Clay Artists Embracing China Paint

Below is the full text of an article I wrote for Porcelain Artist, the magazine of the International Porcelain Artists & Teachers Association (IPAT). They published the five artist profiles pretty much in full as I’d written them, but of the rest of what they published, only the first sentence is something I wrote. They cut out all the background, all the context, and most importantly, the link to the lecture the article was about.

Clay Artists Embracing China Paint

By Paul Lewing

            The world of potters and clay artists has ignored china paint for over 100 years.  It was typically never mentioned in academic clay curricula, but in the last 10-15 years, due to the increased popularity of imagery in clay art, china painting has been rediscovered.  Previously well-known artists are taking it up, a new generation has used it from the beginning of their careers, ceramics schools and art centers are beginning to include it in their programs.

            I recently presented a lecture to the National Council on Education in the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) conference titled “The China Paint Revival”.  I showed the work of about 50 contemporary artists, some from the ranks of traditional china painters, some who have been china painting their clay work for many years, some veteran artists who have recently adopted the medium, and some new to the field.  Here are a few of my favorites.

            Kansas City Art Institute now teaches all its ceramic students to china paint.  One of the most prominent of their recent graduates is Roberto Lugo, who now teaches his students at Tyler School of Art & Architecture.  He finds china paint, which he applies using sugar water, ideal for his themes of racial justice and gun violence, applied on classical forms.

            Bradley Klem is a young potter who learned china painting from Kurt Weiser at Arizona State University.  His work currently centers on plastic waste in the oceans.  He now teaches at Penn State University.

            Another artist whose work addresses social activism is Jason Walker.  Jason has made sculptures cleverly illustrating environmental problems for years.  Until the last few years, however, they were all just black and white.  When he felt he needed color, he turned to china paint.  Jason teaches at Southern Utah University.

            Mariko Paterson is an independent potter from Nova Scotia, whose work is very witty and fun.  Some of the imagery in Mariko’s work is decals, some hand painted.  Many clay artists use china paint with decals of all kinds (laser, commercial, and custom printed), as well as glazes, underglazes, and lusters.

            Melanie Sherman learned china painting at the International Ceramics School in Hungary, from the famous Latvian artist Ilona Romule.  Her imagery is a blend of European and Asian motifs, and features lots of pen work.  Pictured here is a yunomi, a Japanese tea bowl form, although traditional yunomis are rarely decorated.  She also owns Cerbera Gallery in Kansas City, where she shows the work of several china paint artists.

These are just a few of the many potters, tile artists, and clay sculptors who are using china paint today.  To view my NCECA lecture in its entirety, go to www.paullewingtile.com/workshops.

Paul Lewing is a tile artist from the Seattle, WA area.  He is the author of the book “China Paint & Overglaze”, and the video “New Directions in China Painting”.  He teaches his unique approach to china painting through www.TeachinArt.com.