Vaillancourt Chalkware

What is chalkware? During the 19th century, chalkware was sculpted gypsum painted effortlessly with watercolors. Because most was sold by carnival vendors, it was considered the “poor man’s porcelain.” But, as described in the Vaillancourt Story, Judi, an artist and Christmas historian, received three antique chocolate moulds and decided to recreate the 19th century art form by creating the first commercial use of contemporary chalkware figures using the historical chocolate molds to shape her new 3-dimensional canvas with a liquid chalk.

This catalog collection, all hand painted in Sutton, Massachusetts, represents nearly 3,000 designs that Judi has painstakingly painted since founding Vaillancourt Folk Art in 1984. Unlike the historic medium that’s found in museums around the globe, this contemporary chalkware truly is fine art quality.