An exciting week planned out

I had a bit of a rough week (sickness/etc), hence the later-than-usual post this morning, but I have AWESOME plans for next week!

Many of you know that my grandmother passed away in October, and about a month ago, I drove the truck over to Vancouver (on the ferry of course, since the truck isn't a sea-worthy vehicle in itself... though that would be awesome) and spent three days packing up all her porcelain painting supplies. No one else wanted them besides me, so I got everything, including three different sized kilns.

The boxes filled every square inch of my Ford F150... extended truck bed + all interior space.

And next week, I'm headed back to the mainland to spent three days painting with one of my grandmother's painting-buddies!

Porcelain painting is literally a dying art, and that's mostly because a 'young' china painter means you're only in your 60's. It's a very traditional art form, the style is pretty old, floaty with lots of delicate flowers and things, plus it is the hardest kind of painting you can do, because the medium itself is finicky. There's a real trick in even mixing the powdered paint to a proper consistency, paint doesn't behave on porcelain the way it behaves on canvas or paper. If you don't have enough paint on your brush, or try to paint over another brushstroke, you'll actually remove the paint already on there. There's also no such thing as white paint -> you have to remove paint deliberately, with a brush or another tool.

I think, in terms of how you use the medium, it would be most closely related to chinese ink brush painting. You have to have confidence in your brush strokes because mistakes can't easily be fixed. Often you have to wipe everything off and start all over again, which is why porcelain painting is usually done in thin layers which are fired before another layer is added on top. But when it's fired, it's there forever.

Since I haven't actually painted on porcelain in a few years... I have a lot to re-learn. If my teacher deems me worthy, I also may get a lesson in painting with 24 carat gold, raised enamel and lustres -> all of which are very expensive... so I don't want to waste the materials I have inherited.

I'm going to prepare a few posts to go up while I'm gone because I doubt I'll have internet access next week (more Project #5). If, after three days of painting, I end up with anything not hideously embarrassing, I'll post some pictures the following week.

There is also a National Porcelain Painters of Canada convention in Ottawa the first week in May, which I think I'm going to sign up for.

So those are my exciting, far-reaching plans :)

How about you? Any non-writing challenges going on? How about a new hobby?