The Lady Slipper Newsletter February 2016 dddddddddddddddd President s Plate by Pat Meyer Once again our holiday season is over and we are into the New Year of 2016. My brain seems to be as frozen as the landscape and weather. I am having trouble finding a theme for my plate, so I guess I will do random thoughts. I first need to thank the Holiday Party Committee for pulling together a great party, honoring several of our treasured members. Ardy and her committee did a fabulous job. I hope we can continue this tradition with several more members at the Spring Event. The Event is scheduled for May 13, 2016. We will be having a competition again, and our People s Choice will be Paisley or Chintz. So, now when the weather is frigid outside and the cold keeps us indoors, paint for both the competition and the People s Choice. Today I heard a speaker on Twin Cities Live say we all need to take time to be me. Most of us really don t have a clue on how to do that with all that is expected of us. My plate will be very full again in 2016. I have two grandchildren who will be married. Things will be busy, but lots of fun. It is also said that each day we need to journal five things that we are grateful for that day. Today, with the cold, I am grateful that I have a warm, and safe home and can be in from the bitter cold if I wish. I do not need to find warmth or shelter. My journal must also include my four children who are always available to help us with everything we need. My third entry is that we have good healthcare and doctors who are keeping us as healthy as possible even though this last year my dentist, eye doctor, and physician have all retired. It may be a blessing to get new fresh doctors, but it is hard to pick new ones who are younger than your own children. My fourth entry must be that I am grateful that I am still capable of learning and doing new things, especially in my business. Two of the most important are for a sharp brain (most days!) and my eyesight so that I can read and paint. My last entry is to thank God for my friends especially those in the Guild. I hope each of you will start a journal. My cares seem less important when I see how much I have to be grateful for. I do need to get an infusion of enthusiasm. I seem to be in a winter funk. Since I am usually a very positive person, I am sure by our March meeting I will have a renewed and upbeat attitude with some new ideas. I hope each of you are staying healthy and that each of you had a great holiday season. I will see you all March 18 th. Our winter break will be over and it will almost be Easter. Deb Warwick and Cathy Luedke will demo wire wrapping. Deb asked that I request demonstrators, or persons to do paint-a-longs for her open months. Please call her to volunteer 612-869-3853. Happy Painting be a positive influence on everyone you interact with. Imagine, take a day to be me to invigorate YOU. Then, CREATE! www.porcelainartmn.org The Lady Slipper Newsletter February 2016 Page 1
From Stick Pen to Porcelain Art by Deb Warwick First, I must say it sure has been a lot of fun getting to know you ladies better by doing these little biographies. This issue s victim is Susan Peterson. Susan was born in a convent hospital in Gregory, South Dakota and grew up in the small town of Huron, South Dakota. She had four siblings and parents that were both teachers and a bit controlling. At the beginning of Susan s junior year, the school got a new art teacher. Her mother gave her an ultimatum: either take art or be grounded for nine weeks! After a quick calculation, she decided to take art. She hadn t realized she was artistic until her teacher, Max Peterson, awakened that gift, but her mother had apparently seen something artistic in her. The first day of class the students were instructed to remove one of his/her shoes and place it on their desk. Then the teacher handed out small bottles of ink, a small stick and paper to each student. He told them to dip the stick into the ink and draw their shoe, keeping in mind the material of which the shoes were constructed. (Susan s shoe was patent leather Yikes!) Susan said he deliberately chose a stick instead of a pen because the stick would not hold much ink, and would force the student to look at their shoe more often and therefore, more accurately portray it. This was a brilliant exercise in training them to really see! Susan s shoe earned the only A in the class, and Mr. Peterson took it to the state fair! She can t remember if she got a ribbon or not. After high school she went to college in Brookings to major in art. But she became discouraged and left www.porcelainartmn.org after two years. (Later, as an adult, she finished her degree in computer science at the U of M.) After leaving Brookings she moved to Sioux Falls, SD to work. She needed a job and saw an opening for a graphic artist, having no idea what that was. But she figured if it had to do with art, she could probably handle it. She applied and got a job as a stripper! Ha, ha! Actually she was making negatives from copy to be printed and stripping (positioning) them into a grid, keeping everything straight. Her grids were then used to make plates for the printing presses. There was a young man working there who noticed her on her first day of work. He walked up and straight out asked her if she was single! When she said she was, he turned and returned to his work. Susan said she found his honesty and forthrightness refreshing! This was in October. He began asking her out every week, but she kept refusing. She mentioned how most men would have had their egos hurt by the first rejection and would not have continued to ask, but she liked his confidence. Finally, with David s persistence, Susan agreed to a double date with her sister and her boyfriend on New Year s Eve. They went skiing first then went back to their respective homes, got dressed up fancy and went out to a nice restaurant. Not long after Susan began working at the printing company it was sold, and she needed a new job. She moved to the Twin Cities while still dating David who was back at school in Brookings trying to finish his degree in Printing Management. They continued their Susan continued on page 3 The Lady Slipper Newsletter February 2016 Page2
Susan continued from page 2 long distance relationship and Susan got a job working for an insurance company processing Medicare claims. They married in Brookings the day before David graduated, and then he moved to the Twin Cities. In late 2000 Susan was attending Bible Study Fellowship and was asked to become a discussion group leader. Even though this was uncomfortable for her since she prefers to remain quietly in the background, she felt that God did want her to do this. So she began leading a group that had some older ladies. Some of them were china painters. They all became close. In 2001 they invited Susan to come paint porcelain with them at the condo of one of the members. Their teacher was Thelma Granquist. Susan hadn t done anything artistic since her school days, but soon she was loving her new hobby and doing very well. She soon also began taking classes with Frank Albrecht and Kathy Barker! For several years she was taking three classes each week. She learned many different things from each teacher and is very grateful for each of them. The first seminar she took was with Jerry Simertz down in Blue Earth where they painted mugs with the four seasons. Her second seminar was lilacs with Andrew Orr at Frank s. She has since traveled a lot going to other schools and painting with many gifted teachers. She has made many lasting friendships with the painters she has met around the country and especially here at home. She began to teach in 2005 or 2006 with beginning painters for about two years. Then she took a break from teaching. She started again in 2010 or 2011 and taught until about a year ago. She teaches seminars from time to time when requested. Since joining the Guild at Frank s invitation, Susan has done many things for the Guild including producing the Lady Slipper for two and a half years, being 1st Vice President for 2 years, being on the Education Committee for 4 years, teaching at the Guild school, working on shows for the Guild and for the WOCP. She has also done demos at the Guild meetings, at the Founder s Day Event, at the WOCP show, and has painted a raffle piece for the WOCP. She feels her gift of art comes from God. Minnesota Porcelain Art Guild is pleased to present the 2016 Porcelain Art School August 1 3, 2016 9:00am 4:00pm Rosewood Condominiums Hwy 36 and Fairview Ave N, Roseville, MN Join us for a wonderful painting experience! We will have two exceptional instructors to choose from and all levels of students are welcome. Watch for more information to come. If you are interested in teaching at the school please send information and photos of your proposed project before March 24th to Cherri Beisang, 4611 Drexal Avenue, Edina, MN 55424. Questions? Call Cherri at 952-920-1022 www.porcelainartmn.org The Lady Slipper Newsletter February 2016 Page 3
Holiday Party 2015 This year we changed things up a bit for the Guild Holiday Party. We gathered together at the Midland Hills Country Club and paid tribute to a few of our long-time members. Deb Warwick created picture boards highlighting the Guild involvement of each of these women: Donna Casey, Leta Clemons, Thelma Granquist, Mary Ellen Haggerty, Jerry Simertz, and Pearl Spano. It was a joy to look at old photos Two of the many and reminisce about beautiful ornaments the good old days. donated for aucthis year s party Three of our honorees: tion at the party. also included a fun Pearl Spano (at left); These were painted auction of handdonna Casey and by Nancy Bergman painted Christmas Thelma Granquist (above) and Ardy ornaments. Nancy Bergman was our lively (above) Bernier (left). auctioneer, explaining why each and every ornament (painted and donated by Guild artists then artfully arranged in centerpieces by Barbie Braman), was a true treasure. Concurrent with the live auction, we also had a silent auction of items donated by Guild members. This included a variety of beautifully painted pieces by accomplished artists from around the country. The bidding was fierce for these unique pieces; all of the winners were very happy to take their masterpieces home! Between these two auctions, due to the generosity of our members, the Guild raised almost $1500 which will be used for general operating expenses and State Fair prizes. Thank you, ladies! Evening Paint-Along December 2015 In December Bonnie Zopfi led a group of Guild members in an evening Paint-Along at the Ramsey County Library. It was a cold and windy night outside, but inside painters were toasty warm as they sipped coffee or hot chocolate from Dunn Brothers and enjoyed painting with friends. Bonnie brought several cute designs and demonstrated the process of painting them on Christmas Ornaments. Each painter went home with several completed ornaments. Fun! www.porcelainartmn.org The Lady Slipper Newsletter February 2016 Page4
Get ready & save the date Founders Day Event! May 13 9:30 am The Spring Founders Day luncheon brings our group together to celebrate the Guild's history and achievements. Good food, painting competitions, demos, drawings, and door prizes you won't want to miss this! Be sure to paint a piece for the Event's People's Choice Competition: Paisley and/or Chintz, your choice! Questions about Competition? by Val Naber From time to time Guild members have the opportunity to participate in Guild-sponsored painting competitions. Twice a year we have a People s Choice challenge where artists are challenged to paint a specific subject or piece. The winners of the People s Choice competitions are determined by the people s choice. That is, Guild members vote on their favorite entries, and the artist with the most votes wins. This competition is a bit of fun and meant to challenge us and get us painting. The Guild also hosts a more formal painting competition each year at the Founders Day Luncheon. This competition is open to all MPAG members, whether beginner or master painter. All of our members are encouraged to enter at least one original work. People often ask why we have this competition. We do it so our members can get an expert evaluation of their work, and use it to improve their skills. Painters are judged solely on their own merit, not in comparison to others. Each piece stands alone. We use a point system for judging, which is similar to the IPAT and WOCP competitions. This point system is designed to show us the areas in which we have mastered our skills, and those that need improvement. Each piece is evaluated by qualified judges according to the following criteria: Composition/Design (20 points): How the elements and principles of art are used to fit the subject matter and piece. Overall Unity (20 points): How the entire finished piece is unified through repetition of color, value, line, etc. Technical Skill and Brush Control (20 points): How the skill and brush control is used on the piece. Clarity of Expression (10 points): How the elements and principles of art are used for expressive purposes (mood, emotion, etc.). Freshness of Concept (10 points): Choice of porcelain to design of subject matter (Traditional Art); or How the artist has used this subject matter, intent and design in a way which is not considered a traditional style (Other Art). Complexity (10 points): Designs that contain more work, time, thought, planning or expertise. Firing (5 points): Whether the piece was fired at a temperature that produces the optimum effect. Another question often asked is: What constitutes Original work? This is sometimes confusing because each competition is slightly different, the Guild being more lenient than, for example, an International competition. So for the Guild competition we ask that a piece not be a copy of another artist s studies or books, and that no exact copies of anyone else s work in any medium be submitted. Painting from an artist s photograph is fine, but this should be noted on the entry form (i.e., say, inspired by [artist s name] ); or better yet, use your own photos. Any techniques may be applied to your original design. These are competition rules. When you find that special design you love and you want to copy, relax and do it, but recognize that it is not for competition, auction, or for sale. Rather, you have painted a lovely gift for a friend. www.porcelainartmn.org The Lady Slipper Newsletter February 2016 Page 5
Upcoming Guild Meetings March 18 April 22 May 13 June 24 Cathy Luedke and Deb Warwick Wire Wrapping TBD Spring Founders Day Event TBD Regular Guild meetings are held at 9:30 am at Midland Hills Country Club, 2001 Fulham Street in Roseville, MN. Reservations: BARBIE BRAMAN at 952-240-6227 or barbiedoll6kids@gmail.com Make Note Barbie Braman is our NEW contact for RESERVATIONS: 952-240-6227 or barbiedoll6kids@gmail.com Due to Good Friday, our FIRST MEETING for 2016 has been MOVED up a week and is scheduled for MARCH 18th. Don t miss it! Dodie Henry is our SUNSHINE LADY. Please call her with any Guild family news: 651-463-3559 (home) or 651-428-3559 (cell) The Guild is looking for a few good men (and women)! Please OFFER to share your artistic skills: SIGN UP to give a meeting demo. Contact Deb Warwick: 612-869-3853 or warwicks8@gmail.com The Guild's NEW WEBSITE will be under construction beginning March 5th. Some disruption of website availability may be encountered. Please be patient; it will be worth any inconvenience! The Lady Slipper Newsletter Minnesota Porcelain Art Guild 6821 Garfield Avenue South Richfield, Minnesota 55423