Thursday, December 5, 2013

How to Register Online for China Painting Classes

Now you can register and pay for your Irving Recreation Center china painting classes and workshops online! Simply go to parks.lincoln.ne.gov and click the pink "Register Online" button. Sign up for a free MyInterlinc account, create your Parks and Rec. profile, and search for your classes.

(If you've every paid your water bill, pet license, or a parking ticket online, you already have a MyInterlinc account.)


Winter/Spring 2014 Class Schedule Released!

Wednesday Classes
Session Dates:
  • January 8-29 
  • February 5-26 
  • April 2-23 
  • April 30-May 21 
Class times:
  • Morning: 9:30-11:30 a.m. 
  • Afternoon: 12:30-2:30 p.m. 
  • Evening: 6:00-8:00 p.m. 
Class fee: $28.00 plus $5.00 firing fee (additional supply fees may vary)

Saturday Workshops
Workshop dates:
  • January 25 
  • February 22 
  • March 29 
  • April 26 
Workshop time: 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.

Workshop fee: $21.00 plus $5.00 firing fee (additional supply fees may vary)

Call 402-441-7954 to register at least seven days in advance. Or register online at parks.lincoln.ne.gov!

Welcome!

Here's a little background information for those who may be new to this blog or to China Painting at Irving Rec. Center.  I have been teaching china painting class for Lincoln Parks and Recreation since fall of 1991. It has been an on-going class with occasional breaks for summer vacation or Christmas holidays.

I was not the first china painting teacher for Parks and Rec. Dee Myers taught a class from around 1971 to 1973 at a recreation center on "O" Street. Dee went on to teach china painting lessons in her home for many years. I learned to china paint from her in 1976.

There have been a few other teachers here in Lincoln. Jane McKlem taught a class in her home from around 1979 to 199-something. Back in the 1970's, Doris Botts taught a class, and so did Mary Halverson at the Cotner Center. Who am I forgetting? If you know, then drop me a line or place a comment on this blog.

My students and I are a small group. We meet on Wednesdays. There is usually a subject like roses, or birds, or scenes, etc., selected, but during any one session only about half of my students will be painting the selected subject. We also host an annual open house in the spring, a potluck at Christmas time and intermittent Saturday seminars.

There are not many china painters around anymore; we are a small shrinking group. In the state of Nebraska, maybe a hundred to two hundred people china paint. There never have been lots of china painters, it is time-consuming art and it has a long learning curve. But we are ALWAYS LOOKING FOR RECRUITS!

Thursday, August 12, 2010

So the long awaited answer to my question on July 21. What collapsed the pottery industry in the late 1700's?

Well, let me try and give you a visual reference. Pretend it's 1725. You're in the local public house drinking posset with your business associates. Posset was a mixed drink made of milk, egg, wine (usually sack), and spices. You are drinking out of small clay cups and the posset is being served out of a punch bowl.

Pretend it's 1825. You're in the same public house drinking with your business associates, but there is more agriculture now in the USA, so there is more beer, ale, and whiskey. What are you drinking out of? Glass mugs, and you are being served out of glass pitchers.

Glass was cheaper to produce and did not require as much skilled labor. Glass bottles and jars ended the neighborhood potter. Potter then turned more and more to decorative ware. It was more about style than function.

Pottery has continued alternating between style and function. In the pottery world, potters often will define themselves as either functional potters or art potters. Functional potters specialize in mugs, plates, bowls, and tableware. Art potters make scultpture and are more interested in surface decoration. Art potters, in the last twenty years or so, are much more interested china painting than functional potters. One of the great books out there right now that blends the pottery world and the china painting world is China Paint and Overglaze by Paul Lewing. I highly recommend it.