Fig. 559.—Cut the clay in two with a knife.
Candlesticks are always decorative; even the old tin candlestick with its half burnt tallow candle has a certain picturesqueness that the artist recognizes when he chooses that as an accessory to his picture instead of the prosaic oil lamp. Then again, candlesticks give a wide scope to individuality in design, and that it gives expression to one’s originality is one of the greatest charms of pottery making.
A potter’s wheel is not at all necessary. The primitive method of coiling the clay and gradually, without hurry, building it up into the form desired is far the better way for home workers.
Get Your Clay
at the nearest pottery where anything finer than flower pots is made, and if it is a place where they turn out only earthenware ask for their finest clay. Very frequently they make a quantity of extra pieces for holiday trade and for these prepare a finer clay than they ordinarily use. Fifty pounds of clay will keep you busy a long while and twenty-five pounds will be sufficient for a number of small pieces. It sells at about one and a half cents per pound at most of the potteries.
This Pottery was Made by the Author.
Break your dry clay into small pieces with a hammer and then pound to a powder. Put it into an earthen crock that has a cover of its own, and mix with water until it is of the consistency of dough. If you are not to use it immediately, and it is rather stiff, make several holes in the clay with your finger, fill each hole with water, cover the crock closely with its lid and set away until wanted.
