and the plaster mixed and poured in. A soft hair brush will be useful to dislodge the air bubbles that are certain to hide in some of the many odd corners. When nearly set, the surface of the plaster can be scraped flat, and when set taken out of the frame and detached. The clay is picked out and the whole surface of the design cleaned and trimmed so that it will not hold or bind in pressing. This in turn is placed in the frame and a careful press taken. The result is a sunk design into which a different coloured clay is pressed, the tile being first allowed to toughen. The surface is lightly scraped flat and the tile slowly dried. When hard, the face is scraped again with a steel straight-edge, sandpapered, and dusted, when the design appears in two colours. (Fig. 43.)
Fig. 42
The most effective clays are fairly siliceous reds,
buffs, browns, and greys. When tempered with flint or quartz sand to a uniform degree, they offer a splendid opportunity for counterchange pattern. If a soft clay that contracts considerably is inlaid in a refractory clay, cracks will appear round the edges of the inlay. Thus it is found best to have the body of the tile made of the clay that contracts most.
Fig. 43
Where only a single tile is required a more direct method is possible. The tile is pressed and allowed to toughen slightly, the design being transferred as before. It is then cut round with a sharp knife
and the waste removed with a wire tool. A certain facility of handling is required, for great care must be taken to preserve the edges and angles. This method is, however, productive of much fresh and vigorous work.
Encaustic tiles must necessarily be simple and bold in character, for anything complicated invites confusion; the best possible guides are the encaustic tiles of mediæval times, especially the simple and spirited English and German Gothic.