Porcelain Artists of      

                      North Central Florida  

is a not for profit organization of artists from Gainesville, Ocala and surrounding areas of north central Florida.  The organization was founded in 1987 and is affiliated with the Florida State Association of Porcelain Artists.

Our purpose is to promote porcelain art in our community and our state.  We also strive to improve our knowledge and skill in this medium.

We welcome all levels of painters to our group!            

Porcelain art, also called china painting or overglaze painting, is a method of applying special metal-based paints to the white glazed surface of porcelain.  After painting, the porcelain piece is fired in a kiln that fuses the paint with the glaze and makes the painting permanent.  To achieve desired effects, pieces are often painted and fired several times.  Precious metals, such as gold, platinum, or silver may also be used to embellish the work. 

The Tang Dynasty (619-906 AD) was known as China's Golden Age.  It was during this period that a technique was developed to allow the firing of a fine -grained clay now known as porcelain.  The secrets for making porcelain were well guarded and not know outside of China for more than a thousand years.  Overglaze enamel painting was first developed during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD).  This type of porcelain was highly prized throughout the world.

Porcelain painting was extremely popular with both professional and amateur artists in the United States from about 1860 until World War II, when the inability to obtain the supplies needed for this art form led to its near extinction. Today supplies are available from all over the world and there has been a resurgence of interest in porcelain art.   Artists are bringing new ideas, viewpoints, and techniques into this art form.  Building on painting traditions of the past, many new and exciting works of porcelain art are being created.  In addition, techniques developed for painting on porcelain are being used on ceramic, tile, and china products as well. 

We hope that you will find this interesting and if you would like more information please contact us at Porcelainartistsofnorthcentralflorida@groups.msn.com .