Thursday 6 February 2020

I'm Imagining Imari

Hello my friends,

The famous porcelain with decorations in blue an red, somtimes highlighted with gold. We all know it or at least have seen it. Imari.

Originaly, as the name suggests a Japanese type of porcelain. It was soon copied in China for the European market and eventually also copied by European porcelain manufacturers for the European market. But today, centuries later, all these types of imari ware are highly prized all over the word. 
I have two miniature gourd type vases from the late 19th or early 20th century. Not the best quality made at that time but I like them.


You may have read my first and second post (back in 2018) about the old eggcups I painted in Delft blue. They were inspired by the tiny garden urns in the babyhouse of Sarah Rothe van Amstel which can be seen in het Haags Gemeentemuseum in the Hague.

I used special felt tip pens for ceramic in these first attempts. But although I tried my best the lines were much to thick for miniature. And besides that the paint spread evenly, without room for adding colourvariance though thickness or multiple layers. I did my best at the time. But now that I have painted ceramic with paint and brushes, I feel that I now can do better. So it was time to paint another eggcup.


One eggcup/garden urn that I did not show you in the earlier posts is the one where I used Imari porcelain as an inspiration. Here you can see (right) it compared to the second one I made using porcelain paint (left). You can see the difference between the two. I have made the second one for a friend. So it will not get a place in Huis ter Swinnendael.

I prefer the second one over the first. With the confidence for using paint and brushes instead of marker pens I look at the old Delft vases again and think, this I can do better. So just as with the Imari one the Delft blue gardan vases will be redone. But that is for a next post my friends.

Huibrecht


23 comments:

  1. Talent, Skill and Ingenuity: a threefold combination which you are utilizing to Perfection- your Imari Urns are Simply Wonderful!

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    1. Thank you Elisabeth, that is quite some compliment! I will do y very best to live up to it. And I am glad that you like the result.

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  2. The porcelain paint does seem more translucent and the resulting finer finish is lovelier. However, anyone can see that you obviously have a talent for such delicate painting and have improved so much already with little time and experience! Have fun with this and I can't wait to see the new pieces!

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    1. Indeed, Jodi, the porcelain paint gives better results than the porcelain markers. It is very satisfying to see the differences between the two. And it leaves more room for experimenting with different brush strkes. I'll keep you posted on the future results.

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  3. Fantásticas todas ellas , mi admiración:-)

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  4. Wow, wàt een verschil in resultaat, Huibrecht, geweldig mooi gedaan!
    Ik ben benieuwd naar jouw volgende porselein stukken, je hebt er echt een goed gevoel voor!!
    Groetjes, Ilona

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    1. Dank je wel Ilona, dat is een mooi compliment. Naast het beschilderen van nieuwe tuinvazen ben ik ook aan het experimenteren met handvatten van fimo voor deze vazen. Da's nog best lastig om de fimo en het geglazuurde aardewerk op elkaar aan te laten sluiten. Zowel qua vorm, qua kleur en qua glans. Maar de zoektocht naar het juiste resultaat is zowel frustrerend als leuk. :-)

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  5. Beautifully painted urn Huibrecht! Using a tiny brush is quite demanding, no hands shaking...

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    1. Thank you Riita. Yes it is quite demanding. To decorate the whole eggcup without shaky and wobly lines I needed to pause from time to time. But at the same time while working with concentration on our miniatures time can fly by unnoticed too. :-)

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  6. I had not seen the little egg cups when I went back through the older posts. They are truly delightful as they sit all lined up on the shelf. When comparing the new with the felt tip version in the last picture, I do see the difference practice and the difference using paint and brush makes.
    Anna

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    1. Hello Anna, since those two earlier posts on these garden vases are over two years ago it is not that strange that you have missed them. I am glad that you like them. I will not throw the old ones away when I prefer the new ones. They will then find a place in the storage attic.

      The next step after that will be to make some citrus trees to fill them with. another challenge. :-)

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  7. I have been away for too long ! What lovely work ! I love Imari and have some pots with fancy lids found in the local Junk shop for a few euros ! Lucky find. Bravo dear Mr H ,, hugggss Mrs M

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    1. Lucky finds make all the difference from time to time. I like to think that they are small rewards from the universe. For good deeds done or just because it is great to stumble upon them from time to time. :-)

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  8. ¡Yo creo que son preciosos los dos!

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  9. Muchas Gracias Isabel! Habrá más por seguir. Estoy tratando de hacer manijas para estos jarrones de jardín con arcilla para esculpir fimo. Pero eso es para una próxima publicación.

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  10. I'm a bit late with my blog tour this time but not too late to say "Wow!!!" This is totally impressive - looks like you have naturals talent/skills for this sort of delicate painting. Even your first attempts in Delft style with the felt pen look good, you managed to handle the pen which is not dedicated for small work like this quite well. But of course your progressed method with tiny brushes and porcelain paint lead to stunning results. Very inspirational - I'm looking forward to see more.

    Greetings
    Birgit

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    1. Dear Birgit, I am glad that you like it. And what is late? better late than never, right? :-) Your comment is just as welcome as it would have been the first day. In two weeks time I have a new Workshop to paint porcelain by Cocky Wildschut. Hopefully I can show you some nice results afterwards.

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  11. Beste, ik vind de beschilderde eierdopjes schitterend. Ikzelf ben hobby-pottendraaister en sinds kort draai ik vooral porseleinen minipotjes, kannetjes, tasjes, vaasjes... Indien ik u ooit eens kan helpen met zoiets voor in je poppenhuis, wil ik dat met veel plezier voor een prikje doen (biscuitbak en dan kan u dat zelf beschilderen.) Vriendelijke groeten, Anne-Mie

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    1. Beste Anne-Mie, dank u wel voor uw compliment. Wat leuk dat u miniature biscuit maakt. Ik ben zeker benieuwd naar uw werk. Hoe kan ik het vinden, of met u in contact komen?
      Vriendelijke groet,

      Huibrecht

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  12. Wouw! geweldig mooi, knap werk.

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  13. Dank je wel een welkom Linda. En welkom terug in de blog wereld! Er komt meer aan, dat kan ik beethoven. :-)

    Huibrecht

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  14. Het doet mij deugd dat je ze mooi vindt. En welkom op mijn blog, Gonda.

    Huibrecht

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