May 2014

The
Lady Slipper
Newsletter
May 2014
ddddddddDDDDDDDD
President’s Plate
by Pat Meyer
One thing that will be off my plate by the time
your read this issue of the Lady Slipper will be my
evening paint-along. I will then know if I could ever
qualify to be a teacher.
My plate this summer will be very full, not
all with painting. I will become a greatgrandma in late June. It will be fun
to have a new baby around to spoil. Our eight grandchildren are all
getting older-- ranging from
10 to 24. Since this is my first
great-grandchild, it is making
me feel very old. I have a niece getting married in California, so Chuck and
I will be taking a short trip there,
also in June. If any of you are into
cooking shows on the food network,
I have a nephew who is competing in
America’s Greatest Chef on Sunday evenings at 8 p.m. on Channel 33. My nephew, Marc
Huebner, was chosen along with 15 other amateur
chefs to compete. They must cook and present their
dishes to a professional judge and each night some
are eliminated. He has survived two elimination
rounds and will be on until eliminated or wins the
prize of $50,000. It is fun to watch. On May first, I will mail my school entry. There
are five lovely pieces to choose from. All pieces have
different techniques. Let’s all participate and learn
something new. We are never too old to learn. Enter
www.porcelainartmn.org soon, so you get your first choice.
In May I will finally have the last part of oral
surgery and will get my permanent tooth. This will
allow me to get rid of the partial plate which makes
me talk funny!
June will be our Event. After that, we
will still have our regular June meeting. The Event could not be scheduled in May, so in May we will not
have a meeting. Please support
the Event. We will have a great
time, great food, and hopefully
a successful competition. This
is our smaller version of a show
that we can no longer support
financially or physically with our
membership. If this mini-show
is not a success, then we will need
to assess if we continue to do the
Event Yearly or Bi-yearly. In the fall, we
had 13 pieces entered for our challenge piece. We should be able to have at least that many in our
People’s Choice. You do pay to enter People’s choice
as the money collected becomes the prize. The
theme this year is Feathers. Get painting now for
June 6th. We will also have a raffle and door prizes. If you wish to donate something, contact Ardy. I know that everyone’s plate is full of many different things, just as mine but somehow we can accomplish much if we just put our minds to it!
Happy Painting!
The Lady Slipper Newsletter • May 2014
Page 1
Competition
Excerpts from an article by Leta Clemons
Competition is a very necessary thing….it offers
critiques on your painting and consequently makes
you a better artist. The one thing to remember is that
everyone sees the same thing in a different way…so
the opinion of the judge is only their opinion and may
not necessarily be yours.
Questions to ask yourself about your piece:
• Does the design fit the piece of porcelain?
• Do your colors work well together?
• Do you have a definite focal point?
• Does that focal point have subordinate subjects to
compliment it?
• Is there contrast between your lights and darks?
• Is your eye led through your design with color, tex- ture, etc.? • Is your design floating or do you need to anchor it? • A vase should always be painted in a way that you
can follow your design with the eye no matter
which way you turn it.
• Would your painting be enhanced by embellish ments (luster, gold, raised paste, scrolling)? If you
used embellishments, are they applied correctly?
• Did you fire hot enough? If your painting is under
fired, the judge will notice it.
Speaking of Competition...
• Portrait and animal paintings should show emotion.
Entering a competition is a great learning experience. Judges’ comments are meant to help make you
a better painter. Many times we do not see a problem
until it is pointed out. Actually entering a competition
is a great learning experience and will help you learn
and love your own work.
Reprinted by permission of Leta
Free Hand Painting on Porcelain Display Case
at the 2013 Minnesota State Fair
With spring just arriving (finally!), the end of summer seems months away. Well, of course, it is months away, but
when we are getting ready for that Great Minnesota Get Together that signals the end of those lazy days of summer, a few months hardly seems like enough time to prepare our painted porcelain for the State Fair competition.
We had a fine group of participants last year who entered some stunning pieces. Our talented Guild members
took home 19 of the 20 total ribbons awarded! We are hoping for another strong showing in 2014, with many of
your paintings filling the Free Hand Painting on Porcelain display case in the Creative Activities Building.
• Everything you always wanted to know (but were afraid to ask) about entering your art in the 2014 State Fair is
available online at http://www.mnstatefair.org/competition/creative_activities.html.
• Online Registration is available now through August 5th (4:30 p.m.) at http://mnstatefair.org/register/competiton.
This is very easy to do and greatly simplifies the whole process of entering your pieces. If you would like help with
registering online, please call Deb Warwick (612-869-3853) or Sharon Lindbloom (952-937-9627).
• If you are unable to drop your pieces off at the fairgrounds on the designated dates, you may bring them, along
with your registration forms, to Sharon at the Midland Hills Country Club any day of the Porcelain Art School (July
29-31) and your pieces will be delivered to the fairgrounds for you. If you are unable to pick up your pieces after
the Fair, Deb has volunteered to get them and bring them to the September Guild meeting.
The State Fair is a great opportunity for our Guild to promote this unique art form in keeping with our motto:
Keep Porcelain Painting a Lively Art. Here we not only get to present our work and share the beauty of china painting; it is also a rare opportunity to introduce Minnesotans to the art and get them excited about it–and all for free!
www.porcelainartmn.org The Lady Slipper Newsletter • May 2014
Page 2
Lover of art and animals from childhood
by Deb Warwick
Dodie Henry was born in Minneapolis seventy-six
years ago. She had five brothers and no sisters. And
she assured me she was no wimp! Her mother was
also the only girl in her family with five brothers.
Her mom wasn’t a wimp either but Dodie said her
mom was an extremely caring, loving lady toward
everyone. Dodie took an early interest in animals and
many times brought animals home. She
was also interested in and good at
art from a young age. Her mom
was very encouraging toward
Dodie’s interest in art.
After graduating
from high school, Dodie
bought a horse which
she boarded in Bloomington. She got a job at a
bank in downtown Minneapolis in order to take
care of her new dependent!
She had a lot of fun competing in barrel races with her
horse.
Dodie had a best friend, Arlene,
since they were young children. Naturally
Dodie was in Arlene’s wedding. Arlene’s new husband had a good buddy named Ray. Because of this
wedding, Dodie and Ray met and fell in love. They
recently celebrated 56 years of marriage! Congratulations, lovebirds! Ray has also been very supportive of
Dodie’s hobby of china painting. He even has done the
firing for Dodie and her class many times.
When Dodie became interested in china painting
she found Sylvia Miller of Farmington as a teacher.
Sylvia was a great teacher and very humble. When
Sylvia moved away she directed Dodie to Kathy Barker who helped Dodie continue to develop her skills.
Dodie now takes classes with Frank Albrecht. She is
very grateful to all her teachers. Her first seminar was
with Thelma Granquist. She still has the lovely vase
of irises, scrolling, and cartouches she painted at that
seminar. She always loves to take seminars to learn
different techniques and subject matter because she
is always learning.
www.porcelainartmn.org Dodie and Ray wintered in Texas and Dodie taught
weekly classes there for eight years. She taught in a
park building where they had several kilns for her use
and everyone enjoyed their time and talent. When
they moved to New Mexico she bought a travel kiln.
She had that outside near the front of their 5th wheel.
At night she would sit near the window in one of the
bedrooms of their home, painting. A neighbor observed her being in the room a lot at night
and asked what she was doing. She told
Dodie that she knew she must love to
bake since she was always putting
things in and out of that “oven“
in the front. Ha, ha! Dodie told
her that she was china painting
and that wasn’t just your typical
oven! Soon that friend and others joined Dodie’s china painting
classes.
Dodie’s sons also appreciate
her art, along with her brothers. The
whole family looks forward to receiving
some of her art. Dodie’s oldest son started
a chapter of Pheasants Forever and Dodie has
many times donated wildlife art to that organization.
She has a big heart and loves to donate to worthy
causes. Her son seems to be the same way with donating his time to benefit many ages and groups.
Twice she won the World Organization of China
Painters of MN. She was shook up about winning that
award; Thelma saw that and pulled her aside later
assuring her that she had worked hard and deserved
the honor. Dodie also won a Lady Slipper award and
still has that piece which is currants on a tile. Getting Dodie to talk about her awards is like pulling
pheasant teeth! In addition to this she has been very
involved with the Dakota County Fair for many years
helping to take in the competition pieces and setting
up the displays. She has won both their Grand Champion and Reserved Champion many times. Along with
the satisfaction of painting beautiful pieces, Dodie
mentioned several times in our interview that she has
met so many wonderful people through china painting. I think we can all agree with that!
The Lady Slipper Newsletter • May 2014
Page 3
Favorite Things
by Sharon Lindbloom
When I sat down with Thelma Granquist to interview her for this column, I found out right away that
pinning her down to true favorites was going to be a
challenge. She began our interview by identifying her
favorite teacher and porcelain painter of all time, but
then qualified her choice: “I maybe won’t say she’s
exactly my first favorite, but I want to talk about it.”
Thelma told the story of taking a trip to Frankenmuth, Michigan with Donna and Elaine to attend a
porcelain painting show. While Thelma was
distracted by a demonstration, Donna and
Elaine saw a “cute little gal who painted
beautifully.” Later, these friends encouraged Thelma to contact this painter, Paula
Collins, and inviter her to come to Thelma’s
home to teach a seminar. Even though
Paula had never before travelled outside of
her local area to teach painting, she accepted Thelma’s invitation and looked forward
to their first meeting at the Minneapolis
airport on her arrival. Thelma went to the
airport as planned, but she had no idea
what Paula Collins looked like! Thelma told
me that when she saw a woman pulling a
large cart, “I knew immediately that she
was a china painter.”
Thelma invited Paula back to Minnesota
several times over the years; she feels Paula
is the one who taught her the most…“Maybe.” Thelma
said, “She was a tremendous teacher and I learned a
lot from her, and of course her painting is so beautful.”
Thelma also appreciated studying under Grace
Moss, though she was a very different type of teacher.
Thelma explained, “I learned a tremendous amount
from her, for the simple reason that she had a great
way of painting her roses which was very unusual…a
method that was so much softer and so elusive that
she really turned out to be one of my favorite teachers.” This, even though Grace was “really rough” on
Thelma. At one seminar Grace complained so much
about Thelma’s brushes that Thelma had to buy new
ones just to finish out the seminar!
During the interview I learned that Thelma has no
favorite study, no favorite book, no favorite tool, no favorite tip or trick, no favorite porcelain painted piece
of all time…there are just too many to choose from,
www.porcelainartmn.org she said. However, in the absence of favorites, she does
have certain fondnesses.
Thelma’s “favorite” blank is anything big. “I love
painting on large surfaces,” she explained, because you
are not confined by space but have every option available to you.
Thelma’s “favorite” trick is wiping out using silk over
her finger. She is a very humble artist, but regarding
this trick she said, “That I have achieved.”
Thelma’s “favorite” technique is the Rookwood Style of painting. “It’s really beautiful
and it’s not difficult,” she said. Rookwood is a
dramatic combination of yellow brown, yellow red, blood red and rich brown blended
and softened over several fires.
When asked about her “favorite” selfpainted piece, Thelma said “maybe” her favorite is roses she painted with Sonie Ames.
One thing Thelma is certain of is her truly
favorite subject: Roses. “I’m not real good at
growing them in my yard, but…I love roses,”
she said. Just as Sonie Ames taught, Thelma
likes to “take the rose and pull it apart or
move the petals around and really study the
rose to see how it grows.” Then she paints
the flowers in the same way that Grace Moss
taught her those many years ago. She loves
to paint them using pinks and maroons, and
Shading Green.
One constant theme ran through the interview
with Thelma: She is thankful for all the people porcelain painting has brought into her life. We might well
conclude that these people and the things they taught
Thelma constitute her very favorite things about china
painting. She said, “I have appreciated the things that
I’ve learned from my students. I know that I was supposed to be the teacher, but…I have always learned
from the students. I have always appreciated that
because I never felt that I was capable of teaching. I
had no formal art training…I learned a lot from my students.” And from her teachers. Rose Wynne instilled in
Thelma a love for learning and the faith that there was
always something new to be learned in every circumstance. Thelma took that to heart and by doing so she
has herself become a favorite to all who know her.
The Lady Slipper Newsletter • May 2014
Page 4
Was anybody else curious about Tybee Island?
by Deb Warwick
I know that several of our members have attended
classes at Tybee Island in Georgia over the years, but
since I had never asked anyone about it before, it was
all a mystery to me. So I asked Kim Harms to share
her experiences there.
The school is actually called Georgia Seminars
by the Sea Porcelain Arts School and they bring in
teachers from all over the world! Kim learned about
china painting and about classes in Tybee Island from
her teacher, Susan Peterson. Kim attended the school
last year taking one class from Tatiana. She painted a
lovely vase. She was so excited that she signed up for
all three sessions this year. The seminar takes place
from the end of February through the beginning of
March. This year she took classes on portraits from
San Do, free-form porcelain from Nancy Benedetti, and
birds on a vase from Alzora. She immediately signed
up for all three sessions for next year. Next year the
sessions will be from February 19th -24th, February
24th – March 1st, and March 1st – 6th. I went to the
website for the school and there are so many teachers and so many pieces available I don’t have room to
list them all! There are teachers from Canada, France,
Italy, Brazil, and even Minnesota! Nancy Bergman will
be there teaching. There are so many lovely pieces it
would be difficult to limit yourself to just three!
You can either drive or fly to Savannah. If you fly
the seminar group will either pick you up or you could
rent a car. They provide housing in beautiful condos
on the ocean. They are three-bedroom condos; you
can pay a little more to have a private room or you
get to room with other fun china painters. Your condo
is stocked with plenty of good food which you can
cook for yourself. Delicious sounding lunches and dinners are provided. The classrooms overlook the ocean.
You paint your piece and it is fired overnight. At the
end of the seminar you are driven back to the airport.
There are many things to do in the area for your nonpainting spouse or a traveling companion. It might
be good to tack on a few days for yourself to tour the
area after the classes are over!
Kim is very excited about china painting and very
easy going. She really enjoys taking classes from
varied teachers and learning different techniques. She
said you need to keep an open mind and accept what
your teachers are telling you. Don’t take the critiques
personally but look at them as helpful hints to becoming a better painter. So now that we know what to
expect, perhaps there will be more of us traveling to
Tybee Island in future years. Thank you, Kim, for sharing your passion for painting and your great attitude
for learning!
Guild Family News
by our Sunshine Lady Ruth Arndt
651-433-1408 • ruthaint@frontiernet.net
»» Glo Carlson gave us some personal good news/bad news. She has a new man in her life, even though it is a
long distance realationship…oops, that was a spelling error, but it seemed to fit! The not so good news is that
she has been diagnosed with a lymphoma and will be starting chemo treatments in Brainerd.
»» Nancy Bergman’s father-in-law, Herbie, who lived with Nancy and Dan, died at the end of March. Many Guild
members enjoyed meeting Herbie at classes held at the Bergman home. He will be missed.
»» Diane Chase missed the April meeting due to an impacted tooth and may need a root canal. Ouch!
»» Dodie Henry spoke to Betty Ludington who is doing well after her back surgery last month.
»» Leta Clemons hosted her Bridge Club recently. Happy to hear that she is staying active close to home.
»» Barb Perry’s back is better, but she is considering knee surgery and using her cane to get around safely.
»» Thelma reported that Lorretta Burrell from Farmington died a few weeks ago – a former Guild member, she
won the Ladyslipper one year and was known for making porcelain roses.
Keep all these friends/families in your thoughts and prayers.
www.porcelainartmn.org The Lady Slipper Newsletter • May 2014
Page 5
Important Dates — Make Note
June 6
MPAG: Founders Day Spring Event
June 27
MPAG: Perspective • Diane Chase
July 25
MPAG: Paint-Along Marbling Borders • Lois Pribble | Members’ Book Sale
August (TBA)
Dakota County Fair* Entries Due (Fair dates: August 4-10)
August 10-12
Minnesota State Fair** Entries Due (Fair dates: August 21 - September 1)
August 22
MPAG: Legal White Powders in Porcelain Painting • Ardy Bernier
September 26
MPAG: Members’ Sale (No Demo)
September Evening
MPAG: Paint-Along • Dodie Henry (date to be determined)
* For more information about the Dakota County Fair: http://www.dakotacountyfair.org
** For more information about the Minnesota State Fair: http://mnstatefair.org/competition/creative_activities.html
Don’t forget MPAG’s 2014 Porcelain Art School • July 29-31
Contact Cherri Beisang for Information: 952-920-1022
Daytime Guild meetings are held at 9:30 am at Midland Hills Country Club, 2001 Fulham Street in Roseville, MN.
Reservations: JOAN HUDSON at 763-370-6012 or het54jet@yahoo.com
The Lady Slipper Newsletter
Minnesota Porcelain Art Guild
6821 Garfield Avenue South
Richfield, Minnesota 55423