From the floor to the ceiling

1/4/2023

Larry Carroll collects Sid Dickens Memory Blocks.

Some people collect coins or stamps. Not Larry Carroll. Over the course of two decades, he has accumulated nearly 500 art tiles, each with its own distinct design.

Created by Canadian artist Sid Dickens and known as Memory Blocks, the three-dimensional plaster tiles are sculpted and painted by hand, portraying historic and symbolic images within a 6- by 8-inch space. They’re popular and highly collectible — even among celebrities like Elton John and Bono — and Carroll may just have the largest collection in the state.

He first caught the bug in 2002, when he came across the blocks in a boutique shop.

“I started looking at them, and then I noticed other people looking at them as I was looking at them. And I said, ‘Well, maybe I should buy one.’ So, I ended up purchasing three.”

The rest is history, as they say. Carroll reached his latest milestone last fall, fully adorning a two-story wall inside the entryway of his home. The 22-foot wall is covered from floor to ceiling with tiles — 459 of them, to be exact.

He set that goal when he first began collecting, inspired by the artist himself.

“Sid Dickens — there was this picture that he had taken, in front of this wall,” Carroll said. “I thought it was the coolest thing. He’s sitting in his chair, and all the tiles are behind him. And I said, ‘I want a wall taller than that. I want to exceed that and send him a picture of that shot.’ ”

Now that he’s reached the ceiling, Carroll said he doesn’t have a particular goal number in mind. He has more tiles boxed up in his basement, with space to display 600 more. And he won’t run out of Memory Blocks to purchase any time soon, as Sid Dickens has thousands of pieces.

Part of the appeal is rarity. Tiles increase in value once the design is retired and no longer produced, Carroll explained.

“When we started collecting, we were paying $45 to $55 per tile. In the store now, each piece is about $120, but then on his website, those will go for $200 to $1,000.”

Carroll has only made one online purchase, as he prefers to feel and see the tiles first. Locally, he works with Sheila Carmichael at Kenilworth House in Urbandale.

In the early days, Carroll tagged each block with information on the purchase, but he has since given up cataloging. He doesn’t have a favorite piece either. He simply enjoys them.

“They’re just very inspirational,” he said. “Every day, I come home, I’ll sit down and just look at them and draw inspiration from one of the many on the wall.”

Several blocks hold special meaning for Carroll. Different letters spell out family names or initials. Some are placed randomly, while other groupings are intentional: birds, Christmas, royals, America, military. In the upper right wall section, a grouping of skull designs is followed by the letters GIF — meaning, “Even in death, God is faithful,” Carroll explained.

“The way I started doing it, I just lay them out on the floor and then start rearranging them. Every so often, I get bored, and then I just look at the wall and start rearranging stuff. Just for kicks and giggles.”

Carroll admitted to having spent hundreds of hours on his hobby. Planning and installing the entryway wall alone took about 60 hours. That’s 27 rows and 17 columns across. One tile at a time.

“They don’t make an A-frame ladder tall enough, so I’m literally hanging on the edge of my light,” he recalled. “That was going up, one at a time, with a tile. Up, down, up, down.”

Since starting the collection, the Carroll family has moved homes 11 times — and so have the tiles. Astonishingly, his first broken tile occurred only recently, after they moved into their current home. It fell from the bottom row, of all places.

What’s the secret to safely transporting fragile items?

“A good moving company — and standing there and micromanaging the process,” Carroll joked.

His wife, Dawn, isn’t quite as enthusiastic about the collection as he is. But she supports it.

“She lets me have this. This is kind of my thing,” Carroll said. “Guys — they have their car collection. I have my Sid Dickens collection.” ♦