Voice of the Mid-Columbia | Kennewick, Pasco and Richland, Wash. |
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closeSunday, Sep. 07, 2008
Painting to perfection: Kennewick woman's porcelain artwork wins ribbons
By Mary Hopkin, Herald staff writer
Sheilah Archibald's home is filled with the finest china, hand-painted with Currier & Ives scenes, portraits or breath-taking landscapes.
There are hand-painted porcelain dolls, colorful trivets, and tea cups with delicate flowers.
The Kennewick-woman hasn't painted them all, but the vast majority show the skill she's cultivated in 28 years of painting china.
"I collect a lot of other peoples' work, too," said Archibald, whose Victorian-decorated home acts as a perfect display for the art. "And I've given away more than I have."
Her work has gathered her dozens of ribbons over the years at the Benton Franklin Fair & Rodeo, where this year she collected a handful of blue ribbons and a superintendent's award for an enamel-painted bisque vase.
And she's had a number of pieces display at The World Organization of China Painters' Museum in Oklahoma City, Okla.
Archibald didn't find her inner artist until she was about 30.
"My husband signed me up for an oil painting class," she said.
And then her husband met Kay Patton, a porcelain artist who taught at Columbia Basin College but also offered weekly classes at the Pasco Senior Center.
Archibald wanted to go to the senior center classes, but was told she was too young.
"But my mom wasn't, so she signed up and they said I could come with her," she said.
The art of china painting, or porcelain art, goes back to 1480 during the Ming Dynasty. The Italians started a version of their own porcelain art by the 1600s and began to perfect enamels. By the 1700s, Russian porcelain was being developed and the French started their own technique, using decals.
Germany's famous Dresden porcelains began appearing in the mid-1700s and by 1769, the Americans had caught on and were painting porcelain.
Porcelain is a highly refined white clay, filtered to remove any impurities. It looks delicate but is hardy and used for everything from tea sets to wall tiles to jewelry.
Archibald has tried working on nearly all of the canvases, from Christmas ornaments and dolls to plaques. She's even hand painted tiles that have been used on a backsplash in the kitchen of a custom-built home in Kennewick.
Her style depends on whatever might inspire her at the time.
"Sometime you'll see a scene on a Christmas card or a flower in a garden," she said.
Her favorite piece is a portrait of an old miner she did on a large porcelain tile. It's called "Old Man Butte" and was inspired by a picture she saw in a historical book about Butte, Mont., the town where she grew up.
"It was an old black and white photo and I just liked it," she said.
But she put her own twist on the portrait doing it in a monochromatic brown, which gives it an antique appearance and feel.
Archibald, who teaches porcelain painting from her home, said you don't have to be Picasso to be good at it. But you do need to be patient.
"China painting is not an instant gratification art," she said.
The process begins with the pattern, which can be done freehand or traced out of a book or off a photo. Then the artist transfers the pattern onto the porcelain using graphite paper, which creates a carbon copy onto the item's glossy finish.
The patterns can be done freehand onto the item. But Archibald said when matching plates, cups or other items are being done, a pattern is always used so the items are identical.
Once the pattern is on the item, the painting can begin. Artists use powdered paints that they mix with their own oils.
They apply the paint very thinly and the pieces are fired after each layer is painted. As subsequent layers are applied and fired, the colors get deeper and richer.
If mistakes are made, or the artist doesn't like how the paint he just applied looks, it can easily be wiped away -- at least until it the paint is fired.
Archibald, who is part of the Southeast Washington China Painters Club, said there are a handful of good painters in the area, but she'd like to see more younger people getting involved.
"There's a group that meets every week at the Pasco Senior Center to paint and our club meets once a month," she said.
But she'd like to see more younger people getting involved so the art isn't lost.
"I've been thinking about having a Saturday kid's class," she said.
The Southeast Washington China Painters Club meets at 11:30 a.m. on the first Thursday of every month at Old Country Buffet at Columbia Center in Kennewick.
For more information about the club or porcelain painting lessons, e-mail Archibald at john_sheilah@hotmail.com.
* Mary Hopkin: 585-7207; mhopkin@tricityherald.com.
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