“There was a message written in pencil on the tiles by the roller towel. This was it: What is the purpose of life? … To be the eyes and ears and conscience of the Creator of the Universe, you fool.” ― Kurt Vonnegut

Our myths glow, as tiles made of clay and compassion, with the fire of gods.

“The artist must create a spark before he can make a fire and before art is born, the artist must be ready to be consumed by the fire of his own creation.” —Auguste Rodin

“The works must be conceived with fire in the soul but executed with clinical coolness.” —Joan Miro

“It was my mother who taught me the one worthwhile thing: when they ask if you like what you see in the mirror, pretend that what they mean is what’s behind you–the shower curtain, the tile, the wallpaper, whatever’s there. — Gary Lutz

“In an archery contest, when the stakes are earthenware tiles a contestant shoots with skill. When the stakes are belt buckles he becomes hesitant, and if the stakes are pure gold he becomes nervous and confused. There is no difference as to his skill.” —Zhuangzi

“If I had to pick one artist to tile my bathroom I would go with MC Escher.” —Demetri Martin

“We have to discard the past / and, as one builds / floor by floor, window by window, / and the building rises, / so do we keep shedding – first, broken tiles, / then proud doors… and each new day / gleams / like an empty / plate.” —Pablo Neruda

“Fine, dandy, she thought. Then lose the shirt, peel off those leather pants, and lie down on my tile. We’ll take turns being on the bottom.” —J.R. Ward

“Happiness was different in childhood. It was so much then a matter simply of accumulation, of taking things – new experiences, new emotions – and applying them like so many polished tiles to what would someday be the marvellously finished pavilion of the self.” —John Banville

“The place I like best in this world is the kitchen. No matter where it is, no matter what kind, if it’s a kitchen, if it’s a place where they make food, it’s fine with me. Ideally it should be well broken in. Lots of tea towels, dry and immaculate. Where tile catching the light (ting! Ting!).” —Banana Yoshimoto

“I prefer to sing in the shower ’cause the acoustics are really, really good, I mean, when you’re singing against the tile walls then you really hear yourself, hear your voice, you know, throwing itself back at you.” —Thia Megia

“Your wallet will be stolen, you’ll get fat, slip on the bathroom tiles of a foreign hotel and crack your hip.” —Ellen Bass

“So it is not a matter of whether it is possible to attain Buddhahood, or if it is possible to make a tile a jewel. But just to work, just to live in this world with this understanding is the most important point, and that is our practice. That is true zazen.” —Shunryu Suzuki

“I am a product of long corridors, empty sunlit rooms, upstairs indoor silences, attics explored in solitude, distant noises of gurgling cisterns and pipes, and the noise of wind under the tiles. Also, of endless books.” —C. S. Lewis

“True Tile Tales” juxtaposes visual and verbal metaphoric similes, through which truth be told about humans in the language of tiles.

A metaphor is like a simile. —Steven Wright