About Janet Ontko

I worked for a ceramic artist for years and when I finished my BA in Art at Fresno State in 1995 I started my business, Clay Forms.  I was always interested in architectural ceramics, but at the same time was inspired by my vintage ceramic collection of Roseville and McCoy.

I started doing wholesale shows in 1996 and was received well.  I travel to New York and San Francisco twice a year to meet with store owners and designers.

My designs are carried in museum  stores and galleries throughout the United States and Japan.

Articles on my tiles have been published in several newspapers and magazines with the most recent being "101 Must Have Tiles" in House Beautiful, November 2006.  I designed fireplace tiles for the movie "You, Me and Dupree", 2006.  I also have tiles decorating the Martha Stewart television set.

I also hold one studio show a year where I showcase new designs. My inspirations come from working in my studio overlooking the garden and fish pond. I am known for the high relief and rich soft matte glazes as every piece is unique with slight color variations. 

The tiles have been used in city and residential gate entrances, light posts, mail boxes and benches. In 2005 I manufactured the "True North" paver for the Gamble House for purchase in their gift shop.  I have also designed and made tiles, plaques and bird houses for Disney.

The pond tiles come from my love of water gardening.  I thought it would be great fun to make frogs, turtles and pond plants in a design to finish off the edges of a pond.  The next natural step was to create a "fish gym" which is a water garden planter/sculpture (image is the banner at the top of the page).  The top half is a planter and the bottom half is hollow with holes for the fish to swim into.

To personalize the entry of a home, I have designed plaques to celebrate the year the house was built. I also have designed personalized name and house numbers plaques to match the style of the home.