Gretchen Kramp

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gretchen Kramp received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Center for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan, After majoring in painting, she apprenticed herself to a local ceramicist. In the middle of the 1990s, her tiles were represented in the ceramic collection at the Dancing Eye Gallery in Northville, Michigan. In Winter 1997, she started Gretchen Kramp Ceramic Tiles, a business that produces art works composed of one or more tiles, including murals (constructed of tiles of multiple sizes and shapes) and tile tables for the home.

Kramp's murals have become popular features at Detroit Zoological Park. In 2000, she produced a mural for the entrance of the National Amphibian Conservation Center, located at the Detroit Zoo. In 2002, she installed a similar work at the entrance of the Nunavut Gallery in the Arctic Ring of Life exhibit. The eight-foot by ten-foot mural is constructed of more-than 650 iridescent and matte tiles. An immense polar bear stands under the motto NUNATSIAQ, which means "the beautiful land" in Inuit.