Ch. 02 · The Craft Process & Pigment அத்தங்குடி · செய்முறை
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Four hands, one square foot

How a single tile becomes a floor

1

Pigment is mixed by eye, not by weight.

Oxblood, ochre, mustard and teal are ground from oxides each morning — the master adjusts by tone until the wet paste matches yesterday's dried tile.

Oxide · oxblood
2

Each pattern is poured onto a sheet of glass.

The glass — never a mould — gives the finished surface its glossy face. Brass dividers hold the geometry while the colours are laid in by hand, one field at a time.

Glass · 8 × 8 in
3

Cement is cast, never fired.

A backing of grey cement is tamped over the pigment, pressed flush, and left in the courtyard. Sun and shade cure the tile across four to seven days — no kiln, no glaze.

Air-cured · 4–7 d
4

It is then washed, ground, and read for true colour.

The dry tile is rinsed and lightly polished; only then does the oxide read true. Rejects are returned to the courtyard floor — the colour, after all, has not been lost.

Hand · finished
Athangudi Vēlai  ·  The Floor Atlas
அத்தங்குடி ஓடு · கைவினைக் கைப்பேரி
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This is the Chettinad Athangudi Tiles design system, applied by Curio Design — a design-style library for AI agents. Full Chettinad Athangudi Tiles guide → designbycurio.com/learn/tamil-chettinad-athangudi-tile