China Paints
Process
I live in Oregon where mountains, rivers, and the ocean are within an hour drive of my home. It's not by accident that I live in a place surrounded by nature. Kayaking, hiking, and just sitting by a river is where I feel joy and solace.
The underlying narrative throughout my work is an exploration of the natural world, humanity, and envir
I live in Oregon where mountains, rivers, and the ocean are within an hour drive of my home. It's not by accident that I live in a place surrounded by nature. Kayaking, hiking, and just sitting by a river is where I feel joy and solace.
The underlying narrative throughout my work is an exploration of the natural world, humanity, and environmental issues. Many of my sculptures reflect these subjects by combining nature imagery with human centered objects. Animals with planets on their head standing on books or women dancing on bears are a way of keeping optimism & humor alive while addressing issues that I deeply care about.
Process
China Paints
Process
I hand build all of my sculptures. After sculpting each piece I let it set up until it is leather hard, at which point I draw and then carve designs or details in low relief onto the surface. The piece is then dried before it is kiln fired. The first firing is called a bisque fire. This hardens the piece while still leaving it porous e
I hand build all of my sculptures. After sculpting each piece I let it set up until it is leather hard, at which point I draw and then carve designs or details in low relief onto the surface. The piece is then dried before it is kiln fired. The first firing is called a bisque fire. This hardens the piece while still leaving it porous enough to absorb stain or glaze. After the bisque fire I paint black underglaze on each piece to help shade and highlight the details in the carvings. The pieces are then kiln fired up to the mature firing temperature of around 2100^. I then paint the pieces with china paints to create the beautiful colors. The china painted pieces are put back into the kiln for a third firing at a much lower temperature in order to fuse the china paints into the surface of the clay. Every piece goes through these three firings. It is labor intensive but it's worth it!
China Paints
China Paints
China Paints
China paints are colorful over-glazes that are traditionally painted on fully fired glazed porcelain wares. I use china paints a little differently. I paint on fully fired unglazed clay pieces, meaning that I fire my sculptures up to the clay body's mature temperature without any glaze before adding the china paints. I do this to pr
China paints are colorful over-glazes that are traditionally painted on fully fired glazed porcelain wares. I use china paints a little differently. I paint on fully fired unglazed clay pieces, meaning that I fire my sculptures up to the clay body's mature temperature without any glaze before adding the china paints. I do this to prevent the china paints from taking on a glossy look after they are fired. Also, without the thick glossy glaze I am able to retain the texture of the low relief carving.
China paints are transparent and this wonderful transparent nature allows the detail of the black staining (which I do after the second fire) to show through from beneath the colors.
The china painted pieces are kiln fired at a very low temperature to fuse them into the surface of the clay body. They contain just enough silica to permanently melt the paints into the clay surface in the low fire.
See Videos in menu bar for a few short china paint video clips.