Porcelain Garden

Irvine, CA

Artist's Statement

The Porcelain Garden was created in 1982 when  Liesa Smith and I ( Marty Kubicki) merged our creative talents.

Our first creations were functional household ceramics, with sculpted flower decorations; hence the name  The Porcelain Garden. During the early 1980s, we started carving in translucent porcelain, and enjoyed the direction that our work was taking us.

Then, one day we were introduced to Lithophanes by a collector. We had never seen such amazing work done in porcelain before!  We recognized that this wonderful art form had nearly disappeared, and only a few people were still familiar with it. We recognized the potential appeal that these beautiful artworks had, so we set out to reintroduce Lithophanes to the world; and that we did! We originated the concept of Lithophanes as nightlights, at a time when few artists were making tasteful and artistic nightlights. Nightlights are still to this day the most popular form of our Lithophanes.

After Mrs. Smith’s departure, I continued refining and developing my skills in designing and creating what are now recognized as the finest and most intricately detailed Lithophanes in the United States. I pioneered the technique of coloring lithophanes from the back side. I then broadened the reach and style of Lithophanes from the original Victorian era images, to more modern images to appeal to today's tastes. I hope to continue expanding the scope and reach of our lithophanes, and welcome your input and comments.