Gail Mewes has been a professional artist for over 30 years. Early in her career, she worked for companies like Boeing, General Electric and John Deere where she designed logos and created computer graphics for print, software and the web. More recently Gail has concentrated her art talent on designing and painting on china.

"The thing I love the most about china painting is that it endures," Gail says. "A beautiful piece of porcelain or china art is timeless and can be handed down through several generations." Thus in early 2000, Gail began designing and painting porcelain bathroom sinks in earnest. At first she painted and cured the sinks in the traditional way by firing them at high temperatures in a kiln over several hours.

"However, as I heard more and more about global warming and learned about the individual 'footprints' we are all responsible for, I grew increasingly dismayed that my artwork was having a negative impact on our environment," she says. When porcelain (vitreous china) sinks are painted with china paints and then fired in the traditional way, the kiln consumes 15 to 30 (or more) killowatt hours for each and every design at temperatures up to 1400 degrees Fahrenheit. "I grew more and more determined to find a better, more enviro-friendly way, to set my artwork permanently on the sinks."

The Gail Design Technique...

"I read about an enameling technique that originated in France which combines a glass-like hardened enamel with a brilliant epoxy binder and a lower-temperature curing process." The method, though time-consuming and complicated (it requires many steps to achieve perfect results), has been used successfully over the centuries to create beautiful and colorful designs on fine dinnerware, porcelain tea sets, and other fine china pieces. Many months of experimentation followed.

"There was a lot of trial and error," Gail admits. "It was very frustrating. If one technique produced brilliant colors, it still might fail in the curing process. Or, if the curing process produced a permanent design, the colors might not measure up to my standards."

Eventually Gail perfected the technique which she uses today. The technique, which Gail Design hopes to patent, is durable, tough and permanent and produces a beautiful glossy design with a slightly raised appearance that almost resembles Italian Renaissance maiolica or English Victorian majolica.

Istoriato decor on a plate from Castel Durante, c 1550-1570 (Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lille)

"My customers love the sinks because the designs are beautiful and easy to clean," Gail says. "But best of all, I know my artwork doesn't harm our environment or further strain our energy resources, and that is something I'm very proud of."