What Does Tisha Know About Porcelain?
1979 is the year I started making porcelain dolls, using Bell slip which was the easiest slip find.
I immediately involved my mother who is an accomplished seamstress, we purchased a small kiln and we were on our way.
We learned almost everything by trial and error, I didn’t have anyone telling me, “that won’t work,” or, “you can’t do that!”
Our first love is creating a finished product. So, T & D Porcelain Dolls and Supplies was born, "T" is Tisha, and "D" is my
mother Della.
In the early 1980’s I was employed by Jan Hagara to do various odd jobs, mostly hand work and product development
with her doll line, including painting of several porcelain doll prototypes, managing a cold cast factory and design
work on accessories for her dolls. In 1989, on a joint venture for Jan Hagara and the Danbury Mint, I was sent to
Taiwan to oversee the production of four dolls. This is where I first saw the use of brushes and water to clean
porcelain greenware. The porcelain hobby industry cleaned dry up to this point. Once I returned home, I began
working on a technique, using type specific brushes and water, which would be effective for porcelain hobbyists to
clean their greenware.
After using the brushes and water for ten years I wrote an article in April, 1998 for the “Doll Crafter” outlining
my technique for cleaning greenware that they entitled “The Six Minute Greenware Cleaning Technique.”
A second article was published in June, 2000. T.I.B's, Tisha’s Incredible Brushes was born. I began traveling
all over the United States and Canada to teach this method and sell the necessary brushes. I was hired to teach
by such industry greats as: Dianna Effner, Phyllis Parkins of Collectible Doll Company, Jan Hagara, Connie Walsh Derrek,
Linda Floyd of Dolls Your Way, Mary Van Osdell, and many others.
The T.I.B's Technique has been used on the following porcelain slips with no change in the excellent results:
Bell, Gold Marque, Seeley, Regal, Zip, Colorific, Kause, and Siramic. This technique is 20 years old and an industry
standard. I continue to make a finished product so I have a prospective that allows me to see the industry from both sides,
the doll artists that create a finished product and the suppliers for those artists. I teach three classes a week on all
aspects of doll and porcelain production. We only have one hard rule in our studio, greenware is always cleaned with the T.I.B's
Technique
