To give credit where credit is due

Yesterday I posted a photo of a quilt "How Sweet It Is" and at the time did not have the designer's name handy.  Her name is Deborah Hobbs, and the design appeared in the Mar/April 2010 issue of McCall's Quilting Magazine.  Her design was for a 45' x 45" quilt, however, I added and extra row or two of blocks to increase the size to a Child's size quilt, over as some say, an oversize crib quilt.

While I'm in the mood today, here are a few more porcelain pieces.  First a soap dish that I painted over 20 years ago.  It has graced our bathroom since it was painted.  I love painting roses, and especially 'baby roses'.
 

Here's another of my favorite pieces.  It is a 12" Hutchenreuther embossed bowl, painted with lovely pink roses and hydrangeas.  The original mold for this blank was one you may have seen painted by RSGermany artists.  It is a lovely blank.  The second photo shows the soft detail work.

I have always painted oils and watercolors, and have done some charcoals and pen and ink.  However, in the 1970's my wonderfully talented and creative mother began taking classes in porcelain painting.  She told me she would pay for my lessons, if I was able to find a teacher in my area.  At the time, she lived in California, and I reside in Iowa.  Incredibly, one of the finest porcelain artists in the United States lived in my town of Dubuque, IA.  I contacted her, and began to take classes every Monday night.  Painting on porcelain is NOT for the 'faint of heart artist'.  It is a very difficult medium to master.  All the paints are powdered and mineral based.  For instance, the purple and pink colors contain gold as their mineral base.  Hence they are very expensive.  The medium used to mix the paints and make them 'paintable' is oil.  The paint powders are ground with the oil and applied to the porcelain.  The paints are translucent, and consequently, many fires are necessary on each piece to bring out the colors to the level needed for beauty and artistic value. 

Because there is no such thing as 'white' porcelain paint (there is white enamel), the art of porcelain is much like watercolor, in that once you paint 'over' the background of white porcelain, that white 'highlight' area is gone forever.  Consequently, one must 'wipe out the highlights as one paints to obtain the realistic qualities necessary for a lovely work of art.  One of the most difficult things to paint is a 'white rose'.  The reason it is so difficult is that you do not "paint" a white rose.  Rather, you paint the background AROUND the shape of the rose so the blank white porcelain magically 'appears' as a white rose.  Here is one of my white rose pierced plates I painted 15 years ago.  It is a lovely example of the 'Victorian method' of porcelain art and presentation.  Most people believe it is an antique.
                                                                           

This is a detail that shows where I signed the piece.  you can look at the photo below and see that area within the entire design.



Well, it is December 23rd, and I should be doing 'all things Christmas'.  However, I am sort of a 'curmudgeon' when it comes to Christmas.  Most of the commercialization  and greed surrounding this holiday produce a 'bah humbug' from me.  However, it is a good time of the year to remember the pleasant things throughout the year and the good things that happened to us and those we care about.  I began this blog initially for the purpose of documenting some of my creative 'ventures', and most specifically the building and progress of an IMMENSE dollhouse to house my miniature collection.  It is a 1:12 scale 14 room Federal style home.  It is 4' wide and 28" deep and over 30" tall.  I can't wait to build it, get it electrified, decorated, and furnished.  As soon as the Christmas tree comes down, the building begins.  So, you can imagine I am waiting with bated breath for Christmas to come and go.

Perhaps tomorrow, Christmas Eve, I will post some of my lovely "D'Vine D'Signs" by dottye (Heavenly couture for children).  The latest ensemble has Christmas written all over it.

Later,

Dottye