A group of local artists who specialize in the vintage art of porcelain painting are inviting the public to an exhibit at Newport’s Campbell County Public Library in September.
Hand-painted porcelain vases, chocolate boxes, tea pots and torte plates will be on view, along with artistic nods to the holidays, including Christmas ornaments, Easter eggs and valentine heart boxes.
Members of the Kentucky Chapter of the World Organization of China Painters, or WOCP, are hosting the show to celebrate the art that bloomed in popularity in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries in the United States.
The organization has clubs all around the world, and the local Dixie club welcomes anyone interested in porcelain painting.
“We’re lucky to have three clubs in Kentucky,” said Juanita Barrett, president of
the Kentucky chapter of WOCP and also president of Northern Kentucky’s Dixie
Porcelain Painters club.
The Dixie club is hosting the exhibit at Newport library, featuring art from painters across the state. Other Kentucky WOCP clubs are in Louisville and Bardstown.
“The exhibit is more than a show of club members’ art,” said Barrett, who lives in
Alexandria. “It’s an invitation to join us in a meeting and try your hand at porcelain
painting.”
Artists paint on white glazed porcelain, using powdered minerals mixed with various oils. The pieces are kiln fired to more than 1,400 degrees, which allows the oil to burn off and the mineral colors to fuse with the glaze, becoming a permanent part of the piece, according Peggy Kreimer Hodgson, Dixie club secretary.
While some painters’ work has been displayed around the country, others simply do it for fun.
“The first thing most of us said when we started was ‘I could never do that,’” Barrett said, “You learn by taking it step by step.”
If you go:
View the exhibit from Sept. 2 to Sept. 28 at the Newport Branch of the Campbell County Public Library at 901 E. Sixth St.
The branch is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Fridays; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays; and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays.
Those interested in attending a meeting or learning more about porcelain
painting can contact Juanita Barrett at 859-635-9496 or club secretary Peggy Kreimer
Hodgson of Cincinnati at bypeg@earthlink.net