Deborah Carrino started her career in 1974 teaching drawing, painting, and batik to inner-city children and adults at the Morningstar Art Center in Union City, New Jersey where she worked for five years. Although she received some formal education in fine arts, she is essentially a self-taught artist. While continuing to cultivate her own works of art that were shown in numerous galleries in New York and New Jersey, she had various jobs that ultimately led her back to working in the arts.

From 1988 to 1994, Deborah Carrino worked at Firebird Tile, Inc in Berkley Heights, New Jersey, where she was one of the senior artists responsible for designing and painting custom ceramic tile murals. In 1994, Ms. Carrino started her own business painting murals on tile. She now resides in Floyd, Virginia. She works with tile showrooms, providing them with a line of standard murals and decorative singles along with a photographic portfolio for clients to view. New designs are added to the line periodically. These murals and decos can be altered to suit the client's needs. She also produces a wide variety of custom murals, the subject matter ranging from wine scenes to underwater coral gardens and tropical rain forests. There's no subject too challenging.

Ms. Carrino also offers murals painted on tumbled marble and stone. As with the ceramic tiles, the artwork is meticulously hand-painted to suit the needs of the client while complimenting the beauty of the natural stone. The artwork is then preserved with water-based sealants to protect it from heat, scratches, and food splashing.

Ms. Carrino's tile murals are on display in the Design and Decorator buildings in New York and Boston, and are sold in fine kitchen and tile showrooms throughout the eastern seaboard from Portland, Me to Savannah, Ga. They have also been displayed on the cover of House Beautiful, and featured inside Design New Jersey and American Homestyle & Gardening magazines.

Contact Ms. Carrino to locate a showroom near you, or work directly with her in planning your tile mural. Call (540) 651-2232 or email her at deborahcarrino@yahoo.com.