinds of thoughts circling my mind works to filter and sift the abundance, and by the time I am up and ready to head into the studio the next day, those ideas that made it through get jotted down and might eventually even make it into clay!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://studiogentuso.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tammygentuso/ and https://www.instagram.com/nashville_clayscape/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tsgentuso PERSONAL account and professional together
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tammyg-of-studio-gentuso/
• Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/StudioGentuso

Image Credits
All photos were taken by the artist, Tamara Gentuso.