It's Only Rock-n-Roll
Originally from the UK, Alison Cooper is one of the pioneers of the resurrection of the 1920s Los Angeles art-tile movement. Her work has been featured in art publications, and design and fashion magazines including Elle and Vogue.
After a stint on the road as a teen, Alison landed in Topanga Canyon, California, where a local potter introduced her to Malibu Tile. Early experimentation in tile paid off when her first L.A. residential commission fell in her lap - when Caitlyn Jenner discovered her work. That client list rapidly expanded into the rock-and-roll and Los Angeles fashion and entertainment industries.
Originally from the UK, Alison Cooper is one of the pioneers of the resurrection of the 1920s Los Angeles art-tile movement. Her work has been featured in art publications, and design and fashion magazines including Elle and Vogue.
After a stint on the road as a teen, Alison landed in Topanga Canyon, California, where a local potter introduced her to Malibu Tile. Early experimentation in tile paid off when her first L.A. residential commission fell in her lap - when Caitlyn Jenner discovered her work. That client list rapidly expanded into the rock-and-roll and Los Angeles fashion and entertainment industries.
After seeing early articles on her tile-art in Designers West and House & Garden Magazine, TV designer Christopher Lowell of the Discovery Channel's popular Interior Motives TV show dedicated an episode to her work in the mid-nineties that was aired nationally and internationally.
Alison's one-of-a-kind tile designs, public installations, and mosaics have been broadly published in articles, in books and magazines. The pool and spa she designed for record executive Simon Potts' Hollywood Hills home that became one of the "hot L.A. locations" for the fashion industry was featured in numerous photoshoots for magazines including Vogue, International Vogue, Elle, and even a poolside nude shoot for Playboy. Potts' house - and Alison's tilework - became a favorite location of top photographers, including Gilles Bensimon.
The cracking of the "cuerda seca" (dry-line) technique of the antique Malibu tiles was the first step that led to the rediscovery of a colorful part of Los Angeles history, bringing the lost art of the historic Malibu Potteries' tile-making back into the public eye. Alison's knowledge of glaze formulation developed along with the bold tile designs and brilliant colors that are her signature, while never straying far from the spirit of the original Malibu tiles.
Cooper also custom-designs mosaic panels using glass, metal, tile and found objects. Her work can be found as far afield as the British West Indies. She is currently working on her "Colorado" themed tilework, including a mural for the historic Lone Cone Saloon in Norwood, CO, as well as a new line of tiles in the spirit of the UK pop art scene of the 1950s "Chelsea Set".
Architects of note have included Norman Pfeiffer, and the nationally influential firm, Maguire Thomas Partners.
Cooper has regularly consulted on restoration of historical tile installations, including architect Paul Williams' "Zodiac Pool" on the Hilton estate, Los Angeles, and has been brought in to replicate antique tiles.
Works in public view include tile at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden's popular Peacock Cafe, the Serra Retreat in Malibu, and the extensive decorative tilework of the 80-foot long Artisan Alley mosaic, tiled fountain, and the mosaic bench seat at the Del Mar Plaza, California.
A pedestal sundial constructed from antique Malibu tiles that were originally salvaged from the fire of 1932 that devastated the original Malibu Potteries, along with Cooper's own tiles, stands on the peninsula of the Serra Retreat, Malibu.
Consultation and design services available for pools, outdoor and indoor projects, and for restoration of historical installations and design of large-scale works.