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by Arlene Wright-Correll

This Week's Kentucky Artist is Patricia Griffin

Who would have thought being told as a child "not to touch" would bring Patricia Griffin into the world of perpetuating the ancient art of china painting? Patricia, a native of Michigan, has lived in Hart County and Munfordville since 1998 where she and her husband Dale raise Quarter Horses.

She can remember, as a small child, visiting a neighbor’s home and seeing beautiful hand painted china. "Don’t Touch" she was admonished! Yet she remembers she dearly wanted to touch it as it was so beautiful and she was an artistic child. The smell of clove oil, which is used in china painting, stayed with her for a long time.

As Patricia grew into adulthood, her talents brought her into the business of teaching people to paint. About 1975 she worked for a business and there she taught oil painting, decorative tole painting and doll painting and making.

Always remembering the smell of clove oil, she starts taking intensive courses and seminars about 1985. She searched for knowledge of china painting and even drove a 180 mile round trip once a week for 8 years to learn this ancient art.

Though called China painting, basically what Patricia does is Porcelain painting and there are three main kinds of porcelain: (1) hard-paste porcelain, (2) soft-paste porcelain, and (3) bone china. The differences between these types of porcelain are based on the material from which they are made. This material is called the body or paste.

Patricia buys her porcelain or china in a finished form, i.e. tea pots, cups, tiles, plates that are ready to be painted and fired in her kiln. She stocks everything anyone will need to get into this type of hobby. Can you just imagine creating your own set of hand painted china? Patricia showed me incredible vases, tiles, dishes, tea pots, you name it and each piece was more exquisite than the last. It was all beautiful!

Painting the porcelain surface may be done in several ways. One method is to use a colored glaze, such as the famous Chinese celadon. This glaze is a soft gray-green color. Another type of decoration is under glaze (designs painted on a piece before it is glazed). A deep blue made from the metal cobalt is the most dependable color used for under glazing. Cobalt blue has been widely used both in China and in Europe.

Paints that are applied over the glaze are commonly called enamels. A large variety of enamel colors were perfected at an early period. Most of them are made from metallic oxides, such as iron, copper, and manganese. Enamel colors require a second firing to make them permanent.

Porcelain painting in Europe differed greatly from porcelain painting in China. Chinese decorators separated each color from the next with a dark outline, but European artists blended colors together with no separating line. In addition, Europeans used decorations purely for their artistic value, but Chinese decorations were symbolic. For example, a pomegranate design symbolized a wish for many offspring because a pomegranate has many seeds.

Porcelain painting must be fired in a kiln to preserve and intensify its colors. This type of art is a slow but rewarding process. To paint a portrait on a piece of china is the most challenging of all work, but when one captures the likeness there is great joy in the finished product. Patricia says she starts most of her students off painting flowers as they can relate to that.

Depth of color is achieved by applying a layer and firing it in a kiln and then building up your layers until you get the result you want. Patricia says one does not need to be able to draw to be able to paint on china. Patience and careful observation provides a good work for doing this type of art.

Patricia is quite knowledgeable about all this and has been teaching this ancient technique for many years. Her work is exquisite and truly has a look of days gone by. She has won many awards including some at our KY state fair and is a member of many societies including the World Organization of China Painters, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of the art of hand painted porcelain which was started by Pauline Salyer in 1962 and finally officially founded by her in 1967. In 1977, the first World Wide Convention of the Organization was held in Oklahoma City, bringing together hundreds of artists from across the world. Today this organization has over 7,500 members.

She is also a member of IPAT (International Porcelain Artists and Teachers Inc.), Belles of Louisville and is the current President of the Lincoln Heritage China Painters in Elizabethtown.

Patricia says this is a very old art and similar to watercolor painting that was something that "ladies" did many years ago as a dainty art such as needlepoint. It also was a piece meal job for women in the 1800’s who painted china, packed it up, sent it to Chicago for firing, received it back for further painting and when finished returned it for the few pennies they earned and it was considered their "pin" money.

Patricia says there are not many teachers in this field. Many of them are in their 80’s and though this might seem like a lost art that is on the way out, my research shows that there are many people involved in this serious type of art throughout the world.

Patricia told me the thing she likes best about this is that she can get truly lost in working on it and all the stress and cares of every day life just goes by the wayside. She also enjoys teaching others how simple this is to do.

Patricia teaches at her home studio in Munfordville at 6783 Hwy 357 No. and she is about 7 miles from the Munfordville Courthouse. You may call her at 524 3267 for class hours. Her rates are extremely reasonable being only $9.00 for 3 hours of lessons. Patricia says one usually has a start up cost of approximately $30.00 and in about 6 weeks time they might have invested a total of $70.00. However, she says that will usually include enough to do their next piece. You do not need to invest in a kiln as your lessons include the firing.

Well, Pat, I’m convinced and I am going to become one of your students and this will become one of my winter projects. Who knows where it will lead me?

(Contact Arlene Wright-Correll at 270 524 9567 or email her at askarlene@scrtc.com  if you want to be next week’s column of Who’s Who in KY Art’s and Crafts)