This handmade, heat resistant tile painted by Carolyn Barford features a cat with hot air balloons in the background.

After graduating from Hartford Art School with a BFA as a sculpture major, Carolyn knew she wanted to move to the southwest. She found herself living in a small farmhouse and raising animals. She began drawing some little characters as if they were living her life. They seemed to be doing a good job of it and so they developed a life of their own and traveled all over in search of fun. After 30 years, these creatures still return to their fascination with New Mexico, which never seems to run out of arenas for their activities. Her tiles are reproductions of original works on paper painted with watercolor and pen and ink. They are made in her studio in small editions.