Latest Inspiration

I would love to work in this place.




Recently I went to the Legion of Honor for inspiration and luckily discovered the English porcelain room. Tiny hand painted moths and insects along with the fable stories were done so delicately on the translucent white porcelain that it made my heart race. This reminded me that I own a beautiful book (all in German) on the Nymphenburg Porzellen Factory so I went back to it and looked with new eyes...which led to my going to the Nymphenburg website to learn more about the collaborations they have done with contemporary artists. I already knew about and love the Ted Meuhling pieces and I learned about a project they did with a couple of Dutch artists (Kram/Weisshaar) called 'My Private Sky' which is extraordinary. Sick really. You tell them your birthday and the exact time you were born and they hand paint the corresponding constellations onto a set of porcelain dishes. It is so beautiful it is crazy.

They have been making figurines like this since the 1700's at the Nymphengurger factory.

The amazing thing about the Nymphenburg factory is not just that it is powered by a water wheel or that it has been in business since the 1700's, but it is that the artists learn everything from the masters before them, verbally. SoIt may take years before they are allowed to make a certain dish because the knowledge of the colors and design are so involved.They do not use templates. So when you see one of those Ted Meuhling plates with a single butterfly on it and wonder why it is so expensive... stop and look really close, really close--it isn't a decal. I find this so amazing that places like this exsist and that people still care enough about truly doing what it takes to learn and exucute their craft on this level.