“Ceramic artist and china painter Melanie Sherman creates beautiful sterling silver jewelry pieces with porcelain stones. Decorated with vintage decals from Europe and Asia, these one-of-kind pieces tell the story of historic porcelain wares, used as dinnerware in 18thCentury.”

“Kiddush” Following an ancient custom from the days when wayfarers and the poor lodged in synagogues, some congregations recite the Kiddush at the end of the Friday evening service in the synagogue—except on the eve of Passover (Pesaḥ), when the recitation is reserved for the seder service. The Kiddush that is recited after the morning…

More is More: China Paint TechniquesJuly 5-9, 2021 Concept: China paint, luster, and cold-finishing techniques are used all over the world to finesse and highlight many qualities of the ceramic form. These surface decorations are used for expressing cultural heritage, storytelling, color theory and more. This workshop is designed to marry the ceramic form and…

A brief history of Kintsugi The Kintsugi technique originated under Ashigaka Yoshimasa (1435-1490) during the Muromachi period. Yoshimasa liked surrounding himself with artists and poets in his temple-palace Ginkaku-ji and it was him who gave birth to the cha no yu culture, the tea ceremony, in Japan. When one day his precious cup, which is…

Ceramic artist and china painter Melanie Sherman creates beautiful sterling silver jewelry pieces with porcelain stones. Decorated with vintage decals from Europe and Japan, these one-of-kind pieces tell the story of historic porcelain wares, used as dinnerware in 18th century Europe.

Patterns and styles evolved, and by the late 15th century arrangements were common enough to be appreciated by ordinary people and not only by the imperial family and its retainers. Ikebana, in the beginning, was very simple, constructed from only a very few stems of flowers and evergreen branches. This first form of ikebana is…

Ikebana (生け花, 活け花, “arranging flowers” or “making flowers alive”) is the Japanese art of flower arrangement. It is also known as Kadō (華道, “way of flowers”). The tradition dates back to Heian period, when floral offerings were made at altars. Later, flower arrangements were instead used to adorn the tokonoma (alcove) of a traditional Japanese…

These last couple of weeks have been SUPER special: So honored to work with the one and only Irma Starr on her commemorative platter for Lynn Nichols for her exceptional contributions to the field of World War II-Era Art Provenance Research. Irma Starr is a 17th-century slipware artist, based here in Kansas City. She is…

Dear friend, I’m so excited to be heading back to Anderson Ranch Arts Center,⁠ in Snowmass, Colorado, to teach a 1-week workshop on June 08 – 12, 2020 about my favorite subject: China Painting, Luster, and Cold-Finishing Techniques on ceramics. There are still a few spots available and it would amazing if you would join…

Sep 20 to Nov 3, 2019: Northern Clay Center, Main Gallery 2424 Franklin Avenue East, Minneapolis, MN, 55406  |  612.339.8007  |  Opening reception: Friday, October 11, 6 – 8 pm Mario Praz, an Italian-born critic, used a Latin phrase, horror vacui, to confront the Victorian fetish of visual clutter. Since that time, more than 100 years have…