Babbling...

So clocks spring forward and the weather goes to winter? I'm confused. I had a few days of flip flops then back to long underwear and snow boots! Crazy Maryland Weather.

I had bought this top but was afraid to wear it thinking it would jinx our nice weather. Then bam we get snow so I pulled out the snow shirt.  The snow turned to freezing rain and ice and the neighbors tree decided to lean over towards our shed. Now I'm just waiting and wondering if I'll be getting a new shed out of the deal. LOL

Well Saturday, March 18, 9 - 3 pm, is the Glen Burnie High School Craft show and I'm hoping that this snow and ice is gone by then. There's nothing worse than loading and unloading fragile porcelain in ice. I am really nervous about it. Drop by if you aren't doing anything and visit us. We are in the cafeteria in our usual spot. There will be eggs and bunnies (of course), nightlights, alcohol ink art, porcelain, hand painted wine glasses, decorative painting on wood...you name it we will have it. It always amazes me how much Patricia and I can get into that little space.

I  put some spring listings on Etsy....Here's one. Lots of eggs for you collectors.

This egg is a pale blue bisc with enamel scroll work...it's so soft and pretty...here's the link to the listing on Etsy.

Tomorrow is Fall Ya'll

Luster China Paints

Raised Enamel China Paint

It's hard to believe that summer is over! Soon the tree leaves will be changing colors and the next thing you know there will be no leaves on the trees.

I am not happy about putting away my flip flops until next year but I have mixed emotions. I love the crisp fresh air of fall and the beautiful colors in the trees. 

Then again winter, everything looks so cold and stark. But all of that gives me something to look forward to...summer returning and the return of my beloved flip flops!

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Note: both of the items above are available in my Etsy shop. Click the photo to go to the listing.

Blessed but Busy!

Sorry I haven't been posting on this blog lately but I have been busy. First off, I had a beautiful new baby Grandson, Deaglan Bryan born the end of February and then 3 months later arrived another beautiful new Grand daughter, Evelyn Mae the end of May.  

Deaglan Bryan

Evelyn Mae "Evie"

My friend Jeannie's shop was opening in end of May so I've been frantically trying to paint up a storm to give her lots of new things for this year's beach season. If you are in the area of Chincoteaque Island, drop by Sandpiper Boutique, 6142 Maddox Blvd., Chincoteague Island, VA 23336. It has lots of beautiful Home Decor. In addition, Jeanne makes her own line of designer bags. All the linings are waterproof. If you can't get by the Boutique visit her new Etsy shop to see some of her bags:   https://www.etsy.com/shop/sandpiperboutique

I just listed a few new pieces in my Etsy shop as well. The one pictured is my favorite.  I am quite a fan of cottage style.

Also listed in my shop is some new more modern designs. I have been working with zentangle on porcelain and I have a couple of those as well in the shop. They have a very modern look to them quite different from my cottage leaning style.

So drop my my shop and check out my new zentangle designs and let me know how you like them....

here's the link:  https://www.etsy.com/shop/jywheeler

Have a great day, Joann

Something to Crow About

...a cup of tea with this cute little hand painted porcelain Rooster Tea Caddy. Available on Etsy.

Available on Etsy

 For hand painted china, decorative painting & fine art, visit my shop JYWheeler on Etsy. The large 3.5 inch porcelain egg pictured below is china painted and kiln fired with stand. Click the photo to take you to the listing.

Punky & Funky

I love this crazy steam punk vase.  I painted it and then applied a green luster around the gear & along the edge. This photo doesn't do it justice. I love the look of the lusters in general. 

It's not my usual style. I really liked it but apparently others didn't. I have painted other steam punk porcelain pieces which sold immediately. Not this piece. 

So I'm taking a chance and reinventing it. Sometimes things just need a little touch of something different.  I've wired it with various pieces of metal hardware giving it more of an industrial look. We will see how it goes. What do you think? Even if you aren't a steam punk fan. Hardware or no hardware?

It's even funkier looking and I still like it. I'm thinking I need to sell this so I am not tempted to change my cottage style over to steam punk. My kids will think I am suffering from mid life crisis if I do that! LOL

Here's the  link on Etsy if you like it. LINK TO VASE

Back in the Painting Groove

I was having a bit of a painting slump. For a while I painted like a banshee, alcohol ink everywhere not doing and other mediums, I pushed everything aside even my first love china painting.  

Well I went to a friends house and got my mojo back so to speak. Finally using my new mini kiln that I bought in February at the china painting show/convention in Florida, I worked on some little pendants and ornaments.

The kiln worked great. It was much better than cranking up the big one for a few little things. This little kiln takes 50 minutes to fire and 3 hours to cool. The big one takes 3 hours to fire and all day or night to cool. I like that I can get  2 firings in a day if I ever get back to my usual painting rate.

Here is the first fire pen work of the little pendants. There were 2 more fires to go.

The bottom photo are the finished pendants and ornaments.

So glad I got them finished. I have 3 craft shows coming up that I need to work on. Maybe if you are local I'll see you at one of these.


1)  Chesterfield Community craft show on September 20th 12-4 (Mansion House Crossing Pool area in Chesterfiel,  Pasadena, MD)

2)  St. John Lutheran Church Craft Show (Maple Rd, Linthicum, MD) on the
Saturday, November 29th 9-2 pm.

3)  Glen Burnie High School Winter Craft Show (B&A Blvd, Glen Burnie MD) December 6th 9-2 pm.

Tea Anyone?

So I've had some pieces waiting to go on to Etsy for a little while now. Well last night I got the listing bug. Here's 2 of them related to tea.  They are also related in that they both have yellow roses. Yellow Roses were my Mom's favorite rose. She passed away 1 1/2 years ago. So here you go Mom...yellow roses...thinking of you today.

The one to the left is a miniature teapot box. Inside is a tiny porcelain yellow rose.

Here's the link to it:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/198538614/hand-painted-porcelain-mini-tea-pot?


The one to the right is a small teapot. It is useable as it will hold enough tea for one cup.
This is microwaveable. You could put it in the dishwasher but I think I would handwash it so the ends of the roses and the leaves don't get chipped.

Here's the link to the listing:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/198554664/hand-painted-porcelain-small-tea-pot?

Art by me.....................

Paint Party Friday

Woo hoo  Party Friday. Today's feature is a piece of painted porcelain. I did this tray a few months ago. I used a maple leaf that  I painted on the back with china paints. It was pressed against the china to transfer the image. Then I smoothed out the paint and added some where necessary and fired it in the kiln

 It's hard to see in this photo but the words to the right is the St. Francis of Assisi Peace Prayer. It is gold lettering. No I didn't do the lettering I cheated and used a  kiln fired decal but if you saw my handwriting you'd know why!

The prayer reads:

Lord make me an instrument of your peace
Where there is hatred,
Let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is error, truth;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, Joy.

O Divine Master grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled
As to console;
To be understood,as to understand;
To be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life..

This piece of porcelain is available in my Etsy shop. Here's the link:  https://www.etsy.com/listing/172475024/kiln-fired-fall-leaf-with-st-francis?ref=shop_home_active_16

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For more really cool art, visit Paint Party Friday Blog at: 
http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.com/

A Work In Progress - China Painting

Every couple of years I post this so that people understand what goes into china painting . I hope you enjoy it.

Inspiration Piece

Blank China

So people always ask me how I do this. This time I took some pictures at each stage. Each piece of china is painted and fired in a kiln to a temperature of 1800 degrees multiple times. Here's some pictures of how it progresses:

Design Sketched in

The paints used are powdered paint pigments, mixed with oil for a painting medium.  Some people buy special mixtures of oils, however, you can use anything from mineral oil to motor oil!

Brushes used are very soft.  Unlike other types of painting very little paint is loaded on the brush. Your brush "kisses" the porcelain as you paint.

The First Painting & Firing

Second Painting & Firing

Each piece is painted multiple times as you build up your color from light to dark. There is no white on the palette, the white seen is actually the porcelain showing through. At each firing the glaze opens up and the paint goes into the glaze. As it cools the glaze closes and the paints become permanent. They will never wash off. They are dishwasher & microwave safe.

Third Painting & Firing

The only exception to this is if the porcelain artist uses gold or lusters on the piece. Gold is actually 24kt. liquid gold. When fired it doesn't go into the glaze. It sits on top of the glaze. Lusters like mother of pearl also sit on the top of the glaze. For that reason should you have gold or lusters, handwashing is advised.  Gold should never be put into the microwave as it is a metal and might give you a fireworks show!

So, if you are interested in porcelain art (a gift to treasure for generations to come), please visit my Etsy shop: http://jywheeler.etsy.com

Here we go again....

snow....I'm praying that this snow will some how just miss us. But I have a feeling that we will be hit pretty good.

Everyone says how pretty the snow is..sure if you just sit and look at it.  But all I can think about is worrying about my kids going to work in it and then clearing the sidewalks and driving in it. 

Not to mention my poor pooch who will have to try to find a place to potty.  Luigi is a cockapoo and has short legs so  I generally have to dig out a little path to a potty spot. 

But he doesn't mind the snow. That crazy ball of fur likes to try to snap at it as it falls. 

Well I guess for now, I'll just sit and watch it fall with my cup of coffee in hand and just hope for the best. 

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The praying angel pictured is available in my Etsy shop. Here's the link: https://www.etsy.com/listing/168269711/porcelain-prayer-angel?ref=shop_home_active_9

Sunday Sketches

Hello Sunday Sketches. It's been a full year since I participated. Last year was a bad year for me. I lost both of my parents after brief illnesses. And while I did "art" over that year, I just didn't have the time to devote to my blog rings. 

But this is a new year and I'm back in the saddle (God willing).  Today's Sunday Sketch is on a piece of porcelain. 

It was inspired by a piece of toile fabric.  The sketching was done with china paints and a crow quill pen.  

For more lovely Sunday Sketches, please visit: http://www.bluechairdiaryillustrations.com/ 

 

Making a List....

That's about all. I cannot believe it is this close to Thanksgiving and I'm not done Christmas shopping. I generally start in August. I guess with everything that happened this year loosing Mom and then Dad,

 Handpainted Porcelain

I am happy to say I have 2 people on my list finished but I'm no where close with the others! I may take the easy way out with the DH and just give him a check. I keep asking what he wants for Christmas and he goes "I dunno". Well that's helpful! LOL. I can always come up with a list.

Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Perhaps after that I will be more in the mood. In the meantime, I'm making a list.........

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The Santa pictured is available in my Etsy Shop. Light him with a mini Christmas light string or put a candle in him..either way he's adorable especially when lit. The photo doesn't do it justice...I'm such a poor photographer.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/62759169/hand-painted-porcelain-santa?ref=shop_home_feat

Craft Show Reflections

Well this year's Christmas Craft Show at Oakdale Circle Studios was a success. Interestingly enough, Friday (the work day) was busier than Saturday (the off day). Crazy stuff. But craft shows are always interesting. You can never figure them out or what sells from year to year.

This year I dabbled in Steam Punk. Now I'm a traditional kinda girl so Steam Punk was a little out of my comfort zone but you never grow if you don't push yourself do ya?

So I china painted a few pieces which are pictured here.  I did a mug, hand mirror, plate and vase. And I made 2 necklaces that I didn't photograph (shame on me).  Out of all that, all that remains is the luster vase with the gear on it.

I would have never imagined that the steampunk would have gone. Now if I do more for next year, it likely won't sell. But I might do one or two more just for grins.  I definitely will do more of the necklaces.  My philosophy is to paint or make things that I really like so that if they don't sell it can be an excuse to be mine!  It was sad the necklaces were sold because I really liked those necklaces.  Oh well that's the great thing about being someone who can make things. You can always make another one for you!

Winter's Coming...Fall is Here!

Well it's Fall. It feels like it here. For a long while it was an extended summer which was okay by me but it didn't make me want to get my butt in gear for the craft shows and events.  I did manage to come through as I generally do.

There will be new porcelain and lots of new decorative painted items. Like this cute little nutcracker snowman ornament.  I've also made more jewelry, cards and painted 6 canvas Christmas stockings to just name a few things.

My crafty friends have worked hard on having an incredible variety for this season. I'm excited to go just as a shopper! I plan to starting my Christmas shopping there.

So drop by for the craft show this coming weekend. Here's the flyer!

I would love to see you there.....oh and my Etsy team is hosting their Winter's Coming Celebration.  If you are in love with Prim or Cottage, you really need to check out my team.

It's called Old Farmhouse Gathering Team. Search everyday for OFG Team on Etsy. But if you want to see some awesome crafts just for the winter season, search on Monday for WCCOFG on Etsy.  I had the pleasure of checking out the new items when I uploaded my photos. There are some beautiful pieces on there and I plan to do some Christmas shopping here too!

It's Finished! Woo Hoo

So remember this plate of the Holy Family that I  blogged about a while ago. I finally finished it. The photo on the left shows it in "first fire". That is the first application of color. Notice how light it is.

Believe it or not it took me 10 fires in the kiln. Painting on china requires building up the color and firing in the kiln in between.

 It took that many fires to get the depth of color in the background. I am pretty happy with how it turned out. It looks much better in person. It's a very large plate...10 inches in diameter.  I still think the Blessed Mother could use a little more work on the face but for now I'm finished. At least I think so.

But you never know, I might later go back and put some kind of other detail on the edge. Maybe some enamel or luster...not sure.

Happy Paint Party Friday!  For more Paint Party Features visit: http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.com/ 

Paint Party Friday!

Before

After

Happy Paint Party Friday! I love painting these rosary boxes. I painted this one and then I thought to myself...it needs something else. So I went and mixed up some "pen oil" with my china paints and penned in some scrolls. I think it looks much better. Excuse the green cast on the second photo. I tried to fix the color in photo shop but I'm not so good at that sort of thing.

The coloring is more accurate in the first photo but you get the idea with the scrolling. The crazy color cast was because I photographed it on a green back ground.  I need to rephotograph it so I can get it up in my Etsy shop...

Speaking of rosary boxes. I had someone ask me to paint one for a man. She wanted a flower on it..single rose but I was thinking, that's not very manly. She was from Arizona so I looked on line to see what their state flower was. Turns out it is the Saguaro Cactus. It occurred to me that cacti are more manly than a rose so I asked her if she minded if I did the cactus and here's how it turned out. She was more than delighted and I was very happy with how it turned out.

Happy Paint Party Friday.

For more Paint Party Features visit: http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.com/ 

What Did I Get Myself Into?

Ya'll know how I love to paint. I am a pretty prolific painter and I always see things and think I want to paint that.

Years ago (must have been at least 15 or so) I saw a painting of the Holy Family in a china painting magazine and tore it out. I have had it for years thinking one day I'm going to paint that.  Well the day has come. LOL.

I'm not crazy about portrait painting...skin tones, etc. Oh and how I hate clothing folds...I struggle with it but it's like landscapes I hate to paint them and I think I suck at it but I make myself do it. You can't  paint all the cutesy stuff  forever and you can't grow as an artist if you don't push yourself.

Soon after I started it, I could see that this piece was going to take many paintings and kiln fires. The whole time I'm praying to the Blessed Mother, St. Joseph & Infant Jesus! I need big time help!

 In this photo I was just starting the 2nd fire (painting) process.  I was working in the face area (where the colors were being darkened). You can see the rest of the plate is very light, that was the first fire area.  Yesterday I  finished working on the 2nd fire painting and it's in the kiln now. It looks much better. Things are more defined and taking shape, however, it's got a very long way to go and the background....well to get the depth of color I want...more fires. When I get it out of the kiln I'll take another photo of it...so stay tuned folks.

Painting Outside the Comfort Zone

I belong to a China Painting club, The China Painting Artists of Maryland.

After business meetings we generally do some sort of painting or demonstration. One day we did this new technique with our china paints. Instead of mixing the paint pigments with oil, we used sugar water and then painted the tree design. Then it was fired in the kiln.  The next go round I used lusters dabbed on as leaves and then a luster to indicate the ground.

It's different from the kind of painting I'm used to. I like the traditional painting and I'm not much into abstract or modern art but this was a fun experiment.

Happy Paint Party Friday.

For more Paint Party Features visit: http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.com/