Daisy J. Muff

The primary goal of my work is to keep alive the traditional art of China Painting as it is practiced in my country of origin – Switzerland.

I begin my work on plain, white, glazed porcelain.  The intended design is sketched upon the piece.  Painting is done with a mixture of powdered minerals, quartz and oils.  When gold is required, 24-karat liquid gold is used.  Painting is done free-hand.  One or several firings at temperatures of around 1500○ F are required to fuse the paint into the glaze.  Polishing of the gold is done with an extremely fine sand and water.

My designs include the traditional historic patterns of Nyon, Switzerland from the 18th century, as well as, French and other European designs.  I learned the art of painting Nyon designs from an old teacher in Lausanne, Switzerland some 40 years ago and have been studying and painting ever since.  I am happy to be able to keep alive the tradition in the United States where I have found a great interest among students eager to learn the technique and collectors who enjoy the uniqueness of the designs.

I also create my own designs.  In recent years, I have created porcelain objects with the technique of raised paste enamel and gold inspired by the Faberge eggs and similar Russian art objects.