11 | Earth, Fire, Water, and the Potter

Arthur and Jean Ames  

In 1952 Brad Keeler commissioned Arthur and Jean Ames to produce a tile mural for the lobby of his new Twin-Winton ceramics factory in San Juan Capistrano. This impressive partially glazed terra cotta tile mural was first shown at the Los Angeles County Fair exhibition in 1952.  The mural is 9 feet by 21 feet and was moved to its present location in 1981. It personifies the elements of fire earth and water.

About the artists:

Jean Goodwin Ames was born in Santa Ana, California in 1903. She studied at the Chicago Art Institute and Pomona College and earned a BE from UCLA and MFA from USC. Her master’s thesis was a majolica tile mural, Youth and Science in the lobby of the USC Science building. She was named Woman of the Year in Art in 1958 by the Los Angeles Times. Ames was an instructor at Chaffey and Scripps College