Client

Overview

“Waterfall” marking the entrance to The Baths at Esalen Institute is an 12’x 8’ relief and multi glazed custom ceramic sculpture with cascading fountain surrounded by handmade tile.

Goals

Our goal was to create a moment of contemplation at the portal where guest leave the everyday world and connect with the experience of serenity, spirituality and beauty of The Baths at Esalen, situated on a cliff overlooking the pacific, surrounded by nature.

Process

I flew out to Esalen to see the site and meet with acclaimed architect Micky Muennig, creator of the school of Organic Architecture first seen at Big Sur’s Post Inn Ranch.
Muennig had a Japanese wood block print in mind for the main visual but also wanted cascading water featured in the project.

I had brought glaze samples with me so we could see how they looked on site in the California light. Mickey picked a mossy green for the surrounding tile and other glaze colors were taken from the wood block print he liked. A bottom line of tile impressed with a beautifully intricate Japanese band was taken from another woodblock print. We designed the water feature to slowly cascade down the entire mural front then caught in a large hand thrown bowl. As the bowl fills, the water slowly spills over the rim onto a pebble lined pool, rooted by a black boulder.

Josh Johnson, my collaborator of 8 yrs, had just moved to California and set up his own studio. We had made many large-scale projects together so I had every assurance Josh could bring the project to a successful conclusion. Josh fabricated the mural and over saw the installation.
The result was the perfect combination of ancient image, the sound of slowly falling water and the original style of Muenning's new bath addition.

Additional Information

A true painterly vision, Architectural Ceramics’ custom tilework for the entryway to the Baths at Esalen Institute portrays a moving landscape with liquid falls, separating rock faces, with bathers picnicking along the sides. Ceramics makes possible the experience of ritual, communal bathing, and the cultural use of water to spiritually cleanse is perhaps reflected in the subtle keyhole shape of the falls and an overall reference to traditional eastern painting styles. - Sarah Muehlbauer