At home with a range of styles

Tom Pickett grew up a military brat. “We moved all the time,” he said, “I quickly learned that where you live is what you make of it.”

From his father, a career Air Force man, Pickett was introduced to linear thinking. And from his mother, a tarot card reader and self-professed “white witch,” he learned to try new things. From his youth, a wandering soul emerged and eventually led him to art.

Pickett had more than two dozen jobs through his 20s. “I get bored easily.”

He later learned how to silk screen and worked in apparel for a while and moved on to electronic stenciling. He did that for close to 10 years, during which he had his first heart attack at a company picnic. He was 34.

Pickett had his second heart attack in his 40s. “My issues have issues,” he said. They include coronary artery disease, diabetes and degenerative disk disease.

Seven years ago, Pickett, who was working as a process engineer in California’s Silicon Valley, settled in northwest Spokane with his wife, Cheryl. He had visited Spokane before and was attracted to the community.

He commuted to California for a while. A kidney shut down from medication he was taking, and that helped him come to a decision. “I do art full time now,” he said.

It took Pickett a while to find something that held his attention. First he took private classes in glass blowing. “There are a lot of good glass artists around here,” he said, “but it’s fairly expensive to do and I also burned myself severely.”

He then took ceramics classes at Spokane Art School. Wheel throwing bored him a bit, but when he saw his teacher, artist Liz Bishop, inscribing on tiles, his interest was piqued.

Now Pickett makes fine art tiles, combining his drawing abilities with clay and glass. The variations that his media of choice offer leave no room for boredom. The multifaceted nature of glass, clay and design work allow Pickett to work in styles ranging from traditional to abstract.

The process begins with a slab of clay rolled out and cut to size. He then draws on it and decides on the flow. After it air dries to carving consistency, he gets to work shaping designs and insets into the clay, followed by the first firing. He fills the insets with sheet glass or glass frit – bits of crushed glass – followed by a second firing, a glaze and one last firing. The final product is filled with texture from the clay and glowing radiance produced by the glass.

He works in a studio in his basement where he has a kiln and shelves full of tools of his trade. Walls throughout the house are adorned with work illustrating his range: realistic cats, Native American designs, iconic images, birds, traditional and otherworldly landscapes, abstract and swirling designs, an eye, a skull, a hawk plucking its prey from shimmering waters. In visiting his home, one might think that dozens of artists are displaying there. It’s testimony to Pickett’s desire for change and to keep boredom at bay.