This is how I made flat tiles in the past. I found using clay heavy on the grog worked best. You also want your clay more on the dry and stiff side but still moist enough to roll out slabs. If the clay is to wet it dries to slow and causes warping because the middle dries much slower then the outer edges It is better to roll out your slabs on a large piece of drywall and do your work off the drywall without moving the tiles at all because clays’ “PLASTIC MEMORY” will kick in and it might warp, bend, or curl during drying and firing. Just trim the slabs in place, cutting them to the desired size using a trimming knife and your pattern. After trimming, it is very important to allow the wet tiles to sit on the drywall for 8 to 12 hours. (do cover) The tiles should be leather hard and stiff enough to be moved.at this point. Now is when you trim and smooth the edges. If you wish to incise or decorate the green tile in any way, now is the time to do it. Once the tile is trimmed, place it directly onto a rigid metal storage rack. Because air circulates on all sides of the tile, it dries very evenly and no warping occurs. While your tiles dry, avoid direct sources of air flow like a fan or warm air from a vent or portable heater that might dry one area faster than another. You want even drying from top and bottom. Keep tiles on the rack until they are completely dry and ready to bisque. A slow even dry is what you want. You should only handle your green tiles about three times: once to roll out and cut the clay; once to smooth the edges, decorate, place on the drying rack and once to put in the bisque. I’ve noticed people making tiles and I saw how much warping was going on during the Ceramic Sign process. Thought this might help you if the future.
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OH, you might want to buy some screen, like the kind for windows and cover a metal shelf or two with it so air still circulates but tiles will not fall through cracks on metal rack, or maybe have a special shelf just for drying tiles. NOT in the kiln room, it is way to hot in there for tiles. They will warp if dried in there.
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When you ADD to the tile, when you slip and score, this is the ONE time you do it lightly. You want to add as little slip as possible because you do not want to much added moisture to your clay. The clay tile will absorb the moisture so be careful.
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