James Tyler resides in Nyack, NY along the west bank of the Hudson River just north of New York City with his two children, Ifetayo and Kayode. His studio is located in the nearby Garnerville Arts and Industrial Complex, a sprawling 1830's textile mill which is now the home of the GAGA Arts Center.

Tyler was selected as GAGA's first executive director in January 2007, guiding the development of the annual GAGA Arts Festival, the Outside In; Outsider Art Expo, the GAGA Creekside Sculpture and Nature Park, and over 20,000 sq. feet of raw exhibition space.



MATERIALS

Ceramic Figures

The Clay
The sculptures are all hand built, one of a kind pieces. The life size and larger figurative sculptures are made with a heavily grogged architectural stoneware. It is a very durable clay body specifically designed for use in making exterior architectural ornamentation. They are constructed hollow, with a wall thickness averaging 3\4 of an inch. This makes them heavy but it also makes them exceptionally strong. They can be damaged by sharp impact, but are impervious to the weather under normal conditions.

The Patina
The fired clay is coated with a series of oil base finishes beneath copper leaf. The copper surface is then treated chemically to achieve the final patina. This finish requires no maintenance other than an occasional dusting. It should not be scrubbed or polished.
In an exterior garden setting the patina will change over time. This pace of this process varies under different conditions and exposures, but poses no danger to the clay body of the sculpture. The tendency is for the sculpture to become less green, with more of the underlying buff surfaces showing through. It is often quite beautiful, and always unique. In the case of damage, copper leaf and patina can be re-applied to return the sculpture to its original condition.