Methods of Decoration
CHAPTER IV
METHODS OF DECORATION
The more simple and strong pottery designs are, the better. Those that are intricate, no matter how beautiful, are out of place on the big, substantial forms; while delicate traceries are lost under the glaze. Here, as in basketry, we can learn much from the work of primitive peoples.
In applying such designs, simple methods, too, are best—incising, building up the outline so that the design shall be raised above the background, cutting away the background to leave the design in low relief, and piercing. These are good processes, easy to learn, and effective in result.
In starting, suppose we decorate a wheel-made piece—a low dish for candy, with a built-up design of rings.
Dish for Candy with Ring Design
Materials required:
A wheel-made dish or bowl,
Ultramarine blue water-colour paint,
A small water-colour paint-brush with a fine point,
A saucer of ground, baked clay, mixed with water,
A pitcher of water.
The low bowl shown in the plate is not difficult to mould on the wheel. After it has become bone dry—as it will in three or four days—it will be safe to decorate it in this way. Be careful, in handling the piece, not to grasp it by the edge, which, in all unbaked pottery, but especially in that that is bone dry, is the most fragile part. It should be held in the hollow of the left hand, while the right does the work. Have ready some ultramarine blue water-colour paint mixed with water in a cup, a small paint-brush tapering to a fine point, and a saucer in which is some baked or biscuit clay, pale yellow in colour, ground fine and mixed with water to the consistency of thick cream. A jug of water nearby is also necessary, to thin the clay mixture when it stiffens.
The design chosen is one large and two small rings, alternating around the bowl near the top (see Fig. 20). First measure the circumference of the top of the bowl. Divide it into fifths and mark the divisions with the paint-brush and blue paint. Starting a quarter of an inch below one of these marks, draw a small ring, about half an inch in diameter, with the blue paint. Should you make a mistake, the paint will erase easily after it is dry.
Half an inch below the first ring another is drawn. One of these groups of two small rings is made below each of the five marks around the top of the bowl. Then starting half an inch below the top of the bowl, and midway between two groups, draw a larger ring about an inch in diameter. One of these rings is outlined in the same way in each of the five spaces. When the design is perfected and the paint dry, dilute a little of the baked clay in the saucer to the consistency of thin cream, and with it and the brush, thoroughly cleansed from blue paint, trace the outlines of the decoration. Use a full brush, and make the lines as uniform as possible in width and thickness. There should be four or more coats of this material applied in order to build up the design sufficiently, but only the first one is thin. This is so that it shall cling to the clay underneath. The next and subsequent coats are made with a thicker consistency of the creamy mixture, which must, however, be thin enough to flow freely from the brush. Do not add a coat until the one underneath is thoroughly dry.
The piece is now ready for glazing.
A pale-green glaze may be used (see Chapter V.).
Incising is an absolutely simple process, which gives a charming effect. Examples of this method of decoration are shown in the fruit-bowl with a garland of orange leaves just below the rim on the inside (see plate and Fig. 25), and the smaller bowl with a maple-seed design (see plate and Fig. 21). Incising also helps the pierced design on the rose-bowl described in Chapter VII.
To Decorate a Small Bowl with Incised Design of Maple Seeds
Materials required:
A small wheel-made bowl,
A pointed steel tool,
A pointed boxwood tool,
A boxwood tool with curved point.
The bowl, a low one, is made on the wheel according to the directions in Chapter III. After it has dried for a day, it may be decorated with an incised design.
Suppose we choose for this a winged maple-seed, the simple outlines of which any one can draw. From tip to tip of the wings should measure at least an inch and three-quarters. If the bowl is small, not more than four and a half inches in diameter at the top, six seeds should be made at equal distances around it. First measure the circumference of the top of the bowl. Divide it into sixths, and with a pencil mark off as many divisions on the edge of the bowl.
The design, which is drawn so that the seed portion is down and the little wings turn up, is first outlined in pencil near the top of the bowl. Begin by drawing the seed part, which should be about an inch below a pencil-mark on the edge. With a boxwood point deepen the line, and then make the incision still deeper, using the wooden tool with a curved point. Take care not to make a double line in deepening the first outline; it should be a clean, firm line, with a bevelled edge. Avoid cutting under the edge, as the glaze will not run smoothly over it.
If the piece is too dry to admit of incising with a wooden tool, use a pointed steel tool at first and finish with a wooden one. Certain parts of the design should be accented by deepening the line—for example, the rounded seed portion, particularly where it joins the wings.
This bowl may be finished with a pale-green mat-glaze (see Chapter V.) or with a soft brown one.
A decoration that is left in low relief by cutting away the background is admirable for some pieces. The moth design on the rose-bowl in Chapter VI. is made in this way. The design is first drawn on the piece in pencil. Next it is outlined with firm, sure strokes, using a pointed steel tool, and taking great care not to cut under the edge of the outline, but bevel it, as in other processes. Go over the whole outline of the design again with a boxwood point, making the lines deeper. Then start close to the edge of the outline with the steel tool, which has a flat point, and scrape away from it, cutting as deep as the outline, close to the design, and sloping gradually up to nothing at about half an inch from it. Certain parts of the design may be emphasised by cutting the outline somewhat deeper at those points. Be sure to cut away enough clay about the design to leave it in decided relief, for the glaze softens the edges, and makes them too indefinite if they are not firm and clear in the beginning.
Pierced decorations are particularly good on pottery. Such simple designs as those in Figs. 22, 23, and 24 will be found the most satisfactory.
In planning a pierced decoration for the top of a piece, take care not to start it too close to the rim; three-quarters of an inch or more should be left between the edge and the decoration, otherwise the piercing will weaken the piece.
Outline the design first in pencil, then with firm, clear strokes follow the line with the pointed steel tool. The line is traced a second time still more deeply. All the clay within the outlines is cut out as far as the incision has been made, and then the sharp point of the tool is run through the wall close to the line. While the clay is being cut away with the right hand, the left supports the inner wall of the piece.
When the whole design has been pierced, moisten the finger with water and soften the edges of the decoration, that the glaze may flow freely over it. Decorations in high relief are made as follows: Small lumps of clay, as nearly as possible the consistency of the piece of pottery, are applied to the portions which are to be decorated, and which have previously been criss-crossed with a steel tool, and wet with slip. The design is then moulded with the hands and wooden modelling tools, working the edges close on to the surface of the piece.
The Glaze and How to Apply It
CHAPTER V
THE GLAZE AND HOW TO APPLY IT
Clay that is simply baked, without a glazed coating, will not hold water perfectly.
One can imagine what a blow it must have been to the early potter when he found that this was the case. Some say that he used wax at first to close the pores of his pottery, and later—perhaps by the overheating of a kiln—glazed pottery was discovered. Pottery that is soft will develop a semi-glazed surface when overfired, and it is probable that some such accident suggested the use of the glaze.
The first glaze was doubtless a pure silicate of soda. Oxide of lead added to this made it more fusible, but it was not as hard or durable.
What is known as biscuit is baked clay porous and without gloss—for example, a flower-pot.
Glossy pottery has a very thin layer of glaze upon it. The Samian ware of the Greeks furnishes examples of this finish. Glazed pottery is covered with a perceptible coating of glass.
Enamelled ware, or pottery with a mat-glaze, has a glazed coating made opaque with oxide of tin. This finish is used on some of the most beautiful art pottery. Glazes may be coloured with certain metallic oxides without losing their transparency.
One is often confused by hearing the terms enamel and glaze carelessly used. Enamel should be used to describe a vitreous coating that is opaque, and glaze a glossy, transparent surface—both may be coloured. The term mat-glaze is an exception to this rule. This means an opaque glaze with a glossy finish.
The materials of which glazes are composed are about the same as those that enter into the composition of clays with a few additions. There is in glazes, as in clays, the play of soft and hard materials, or the flux and frit. Flint, aluminum, or china clay forms the frit or hard, refractory portion; potash, soda, lead or borax the melting part or flux. The addition of clays gives durability.
In preparing the flux, it is melted like glass and then crushed to powder. The frit must first be melted, then dropped from the crucible into water before it can be powdered.
The making of glazes is not often done by amateurs, and unless one is planning to start pottery-making as a business, and requires large quantities of glazes, it is best to buy them from a reliable dealer. They come in the form of powder—soft glaze, hard glaze, and stannifère, which is a hard glaze with some oxide of tin added, to make it opaque. The soft glazes are used on ware which fires at a low heat, and is therefore not durable. A large proportion of hard glaze must be added to make the preparation applicable to a pottery which is fired at an intense heat, while if one wishes a mat-glaze the stannifère is also used.
The colouring materials may be bought of the same dealer. They are as follows: Antimony for yellow, cobalt for blue, copper for green, chrome for green, manganese for brown, and iron for brown. Red oxide of iron colours a purplish red, and carbonate of copper makes a gray green that is very beautiful. A ground glass or stone slab, on which to mix the glaze, and a palette knife, will be required; also a small quantity of gum-arabic and of gum tragacanth, a small teacup, and a measuring-glass. These, with two or three soft paint-brushes of various sizes—one that is an inch wide, one smaller, and another larger—will be enough of an outfit to start with.
The gum-arabic should be dissolved in water to the consistency of honey. It is used in the first coat of glaze to bind the glaze and prevent it from rubbing off. Quite a little of it may be prepared at a time and kept in a covered glass jar until needed. The gum tragacanth is bought in small quantities—five cents’ worth at a time. Cover this amount with one pint of water and let it stand over night. In the morning, strain it through a fine sieve and put it away in a glass jar till it is needed.
If possible, very large pieces of pottery should be fired before they are glazed—in the biscuit, as it is called. Small and medium-sized pieces may be glazed on the green clay—the term by which unbaked clay is known among potters. The piece should have dried thoroughly for several days, until it is light gray in colour, and what is known as bone dry. It is decorated, if decoration is required, and then glazed. All vessels that are used to hold or measure glaze should first be dipped in water to prevent waste from the glaze clinging to them. The hands should be washed thoroughly after working with glazes, as some of the materials used are poisonous.
For the inside of most pieces a transparent glaze is used, whether the outer glaze is to be transparent or opaque.
All of the odds and ends of transparent glaze, no matter what the colour, that are left after each glazing, are poured into a large bowl or other vessel which is kept for the purpose. The mixture of all colours in this combination of glazes makes a neutral tint which harmonizes most agreeably with the outer glaze, whatever its colour.
It is applied as follows:
To Glaze the Inside of a Piece of Pottery
Take a small cupful of transparent glaze, and, holding the piece of pottery over the large vessel containing the liquid, pour the cupful of glaze into it, rolling it around the inside of the piece quickly but carefully, so as to have it cover the entire inner surface. Then turn the piece deftly and suddenly bottom up, so as to empty it into the large vessel without letting any of it drip over onto the outside of the piece. Should this happen, by accident, rub it quickly off with the fingers.
The Outside Glaze and How to Apply It
The most satisfactory finish for the outside of fine pottery is a mat or opaque glaze in any soft dull shade of green, brown, blue, yellow, or the red obtainable with red oxide of iron. For an art pottery, composed of fire-and blue-clay, which requires a strong heat, the following glaze is applicable:
Gray-Green Mat-Glaze
Mix
1 tablespoonful of soft glaze,
½ tablespoonful of stannifère, and
½ tablespoonful of China clay,
together on a stone or glass slab with a palette knife, adding ¼ teaspoonful of gum-arabic and enough water to make the consistency a little thicker than thick cream. About ¼ teaspoonful of carbonate of copper added to this mixture (and ground thoroughly into it with the palette knife) will make a light gray-green. For deeper shades increase the quantity slightly. The tint appears much lighter than it will when fired; indeed, in the colouring of glazes, as in painting on china, the worker needs a great deal of faith, for until the magic of the kiln brings out the colours one would never guess what they were to be.
In applying the glaze, place your piece bottom up on a table, or other flat surface. Dip a soft, flat paint-brush into the bowl of glaze, and beginning with the bottom, paint it on in short strokes in every direction—what an artist would call cross-hatching—and overlapping slightly like the shingles on a house. The bottom receives but one coat of glaze, as it is liable to stick in firing and be uneven if it has more than one. Next start at the sides, near the bottom (as the piece stands upside down), and paint down for an inch or two all around. The piece is then set right side up, providing, of course, that the bottom is dry, which it will be undoubtedly, and the rest of it is glazed. From time to time stir up the glaze from the bottom, that it may be thoroughly mixed.
The edge especially should be carefully covered, and the outer glaze may even be brought over inside the piece a little. Before applying the second and third coats (for the piece receives three) two teaspoonfuls of gum tragacanth, well mixed according to directions, are added to the glaze. In putting on the second coat, the piece is again placed upside down on the table, and beginning where the sides join the bottom, the glaze is applied as before. The sides and top edge only are glazed this time. The third coat, which is put on when the second is dry, is begun at the top edge, covering it well, and is ended gradually and unevenly half way down the sides.
Pale-green Mat-Glaze
To make a lighter shade of green, with just a hint of yellow to soften it, add to half the quantity of the glaze first mixed as much again of the uncoloured glaze and a slight sprinkling of yellow.
It will be seen from these directions how much the colouring of glazes is like the blending of pigments for a picture. It is a delightful field for experiment, and the element of chance is supplied by the kiln, which often does unexpected and interesting things to one’s colours and glazes—leaving here, a touch of brown about the rim to relieve an expanse of green; there, a metallic tinge almost like lustre; and again the biscuit peeps through the glaze, giving a warmer tone to the edge of a decoration.
In mixing the glaze for a piece that has been fired in the biscuit, make it a little thicker than that for use on the green clay—about the consistency of whipped cream. It is applied somewhat differently, too. A potter would tell you to "rag it on"—that is, put it on with firm, short strokes, using the ends of the hairs of the brush instead of the flat part. Let each coat dry well before the next is applied. Three or four coats will be necessary, except for the bottom, which receives but one. After the first coat, gum tragacanth is added, as in glazing on green clay. The fourth coat need not entirely cover the piece, but the top should be carefully glazed. If for any reason the pottery has to be re-fired, it should be reglazed, but two coats only will be necessary, and the glaze need not be quite so heavy as that used on the biscuit. Do not be discouraged if your pieces need a second or even a third firing, for often the most beautiful results are obtained by re-firing. Quality—that combination of richness, and depth of colour and texture—rarely comes with the first firing.
Pottery for Beauty and Use
CHAPTER VI
POTTERY FOR BEAUTY AND USE
When one thinks of the limitless possibilities of pottery in household decoration—the great dishes for flowers and fruit, the lamp-bowls, candlesticks, and tiles—one may make, one can hardly wait to begin. Now is the chance to work out a long-treasured idea for a match-bowl, or a plant-jar to hang against the wall or window frame. Now one can show the superiority of one’s conceptions over the stupid things in shops! Let us hasten to get out the clay and begin.
Dark-Green Fruit-Bowl
Materials required:
About 4½ pounds of clay,
A plaster mould for a bowl, 10 or 11 inches in diameter at the top,
The oval tools of sheet steel,
The wooden modelling tools,
The pointed steel tool,
A flint bag,
A rolling-pin,
A bowl of slip,
A small sponge.
Take a good lump of clay, about four and a half pounds, well worked and free from air-bubbles. Beat out a piece with the flat of the hand on a table until it is about three-quarters of an inch thick and more than large enough to cover the bottom of the plaster mould you have chosen. It should be of even thickness, and may be rolled with a rolling-pin to make it smooth. Be sure that the plaster mould is clean and free from scraps of clay. Then dust it with powdered flint tied up in a cotton cloth. Now fit the flat piece of clay carefully into the bottom of the bowl mould, pressing it firmly, but lightly, against it. Cut the edge evenly around. Next a long rope of clay is rolled as described in Chapter II. It should be an inch in diameter, and long enough to go around the bowl just above the bottom. Pat it flat and even, and cut one end into a long point. After cross-cutting the edge of the bottom piece (to insure its holding firmly to the coil above), brush it with slip and lay the coil along, pressing it firmly on to the edge of the bottom piece. Work the edges of this piece and the coil together with firm, short strokes of the flat part of the thumb or forefinger nail. Where the coil joins the other end it is cut into a long, flat point that will fit exactly the point at the beginning, completing the row.
WHERE USE AND BEAUTY ARE COMBINED
For the next coil no cross-cutting with the tool is necessary, but otherwise the process is the same in joining this and subsequent coils. Care should be taken to press the clay firmly against the walls of the mould, as well as upon the coil below. When the inside of the mould is covered, if a deeper bowl is desired, add one or two more coils above the edge, taking care to have them slope in such a way as to continue the lines of the bowl. It is then set away to harden. The next day the clay will have dried and shrunk sufficiently to come easily away from the plaster. The bowl is then placed bottom up on a table or flat slab, and the hollows left between the coils on the outside are wet with slip and filled in evenly, with clay of the consistency of that in the piece. This will take time and care. The bowl is then allowed to dry for an hour or two. Next it is carefully scraped and made even; first with the oval steel tool with a saw edge, held at right angles with the bowl and curved to fit the form: this is to get the large bumps off. It is then carefully evened off with the smooth-edged oval tool bent to fit the curves of the bowl. The inside is made smooth and even in the same way, brushing any deep hollows with slip and filling them in with clay. This process should be carefully and conscientiously done, so that the walls of the bowl, as one feels them between finger and thumb, are even and free from lumps. They should not be more than a quarter of an inch thick.
A damp sponge is then passed over the bowl, and the fingers and thumb smooth and polish it outside and in. The edge is trimmed as evenly as possible by eye with a steel tool and then bevelled as follows:
On a large slab of ground glass pour a little water, which should be spread over the glass till it is thoroughly wet. Now, holding the bowl bottom up, firmly with both hands, press its edge quickly and with a circular motion flat on the glass. It must be done so rapidly and deftly that it will not stick, but makes the edge even and true. Slip it off at the side of the slab instead of lifting it up from the centre. The bottom is finished as described in Chapter II. If this is done in the morning, the bowl will be ready for the decoration in the afternoon. This is a band of orange leaves (see [Fig. 25]), deeply incised near the top of the bowl on the inside (see Chapter IV.). More character will be given to the design if the line is broad and deep, particularly at the points of the leaves, which are thus emphasised. This piece being so large, should, if possible, be fired in the biscuit and then finished, inside and out, with a dark-green mat-glaze (see Chapter V.), and fired again.
Candlestick, Thumb Design
Materials required:
About 1¼ pounds of clay,
The boxwood modelling tools,
The pointed steel tool,
A plaster slab,
A small sponge.
This sturdy little candlestick shows that it is hand moulded by the marks of the potter’s thumb on base, handle and candle cup. The square base is moulded from a single large piece of clay. This is patted flat and even with the thick part of the hand, and then cut square and the sides turned up for about an inch, making the base about five inches square and three-eighths of an inch thick. It is then placed on a plaster slab, and the corners are pressed in with a firmly held thumb. The sides of the square base are moulded into a gradual inward curve, and the corners are slightly depressed (see plate). A cup for the candle (see [Fig. 26]) is made by rolling a piece of clay into cylindrical form, about an inch and three-quarters in diameter and two inches and a quarter long. At the top of this roll, the finger makes a hollow for the candle. It should be remembered that the clay shrinks both in drying and firing, so this hole should be a trifle large and deep for the candle. The sides of the cup, at about an inch from the top, are squared and pressed in so that the four corners will stand out like columns. The hollowed sides between the corners show the mark of the thumb (see [Fig. 26]). The centre of the base is now wet with thick slip and the candle cup pressed firmly on to it, while the edges are moulded closely on to the base.
A piece of clay is then rolled and flattened into a handle an inch in diameter and five inches long. This is put on at one corner of the base, and is not attached at any other point. Before moulding it on to the base, touch the corner lightly with thick slip, to insure its holding. Where the handle joins the base it is made thick and substantial by adding a little extra clay. The print of the thumb is made where the handle joins the corner, another is pressed on the top, and another still on the end of the handle (see plate and Fig. 27). To support the handle until it dries, roll a ball of soft paper under it. After the candlestick has stood for a few hours out-of-doors or indoors overnight, it is carefully trimmed with one of the wooden tools or the sharp-pointed metal one, taking care to leave sufficient thickness to give it a sturdy, substantial character, yet not enough to make it clumsy. It is then rubbed over with a damp sponge and polished with the thumb and finger, which will smooth away any lumps and give the piece a hand-moulded look. Should there be any very deep hollows to make it uneven, they should be wet with slip very slightly and filled in with clay as nearly the consistency of that in the candlestick as possible. When it is bone dry, it will be ready for the glaze (see Chapter V.).
Bowl for a Lamp
Materials required:
About 3½ pounds of clay,
A plaster mould for a bowl,
The wooden modelling tools,
The oval sheet steel tools,
The pointed steel tool,
A rolling-pin,
A flint bag,
A small sponge.
Having chosen a good mould for your bowl, brush it inside with ground flint tied in a cotton cloth, so that the clay will not stick to it. Now beat out a piece of well-worked clay on a board, with the flat of the hand, until it is perhaps two inches more in diameter than the bottom of the mould, and half an inch thick. It should be rolled smooth with the rolling-pin. Lay it in the mould, pressing it firmly against the bottom and sides. It may not be out of place here to say that no tool but a wooden one should be used in working in moulds, as metal tools are liable to injure the plaster. The edge of the bottom piece is next cut even with a wooden modelling tool, and a lump of clay is formed into a rude cube shape between the hands and then rolled out on a table or board with the flat of the hand till about three-quarters of an inch in diameter. This roll of clay is flattened evenly for its whole length. The top edge of the bottom piece is marked with criss-cross lines and wet with slip. The roll of clay is then started on edge, along the top of the bottom piece, pressed firmly down upon it and against the sides of the mould. It is joined to the bottom with firm, even strokes of the thumb or forefinger nail. When the circuit has been made, the two ends, each cut in a long, flat point, so that they will unite perfectly, are joined. Another roll is now made, the upper edge of the previous coil is wet with slip, and the coil is attached in the same way, being careful to start at a different place from where the previous coil was joined. Thus the whole bowl is built up. Where there are any decided hollows made by joining the coils, they should be filled in with clay of the consistency of the piece, and the bottom and sides smoothed with dampened finger or modelling tool. If a moderately deep mould has been chosen, after the sides are covered with layers of clay, four or more coils may be added above the mould to make a deeper bowl, continuing the sides in a graceful line. To do this, when the first coil above the mould has been attached, the bowl is set away, out of doors for fifteen or twenty minutes if it is in summer or indoors for a longer time if one is working in the winter. Whenever two coils have been built up, the piece is set away to harden. These coils, being free from the mould, can be joined on the outside as well as within. They are brought gradually in (see plate) until there is a space five and a half inches in diameter at the top. If a central-draught lamp is to be used in this bowl, a pierced design will be practical, as it does away with the necessity for a hole at the bottom of the bowl. There is much to be done, however, before the piece is ready for the design. When it has stood for four or five hours or overnight, the bowl can be lifted from the mould, the cracks on the outside where it was impossible to join the coils are wet with slip and filled in with clay of the consistency of the bowl, using the finger or a wooden tool. When the bowl is quite dry, it is smoothed inside and out, first with the oval tool with saw teeth, and then with the smooth-edged one, as described on page 19. The strokes with these tools should be short and firm, in every direction. The piece is then turned bottom up, a circle is drawn half an inch in from the edge of the bottom, and the clay within it scraped out, so as to leave a flat surface slightly lower than the outer rim. This is where the potter cuts his mark—a simple, quickly made initial in lieu of a signature.
The top edge, after it has been cut as true as possible by eye, is made absolutely even by the method described on page 70. The whole piece is then rubbed with a damp sponge and smoothed and polished with the fingers. It is now ready for the design (see [Fig. 28]).
The top edge of the bowl is marked off into fifths, and at three-quarters of an inch from the top the design is drawn with pencil, so that each time it is repeated the centre shall be directly below a mark on the edge. It is first incised with a metal tool, in firm, sure lines. Again the outline is traced, this time more deeply. Then the clay within the lines is cut out as deep as it has been incised, and finally the sharp edge of the tool cuts through the wall, close to the line. The left hand should support the inner wall of the bowl during this process. When the whole design has been made, dip the finger in water and soften the edges of the cut portion. The bowl is now ready for glazing. If possible, it will be better to fire such a large piece as this in the biscuit before glazing. It will look well if glazed with gray blue or dark green (see Chapter V.).
Wall Jar for Plants or Flowers
Materials required:
About 4½ pounds of well-mixed clay,
A plaster slab about 10 by 12 inches,
The oval tools of sheet steel,
The pointed steel tool,
A rolling-pin,
Ultramarine blue water-colour paint,
A medium-sized paint-brush with fine point,
A saucerful of ground, baked clay, mixed with water.
An Indian water-jar of basketry, smeared with pinon gum, pointed at the bottom so that it could be set upright in the ground or hung by leather thongs to a tree, suggested the form of this jar. One side is made flat, so that it can hang against the wall of library or piazza holding some long trailing plant that grows in water, ivy, or wandering Jew, or wild flowers gathered on a walk through woods and lanes. What more appropriate way to make it than the Indian process described in Chapter II.? We shall need about four and a half pounds of clay, well mixed. A large lump, almost two pounds, is flattened out on a table, with the thick part of the hand and then made even with the rolling-pin. The sheet of clay should be ten by twelve inches, and not less than three-eighths of an inch thick. Upon it the jar form shown in Fig. 29 is outlined with a pencil, making it as large as possible to allow for shrinkage. It is then cut out with the pointed steel tool and transferred very carefully to a large plaster slab, where it remains while the walls are being built upon it. A coil of clay is rolled out, as described in Chapter II., and beginning at the left side of the jar shape, at the top, it is attached to the edge (which has previously been criss-crossed with a steel tool and wet with slip), all the way around to the opposite side of the top.
The jar is then put in the air until quite hard, when the next coil is added in the same way. The third coil is brought in a little toward the centre, and subsequent coils come in still more, so as to make the form that of a jar cut exactly in half. After each coil is attached, it should be left in the air to stiffen, or the clay beneath will not support the coil in progress, so great is the strain in forming such a shape. Each time a coil is added the wall below should be criss-crossed with the steel tool (an extra precaution) and wet with slip. Care should be taken not to make the walls too thick, and to join the coils and finish the inside as it is made; for, when the jar is completed, it is impossible to get the hand and tool in far enough to smooth and finish it well.
When the jar is made, except for a diamond-shaped gap in the middle of the front wall, the piece to fill it is cut and fitted in. It will lie almost parallel with the back wall. Take care to make it full large for the opening, and join it to the inner edges most carefully, for here, if anywhere, is the jar liable to crack. The top is now made even by eye, using the pointed steel tool.
The pale-green rose-bowl with a moth design, at the left, has beside it a low Dutch dish. On the right is a fruit-bowl with a deep-green mat-glaze.
At the left is a plaster mould, and beside it a rose-bowl which was partially formed within it. See chapter VII.
The lamp-bowl on the left has a gray-blue mat-glaze. Next to it is a candlestick, with the marks of the potter’s thumb on every part. The wall-jar in the background is for plants that grow in water. On the right is a flower candlestick in green and white.
When the jar is somewhat dry, two handles (see plate) are formed of rolls of clay (the consistency of that used in making the jar), five and a half inches long by an inch wide and half an inch thick. These are firmly attached to the back wall of the jar at the top (see plate), according to the method described on pages 39 and 40. The decoration (see [Fig. 30]) is drawn on the rounded front wall of the jar with ultramarine water-colour, and then built up with powdered burnt clay and water (see directions in Chapter IV.). If possible, this piece should be first fired in the biscuit. A glaze of dark gray green (see Chapter V.) will finish it most attractively.
Dutch Dish for Candy
Materials required:
About 1½ pounds of clay,
The wooden modelling tools,
The sharp-pointed steel tool,
A plaster tile,
A rolling-pin.
A quaint Dutch dish, brought from Holland years ago, was the model for this sturdy little piece of pottery. It may be used for candy or to hold a vase of flowers, or a potted plant, protecting a polished table. A lump of clay is rolled on a table with the hands and a rolling-pin to the thickness of half an inch. Upon this clay sheet a rectangle four and a quarter by four and a half inches is drawn with a pencil and cut out with the pointed steel tool. It is then transferred to a plaster tile.
To the edge of this rectangle a coil of clay is attached according to the directions in Chapter II., and flared slightly outward, taking care not to make the corners sharp, but rounded and even. After the first coil has stiffened, and the sides have been made somewhat uniform and thin, it is cut even by eye, curving the edge up gradually toward the middle of the sides and depressing it slightly at the corners.
A second coil is now added, but instead of attaching it to the top of the first one, it is joined just below the top and inside the first coil. When it has stiffened sufficiently in the air, the dish is smoothed carefully inside and out with the hand and the wooden modelling tools, making the walls even and thin and perfecting the shape.
The effect of legs is given by cutting under the sides, beginning half an inch above the bottom. If this is started three-quarters of an inch from the corners, it will leave a sturdy, short leg an inch and a half wide at each of the four corners of the dish.
A roll of clay about five and a half inches long, an inch wide, and three-eighths of an inch thick is made into a handle (see plate), which is attached at the middle of one of the sides of the dish. At the two points where it is to be joined, the side of the dish is criss-crossed with the steel tool and wet with slip.
The bottom is finished by drawing a square with a pencil, half an inch in from the edge, and depressing it within the square, so as to leave a flat, even surface. The potter’s mark is then made within this square.
A pale green mat-glaze (see Chapter V.) makes a charming finish for this piece.
Rose-Bowl with Moth Design
Materials required:
About 5 pounds of clay,
A rolling-pin,
The oval sheet-steel tools,
The pointed-steel tool,
The steel tool with a flat end,
A plaster tile.
This rose-bowl, which is shown in the plate, was built up without a pasteboard outline. If one’s eye is reasonably true this is not a difficult matter, but otherwise the outline process (see Chapter II.) may be followed.
A piece of clay is first patted flat with the hand, and then rolled out with the rolling-pin, until it is six inches square and about five-eighths of an inch thick. Upon this clay sheet a circle is marked, five inches in diameter, cut out and placed on a plaster tile. The edge is criss-crossed with a steel tool and wet with slip, and the first coil is attached (see Chapter II.).
Two coils are built up, and then they are pressed outward to form the beginning of the outline, shown in Fig 31. This outline was taken from the lower sweep of the wings of a lunar moth, and the same moth forms the relief design upon it (see Fig. 32).
The bowl is then put out-of-doors until the clay is sufficiently firm to support two more coils. These are added; flaring them to follow the outline, and then the bowl is put away to harden—in the air, if the temperature is not too cold, otherwise indoors. It is built up exactly as was the flower jar in Chapter II., except that there is no cardboard outline to test it; the eye alone is the guide. Great care should be taken not to add the coils until those below are quite stiff, for the decided flare makes it difficult to keep the sides firm and true in outline. The circumference of the bowl, at its widest part, should be about thirty inches. When it is finished, the sides within and without are smoothed, first with the saw-edged oval tool, then with the smooth one. The edge is cut as true as possible by eye, and made perfectly level by pressing it quickly and lightly on the ground-glass slab, wet with clear water, as already described. A damp sponge is then passed over the piece, inside and out, while the fingers rub and polish it dry.
The bottom is finished and the potter’s mark made as described in Chapter II.
When the bowl is thoroughly dry—say the following day—it is ready for the decoration.
Divide the circumference of the top of the bowl into fifths, with pencil marks, lightly made. Then draw the design upon it, so that the top of the upper wings shall be not less than an inch from the edge of the bowl. Make the moths as nearly life size as the bowl will allow. Three and a half inches across, from tip to tip of the upper wings, with spaces an inch and a half between them, will look well, if the bowl is large enough. Having drawn the design in pencil, outline it firmly with the sharp steel tool, taking care to bevel the edge of the design. Never cut under the edge, as the glaze will not flow well over it. Go over the outline, making it firm and deep, with a wooden point. Now, starting close to the edge of the moth, with the flat-pointed steel tool scrape away from it, so as to cut as deep as the outline, close to the design, and shave off to nothing at about half an inch from it. This will give a low relief effect, which is very attractive. The antennæ are incised (see Chapter IV.), and the markings of the moth may be built up with ground, baked clay, so as to heighten the relief. The bowl may be glazed a pale green with a slight yellow tinge (see Chapter V.) to suggest the colour of the moth. It should, however, if possible be fired first in the biscuit.
Flower Candlestick
Materials required:
About 1½ pounds of clay,
The wooden modelling tools,
A plaster tile.
A candlestick in flower form may be made in green and white, for a bedroom in a country house.
Five leaves, much the shape of poppy leaves, radiate from the centre, making a base from which the stem rises for three inches. A round, slightly flattened calyx, topped by a five-petalled flower, forms the cup for the candle. A sixth leaf, starting at the centre of the base, curls over until its tip rests sideways against the stem, serving the double purpose of a handle and a brace for the stem. The base should be modelled first, from a single piece of clay, placed on a plaster tile. Care should be taken to have it sufficiently thick—at least half an inch in most places. Although the leaves should be indicated, do not try to carry the leaf form way to the centre of the base. Let the irregular outline of the whole base, with an occasional raised tip, or edge of a leaf, suggest rather than imitate leaves. The leaf that forms the handle will, of course, be more carefully modelled. Now mould the stem, about an inch in diameter and three inches long, with the calyx on the end, an inch and three-quarters in diameter, and an inch high. After criss-crossing the middle of the base with the pointed-steel tool, wet it with slip and set the stem on the base, working the edges firmly on to it with the flat of the nail and wooden modelling tools. The leaf for the handle is brought over against the stem with a graceful turn, and there fastened with a touch of slip and some clay added underneath. Be careful to have the whole candlestick substantial, and not at all thin in construction, or it will suggest metal work rather than pottery.
After the candlestick has stiffened for a few hours, a five-petalled flower, three and three-quarter inches in diameter, is modelled and put on top of the calyx, which has first been criss-crossed and wet with slip. The cup for the candle is next hollowed out in the centre of the flower and calyx, raising the edge of the flower centre slightly above the surrounding petals. The candle cup should be a trifle larger than it will need to be when finished, as it shrinks somewhat in drying and firing, and the glaze, too, fills it up a little. Be sure, also, to have it deep enough to hold the candle.
The base, stem, and handle are finished with a gray green mat-glaze (see Chapter V.), while the petals are white—the uncoloured mat-glaze.
How to Make a Plaster Mould
CHAPTER VII
HOW TO MAKE A PLASTER MOULD
In building pieces of pottery whose walls have a decided flare, a plaster mould will be found most useful. Its sides support the coils of clay and enable the potter to form his piece much more rapidly and surely than he could by eye, or even with the cardboard outline.
It should, however, be used with judgment, rather as an aid in beginning a piece which is afterward finished by eye than as a mould in which pieces are duplicated. Turning out many pieces exactly alike savours of commercialism and does not develop the potter’s individuality. Several bowl-shaped moulds, varied in form and flare, if used as suggested, will be a great assistance to the potter. They are made quite easily, as follows:
A Bowl-shaped Mould of Plaster
Materials required:
6 or 8 pounds of clay, well mixed,
A bowl, or mould in bowl shape,
A dishpan full of plaster of paris,
A dishpan of water,
A bag of ground flint,
A piece of oilcloth 8 inches wide by 1¼ yards long,
2 clothes pins,
A stout cord or rope,
A wooden wedge,
A few drops of olive oil,
The wooden modelling tools,
The rectangular tool of sheet steel,
A large hoe-shaped tool,
A large kitchen spoon.
Having chosen the bowl that you wish to copy, dust it with a cotton cloth in which ground flint is tied, and roll out a piece of clay two or more inches larger in diameter than the bottom of the bowl, and about an inch thick. Press this carefully into the bottom, making sure that it touches everywhere. Now roll out several other pieces of the same thickness, large enough to reach from the upper edge of the bottom piece to the rim of the bowl, and four or five inches wide. The upper edge of the bottom piece having been cut even and wet with slip, these pieces are pressed down firmly and joined to it with the nail stroke before mentioned. Great care is also taken to press these pieces against the sides of the bowl. When the bowl is lined in this way with a coating of clay an inch or more in thickness at every point close against its walls, the clay is smoothed evenly on top, on a line with the rim of the bowl (using the rectangular tool of sheet steel) and set outside to harden.
When somewhat firm, the bowl is filled in with clay until only a space the size of a man’s hand is left in the middle. It is then set away, this time over night, to harden.
The next day the clay will have dried and shrunk sufficiently to enable the potter to slip it out of the mould. Any cracks or hollows that may be found on the outside are wet with slip and filled in with clay of the consistency of the piece. After the clay is quite dry, the form of the mould should be made perfectly true by hand (using the oval sheet-steel tools) or on the wheel. If the latter method is chosen, place the clay mould bottom side up on the wheel, centre it (according to the directions in Chapter III), and, taking a large hoe-shaped tool, hold it firmly, bracing the hand still better with a stick laid across from a plaster mould, or other convenient object, on the table, to one’s lap. Having set the wheel in motion, hold the dull point of the tool so that it just touches the wall of the mould, near the wheel. Move the point up very slightly with each revolution of the wheel—this will trim and perfect the sides. The bottom is made even in the same way. Now wash the wheel outside of the mould carefully and oil it with olive oil. Take a piece of heavy oilcloth, about eight inches wide and long enough to reach around the wheel, overlapping about a foot. Placing it with the right side in, draw it tightly and fasten with clothes pins (see [Fig. 33]). Next tie a rope or stout cord around the oilcloth, about on a level with the wheel, and, to make it more secure, wedge it with a piece of wood. Roll strips of clay about the diameter of a lead pencil, and stop the cracks where the oilcloth overlaps, also between the oilcloth and the wheel, very carefully, so as not to touch the clay mould. Be careful, from now on, not to move the wheel until the mould is made. Now mix your plaster of paris, as follows: Have an empty basin or dishpan, large enough to hold the quantity necessary for the mould—you will learn to judge this pretty well by eye. Put in as much water as you will need, and sift gradually into it, by the handfuls, the dry plaster, pressing out all lumps; in this way the water will reach every particle. When there is a small island of plaster, about an inch above the surface of the water, there will be enough. Let the plaster get thoroughly saturated by the water, as it will in a few minutes; then mix with the hands or a large spoon until it is the consistency of thick cream. Pour it gradually around and over the clay mould, not all in one place, until it is about an inch and a half or two inches above the bottom of it. Let it set for an hour or more until it seems perfectly hard. The oilcloth is then taken off, and with the dull point of the hoe-shaped tool the bottom is trimmed true on the wheel, in the same way as the wheel-made pottery is finished. The sides should also be smoothed and made even with the straight-edged sheet-steel tool. It then looks like a great frosted cake. When the plaster is hard and set, the mould is taken from the wheel and reversed, so that the clay may be removed. To do this, dig out the inside of the clay mould with a large sheet-steel tool, taking care not to come near the plaster, which would be injured by the steel. The shell of clay remaining can be easily lifted out with the fingers.
One who does not own a wheel can make a mould by setting the clay bowl, bottom up, in the centre of a small shallow bread or dish pan, which must then be well oiled on its inner surface. The plaster of paris is mixed and poured around and over the clay mould, as already described.
If one uses a great deal of clay, plaster basins may be made for drying out the superfluous water from the clay after it has been mixed. These are moulded in the form shown in Fig. 34, the straight-sided circular cavity in the centre being about three inches deep, and the whole slab perhaps sixteen inches square. The basin part, like the bowl-shaped mould just described, is first formed in solid clay, and the mould is made in the same manner.
Plaster slabs, both round and square, to hold the pieces of pottery while they are being made and dried, may also be moulded.
Rose-Bowl Started in a Mould
Materials required:
A bowl-shaped mould of plaster, 3½ inches in diameter at the bottom and 9½ inches at the top,
About 3½ pounds of clay,
A bag of ground flint,
The wooden modelling tools,
The oval tools of sheet steel,
The sharp-pointed steel tool,
A bowl of slip,
A small sponge,
A rolling-pin.
A charming rose-bowl may be built up in the plaster mould described in this chapter. About three and a half pounds of well-worked clay will be needed, and the usual tools.
A small lump of clay is first patted out with the hands on a table or board, then rolled smooth with a rolling-pin until it is three-eighths of an inch thick and about six inches across. This is laid into the bottom of the mould, which has previously been dusted with ground flint tied in a cotton cloth. The clay is pressed lightly, but carefully, against the bottom and sides, and then made even at its upper edge with a wooden tool. Strokes of the wooden modelling tool, cutting this upper edge criss-cross, and a touch of slip, prepare it for the first roll of clay, which is made and attached as described in Chapter II. These coils need not be as thick as those used in making the first pieces. As the worker gains experience, he can make the walls of his pieces much lighter than at first, and still keep them strong. Subsequent coils are joined in the same way, taking care to press each against the wall of the mould, as well as upon the coil beneath. When the sides of the bowl are covered, a coil is attached above the edge of the mould. This should be almost vertical, instead of flaring, and a second coil (which is joined after the first has stiffened out-of-doors for twenty minutes) is brought in slightly toward the centre. The bowl is then left over night, when it will be quite dry and have shrunk sufficiently to slip easily out of the mould. It is turned bottom up on a table, and the cracks between the coils are wet with slip and carefully filled in with clay of the consistency of the bowl. After it has been set away to harden for a few hours, it is made smooth and even with the oval tools of sheet steel as described in previous chapters. In trimming the walls to an even thickness, they may be made comparatively thin—a little less than a quarter of an inch. Next the bottom is finished and the potter’s mark made. The edge, after it has been bevelled by eye, is perfected on the ground-glass slab.
The piece is now ready for its decoration. This is the design shown in Fig. 35. The circumference of the top of the bowl is divided into fifths, and marks are made in pencil half an inch below the rim. Just below each of these marks the design is drawn, placing it so that if a line were drawn straight down from the pencil mark, one of the oval figures would be on each side of it. The centre of the design is pierced, as indicated in Fig. 35, by the method described in Chapter IV., and a deep incised line surrounds it.
A pale green mat-glaze (see Chapter V.) completes the bowl.
The Making of a Tile
CHAPTER VIII
THE MAKING OF A TILE
The ancient Egyptians were probably the first tile-makers. Some of their most remarkable pieces of enamel work are clay plaques or slabs, made as early as 1300 B. C. Figures of men and animals were drawn upon them, modelled in low relief, and coated with enamels, brilliant and beautiful in colour.
In other tiles a kind of mosaic was made—a combination of fine clay and enamels, which were mixed into soft pastes. The design was modelled and fitted together in these coloured pastes, which, when they were fired, the heat fixed and vitrified. Again these cunning craftsmen left in the clay incisions forming a design. Into these settings, so to speak, small pieces of glass or enamel were fitted, and when fused into place by the heat of the kiln suggested jewels.
Now-a-days our artist potters are designing and modelling tile for wall and floor decoration —whole mantels to match the colour scheme of a library or my lady’s boudoir.
To the uninitiated, the making of a tile seems almost too simple to learn—just a slab of clay, cut square and baked. Simple enough it is, to be sure, yet it has difficulties enough to make it interesting.
Suppose we mould a tile and learn by experience just what the difficulties are and how to surmount them.
The clay that is used in moulding tiles is the same as that of which the other pieces of pottery are made—i. e., a mixture of fire and ball or blue clay with the addition of a large amount of what is called by potters, “grog.” This is fire clay which after baking becomes pale yellow in colour and quite hard. It is pounded into pieces the size of a small pea, and smaller, and mixed thoroughly through the clay, to act as a tempering agent. Mould in as much of the “grog” as the clay will hold. Too much will make it lose its plasticity and separate into small lumps, but short of this the more “grog” the tile clay contains the better, as, being baked and shrunken, it minimises the chances of cracking by shrinkage.
In making a tile, the following materials will be required:
About 4½ pounds of tile clay,
A level board, about 15 by 20 inches,
A frame made by screwing a strip of wood, ⅞ of an inch thick by 2 inches wide and 21 inches long, on each of the long edges of a board, 14½ inches wide by 21 inches long,
3 pieces of white cheese-cloth, 15 by 21 inches,
A rolling-pin,
The rectangular sheet-steel tool,
A T square or a piece of sheet metal, 8 by 8 inches,
A strong, sharp knife,
A bowl of slip,
The boxwood modelling tools,
The pointed-steel tool,
The steel tool with flat point.
To begin with, a large piece of tile clay is worked until all the air-holes are out of it, as already described.
A wooden board which is absolutely level, having previously been covered with a piece of wet, white cheese-cloth, which is tacked securely upon it, the clay is moulded into a square by hand and laid upon the board. It is then pounded flat with the thick part of the hand into an irregular square cake, and rolled with a rolling-pin, wet with slip, until it is a little less than half an inch thick.
A wooden frame made of a board fourteen and a half inches wide by twenty-one inches long, with a strip of wood the same length, seven-eighths of an inch thick when planed, and two inches wide, screwed on to each of the long edges, should have been provided beforehand. A piece of wet cheese-cloth is spread upon this board, and the clay square is carefully transferred to it, fitting it carefully into the form by patting and pressing with the hand. It should then be smoothed with the rectangular tool of sheet steel.
The tile must now be reinforced for the reason that the outer edge, which dries and shrinks first, would naturally crack when the inside finally dried and shrank, and so spoil the tile. When reinforced, the edges, being double thickness, dry more slowly, making the whole tile shrink evenly. Six pieces of clay are rolled into as many rope-like strips. Five of these strips are patted flat with the hand until they are about an inch and a half wide and not quite half an inch thick. They are then laid along the outer edges of the tile, which have first been lightly brushed with slip, and across the middle (see [Fig. 36]), pressing them firmly onto the tile and joining the edges carefully. The sixth strip is cut into two short pieces, which are laid in at the centre, between the three strips crossing the tile (see [Fig. 36]), and firmly attached by moulding them against the other strips and working the edges on to the tile upon which a touch of slip has been brushed. A damp piece of cheese-cloth is laid on the tile and it is again rolled with the rolling-pin. Next it is made smooth with the sheet-steel tool, and the four depressions are moulded evenly, as shown in Fig. 37. It is then set away over night, to get in proper condition to cut and finish.
The following day put a board on the bottom of the tile and reverse the frame so that the tile will slide off on to the board. Then with a T square or a piece of sheet metal eight by eight inches (the size of the tile) laid upon it, cut around the edges with a sharp, strong knife. The tile is then set away to receive its decoration, which should be made the day following.
Care should always be taken to lay the tile only upon an absolutely level board or other flat surface in drying, as otherwise it will warp and dry unevenly.
The face of the tile. For detail of this design, see [Fig. 38].
The back of a tile, showing the potter’s mark and the rough texture of the tile clay.
Having chosen a simple design—for example, the one shown in Fig. 38—draw it upon the tile in pencil. Next go over the lines with the pointed tool of boxwood, and with a curved pointed wooden tool incise the outline still deeper. Make a clean-cut, firm outline, broad and deep, with a bevelled edge. This is, of course, supposing that the tile has not become very dry, in which case the tool used should be the pointed steel one, finishing with the wooden tool. The whole design should be deeply incised with firm, sure strokes. The pieces of “grog” which the tool will run against now and then will not injure the outline if the hand is firm. Should one by mistake cut away more of the design than was intended, it can easily be repaired with a touch of slip and a small piece of clay, the consistency of the tile, worked in with the pointed steel tool.
The portions of the design which are indicated by dots in Fig. 38 are depressed with the flat-pointed steel tool, according to the method for leaving the design in low relief, described in Chapter IV. Before setting the tile away to dry for the last time, the potter incises his mark on the back. A dull yellow mat-glaze or a gray green one (see Chapter V.) will finish it attractively.
A tile such as this, eight inches square, is rather large for some purposes; it is, however, most effective as a decoration, and may do practical service in holding a flower-pot or vase of flowers—protecting a table or wooden mantel from moisture.
Fireplace tiles are, of course, considerably smaller, and those for use on a table are lighter as well. They are made by the same process, only using a smaller frame and rolling the clay thinner.
Some designs for tiles are shown in Figs. 39, 40, 41, 42, and 43.
The Kiln
CHAPTER IX
THE KILN
Pottery, until it is fired, has little or no practical value. One who owns a piece of Gay Head ware, made in Martha’s Vineyard, and called by the name of the bluffs of whose clay it is made, will appreciate this. Though charming in colour, a terra-cotta background with swirling lines of pale yellow, black and white, it can only be put in one spot—on the highest shelf, out of reach of children and others who like to “look with their hands.” If it were baked, the colour which is its chief charm would be lost, and it is therefore so fragile that a rude touch will break or deface it. In the early days of pottery-making, when utility was everything, pots for cooking and domestic purposes were baked either before the fire, or covered with bark and other burning fuel, which hardened the clay and made it strong enough for service. We do not find traces of kilns, however, among the relics of those early potters.
Probably the first people to use the kiln were the old Egyptians.
One which is represented in their mural paintings was a high, circular chamber made of brick. The floor, near the bottom, was perforated, and beneath it was the fuel, which was put in through an opening on the side.
The kiln used by the early Greek potters had a place for fuel on one side, and an upper chamber for the pieces of pottery, with a door through which it could be put in and withdrawn. This differed from the Egyptian kiln only in having a dome.
A is the chamber for the pottery.
BB the fire boxes.
CC the firebacks.
DDDDD the passage and outlets through which the heat enters the kiln.
Many of the kilns of the present day are shaped almost exactly like those used by the early Greeks. So important a part does the kiln play in perfecting a piece of pottery—putting the final touch upon it: the touch that shall make or mar—that the potter realises he must plan, before anything else, either to own a good kiln or to know of one where his pieces can be sent to be fired. Unless one wishes to make pottery on a large scale, as a business, the expense and care of owning one’s own kiln is unnecessary. There are makers of art pottery near the principal cities who for a reasonable amount will fire one’s pieces admirably, and with much less risk than an amateur could possibly do them—that is, providing one uses the same kind of clay as is employed by the owners of the kiln where one’s pottery is to be fired. If not, this clay can usually be purchased at the pottery ready mixed at slight expense. Even though one may not care to assume the cost and responsibility of owning a kiln, it may be of interest to know something of the construction of kilns and how they do their work.