THE ESSENCE OF THE DREAM

As a young girl, I admired the handpainted Nippon porcelain objects in my aunts’ china cabinets, with their lovely floral designs, gold embellishments, and interesting shapes. When my own cousin began creating beautifully handpainted porcelain, I dreamed that I, too, could one day become a porcelain artist.

First I dabbled in calligraphy, watercolors, clay sculpture, ceramics, stained glass, and other creative arts. Then one day, on a whim, I visited an exhibition held at the state china painters’ convention at a Lexington hotel. The “cheap” one dollar price of admission was just an illusion -– because I became hooked for good and have spent many a dollar since then trying out new techniques and supplies!

At that show I met the organization’s president, who became my teacher. A small group of us met for weekly lessons in a studio attached to her home, and I suppose we were much like the groups of ladies who did china painting in the early 1900s, though we were not quite so refined! We concentrated on the traditional style of painting china blanks with floral designs, created in layers of color, with multiple firings. We were not permitted to trace or copy designs onto our china, but rather learned the principles of design and color. It was a wonderful background for the next step --

THE DREAM BECOMES REALITY

Years later, I was again at a china show, this time in Cincinnati. I had been admiring the excellent work of many porcelain artists, some of whom had been painting for decades and whose pieces sold for hundreds of dollars. Then across the room something caught my eye –- a stunningly beautiful vase embellished with textured gold, iridescent jewel tones, and some kind of rainbow nuggets. What on earth were these materials? How did one create such a masterpiece? I made a bee-line for that vase, and thus launched into the second phase of my obsession with porcelain art.

I learned that the material used to add texture and dimensional effects to the glazed porcelain was called “structure”; the iridescent colors were lustres; and the glittery additions were pieces of dichroic glass fused to the china. Soon I had all but abandoned the traditional form of china painting for the exciting experimentation and contemporary result of these methods and materials. I traveled to Michigan for a seminar taught by one of the few artists specializing in contemporary porcelain art. Since then I have combined something from every artistic media in which I have dabbled to create the Lustreffects you will find in these pages.

LUSTREFFECTS TODAY

Some of my pieces draw on my appreciation for stained glass art, thus producing the Stained Glass Lustreffect. Some people say this effect reminds of them of cloisonne as well, since the sections of the design are outlined with gold.

The Abstract Lustreffect is produced with structure and embellishments such as dichroic glass and glass beads. The unusual color blending and shapes are achieved through the use of a dispersing agent which reacts with the iridescent lustres.

Natural World Lustreffects depict animals, flowers, shells, and other things found in the beautiful world around us.

 TOMORROW’S LUSTREFFECTS

What I especially love about the contemporary style of china painting is the intrigue of experimentation and discovery.  Each Lustreffect piece is unique.  And new designs are always waiting to be discovered, sometimes with the lifting of the lid of the kiln! 

I hope that you will find my Lustreffects appealing. Please browse through the Gallery for a more complete view. You may order directly from this website and I will contact you with complete information about shipping and handling. Additionally, from time to time I auction pieces on eBay.