Ho w to M ak e Po t t e ry

By

MA R! W H I TE

I ll u s t rate d by th e A h
u t or

NEW ! OR K

A
D O U BL ED ! , PA G E CO M P AN!
1 904
 Li mw ~f
M am7 3 3
-

TWO mm m
ns-3

OCT 2 0 1904

C OP ! R I G H T , 1 90 4 , B!

D OU BL ED A ! ,
P A GE CO M P A N!
P U B L I S H ED , OC T OBER , 1 90 4
 Ack no w le dgme nt i s h ere b y made t o th e B u re au
o f Ame ri c a m
n E th no l o gy fo r p e r i t t i ng th e u se of

t h e i ll u s trat i o ns re pro du c e d i n Ch ap t er ! I .
 P R EFA C E

A Nart like pottery making which is nearly as

-

old as th e human race is natur ally approached ,

with some degree of reverence One thinks of its .

old masters in various lands and ages how they
were content to spend a lifetim e in the study
and practice of it .

There is however ano ther thought that comes

, ,

to min d that this art like every other had to , ,

have its begi nn ing . Moreover every potter from

, ,

the primitive man who rst realised that clay

which held water could be moul ded into portable
vessels for a like purpose to the artist potter of ,

to day
-

,
has lear ne d the rst steps of the craft .

It w as this thought that encouraged me to

stu dy the begin nings of pottery and that leads ,

me to o er this book to those w ho would also

start clay working with no other qualication
-

than the wish to learn how to make pottery .

 CO NT ENT S
C HA PT ER

I . Th e Cl ays and Tools

II . H and -
made P o tt e ry

III . Wo rking o n th e Wh e el

IV . M eth o ds of D e co ra
tio n

V . T h e Glaze and H o w to Apply It

VI . P o tt e ry fo r Be au ty and U se

VI I . How to M ak e a P l aste r M o ul d

VI II . T h e M aking o f 21 T il e

I! . T h e Kil n

! . Bask e t -
C o v e re d P o t tery

! I . I ndian P o tt e ry

! II . M o dern American P o t t ery

 L I ST OF I L L U S T R A TI O NS
N ew co mb P o tt e ry J ug
Buil ding aPie ce o f P o tte ry
1 Ma king th e First
. Co il . 2 . Te sting th e

O utline 3 C o
. ntinu ing . t h e Pie ce
Wo rking o n th e Wh e el !
I A p ale gree n b owl fo r owers 2 A cre am
-

A A
. . .

o wer a i h o ha n l
j u g 3 . .
j r w t t w d e s 4
-
. .

nast urt iu m b owl

M e th o ds o f D e co ratio n
I A l arge fruit b owl 2 and 3 L o w dish e s-

4 A la
. . .

fo r candy mp b o w l
. .
-

Wh ere Use and Be auty are Co mbine d

P o tt e ry fo r Be au ty and Use
1 . R o se b owl
-
. 2 . A low D utch dish .
3 . Fruit
b owl
Ho w to M ak e aP l ast er M o uld
I . A
pl ast er mo uld 2 . . Ar o se -
b o wl
Po tt ery fo r Be auty and Use
I L amp b owl 2 C andle stick 3 Wa ll jar -

A
-
. . . . .

fo r wat er pl ant s 4 -
o we r c andl e st ick
. .

Th e M ak ing o f aTile
Bask e t co ve re d P o tt e ry
-

I ndian P o tt e ry
I ndian P o tt e ry
Te co Wa re
S o me Pie ce s o f Vo lk mar P o tt e ry
A Pie ce o f Newco mb P o tt ery
L I S T O F FI G U R ES
L I ST O F
FI G U R ES Cont i n
ued

P A GE
T h e Clay s and Too ls
 H OW T O M A KE P OTT ER !

CH A P TE R I

THE CL A ! S A ND T O OL S

L A!is what might be called the drift o f the

rocks of ages past M ost stone consists .

mainly of silica and alumina In some bygone .

age the potash and other alkalies under the action

, ,

of heat fu sed these materials into rock P otash is

,
.

affected by t h e atmosph ere so it gradually left the,

rock which decomposed and the man y particles

, , ,

the ne refuse after various changes became clay

, ,

P erfectly pure clay or hy dr ated silicate of al umin a

, ,

is found where some granites and other felspar

bearing rocks have decomposed I n the course .

of years the clays especially those on the surface

, , ,

gathered impurities B lack clay

. for example , ,

which is fo u nd at the top of the bed contains a ,

large per cent of carbon formed by decayed leaves

.
,

an d twigs like coal or peat S trange to say thi s .
,

burn s whi t er than any other pottery clay I t .

3
4 H ow to M ak e P o ttery

contains more pot a s h than the oth er clays an d ,

res at a lower heat The di fferent proportions

.

in whic h certain minerals are found in clays de

termi ne t h eir plastic or non plastic fusible or -

refractory ch aracter P otters have not b een able

.

to agree as to t h e reason for t h e plasticity of clay .

S ome believe t h at t h e silica gives it plasticity ;

others that it is du e to t h e water inherent in t h e
clay (whi ch is called t h e water of combination ) ,

and give as their reason for the belief the fact that
bur ned clay loses i ts plasticity never to get it ,

again ! e t water alone does not make every )

.

clay plastic ! other ingre di ents are sometimes

necessary Th e early potter used t h e clay just a
. s it

came from the ground but when h e began to b ake

,

it in the r e he found th at tempering materials

were necessary S and w as often added to make
.

it easier to handle and coarse s h arp pieces of shell

, ,

or rock helped to p revent the clay from cracking ,

by lessening t h e sh rinkage .

Later as the art advan ced t h e value of certain

, ,

materials in regulating t h e fusible and refractory

qualities of t h e natural clay were recognised .

Th ere is in clays the play of melting and non

melting substances Flint and alumina are hard
.
,

an d uphold the clay in t h e erce re o f t h e kiln ;

 Th e Clays and To o ls 5

potash and soda make it soft and fusible I t is .

believed th a t the value of ground int in pottery

w a s n ot discovered un til late i n the seven teenth

century The story is that a certain p otter

.

travellin g on horseback was delayed on acco un t

of an inammation of hi s horse s eyes An
.

ostler wishin g to help him out of his difculty t o ok

, ,

a int from the road and after putting it in the

, ,

re until it w as red hot threw it into cold w ater

-

, .

It broke int o pieces pure white which w ere

, ,

easily powdered and applied to the animal s eyes

.

D elighted as the p otter was with the cure of h i s

h o rse the di scovery o f a w hi te infusible material
, ,

for his p ottery pleased him still m o re .

The combination o f iron and lime in a clay

forms a natural ux For example ! Fire clay
.
-

which is quite refractory but which contains a

small per cent of iron will by the additi on of a
.
, ,

prop o rti on of whiting (lime ) become more fusible

, .

Iron and lime in larger quantities are found i n the

clay which is made int o red w are o w er pots -

red bricks and other comm on articles The

, .

large per cent of iron gives it its red colour I t

. .

d o es not make as strong a ware as other clays .

This red ware which res at the l ow est heat w e

, ,

will classify as Gr oup I T o Gro up I I bel on gs th e

. .
6 H ow to M ak e P o ttery

yell ow or R o ckin gham ware Th is res at a light .

orange heat from to degrees Fah ren

,

heit It is often ni shed with a dark brown glaze

.
-
.

Mixing bowls and other kitchen ware come under

-

t hi s group Group III contains t h e buff or cream

. .

ware usually made of re clays Thi s harden s at

,
-
.

an intense heat from to degrees ,

Fah renheit In this group is the ne p o ttery

. .

A rt pottery comes under th is head Group I V i s . .

the buff or cream ware red at white heat an d ,

bey ond This is t h e stoneware On accoun t of

. .

the great heat at wh ich it is red it i s pos sible to ,

u se only certain colour s in the glazes They are .

limited to gray brown green and blue Ox blood , , .

-

has been obtained in th is ware b u t it is uncertain , .

Claret and vinegar jugs and butter crocks come - -

in this group Group V is the wh ite or tableware

. .
,

and Group VI t h e translu cent ware or porcelain

.
,

made of kaoli n the purest grade of clay Felspar ,

.

makes it melt able and translucent and to give it , ,

plasticit y a small proportion of ball or re clay is

,
-

added .

P ottery clay differs from modelling clay in that

it h as more st iffening so to Speak It is not so ,
.

pl a s tic but on the other hand it will stand the

, , ,

heat of the kiln which the other will not The ,

.
 The C lays and To o ls 7

additio n of whiting or felspar to m o delling clay will

give the needed stiffn ess A pottery clay suitable
.

for the w ork one can produce in one s kil n must

be so arranged as t o harden at the degree of heat

at w hich the kil n res P ractically we shall have
.
,

little to d o with any but the blue or ball clay and

r e clay
-
These are the best for pottery which is
.

to be b eautiful as well as useful It is possible of .

,

course to use the o w e r pot clay and perhaps if

,
-

, , ,

one can easily obtain this clay and is near enough ,

to a pottery where the red ware is re d so that

one s pieces can convenient ly be sent there i t
might be wiser to use it than to buy ner clays

that come from a great distance and then b e ,

obliged to send one s pottery to a far away kil n

-

for ring .

The o w e r pot ware is n o t strong however

-

, ,

an d ne glazes cannot be used upon it so that if , ,

possible clay that will re at a greater heat

,

should be chosen A mixture of re clay and

.
-

ball or blue clay will give good results and the ,

p ieces made wi t h it may be sent to the nearest art

pottery or to a kiln where stoneware is red .

H aving o n ce found a good clay potters rarely ,

change In fact this feeling is so strong with

.
,

s ome that it amo unts almost to a superstition A .

8 H ow to M ak e P o tte ry

potter who h as obt ained a clay that i s satisfactory

in a certain S tate will always send to the same
S tate and bed for t h at clay no matter h o w far ,

he may be from it nor h o w nearly t h e clay in hi s

,

own S tate may come to t h e analysis of that which

he h as used .

Th e clay is of course brought from th e clay

, ,

beds in caked masses It should be kept out of

.

doors for the wind and weath er are good for it I n

, .
!

preparing it t h e great lumps are pounded up ne

,

an d put th rough a sieve in whi ch there are thirty

.

to forty meshes to the inch It is now ready for .

soaking A commo n mistake is to pour water

.

upon the clay in its rock st at e and then employ a

boy or Spend one s own time kneading it into

condition The more S i mple a

. nd practical process
i s to sift it a s al ready des cribed and then a dd t h e ,

powdered clay to the water In this way each .

,

particle is wet at once and in much less time the

,

clay is ready for use If it proves that too much

.

water has been provided pour o ff some after the ,

clay is well mixed and if i t is s t ill too moist Spread

, , ,

it upon plaster slabs in the air; whi ch will s o on dry

it su f ci ent ly the plaster itself absorbing much
of the su rplus moisture .

I t is o ften p ossible at sli ght expense to o btain

, ,
 Th e Clays and Too ls 9

the clay alre ady siev e d an d mixed from a p o tt ery ,

an d this is of course an advantage

, ,
.

Keep your clay in a large e a

rt h ern crock in

whi ch a little water has rst been poured Make .

deep holes with the thumb an d pour w ater in to

them Cover with a damp cloth and the n with
.

the earthen top When the clay dries o ut so

.

much that i t is dif cul t t o moul d let it dry thor

'
,

oughl y and pound it t o a powder on a stron g

bench or table with an old at iron I t may th en -
.

b ere mixed a
-
s already described
, .

When ready to begin work take a good sized ,

-

lump of clay s ay about ten pounds ; pound and

,

knead it upon a table Then draw a strong wir e

.

through it at the middle dividin g it in hal ves, .

P ress the two outer surfaces together kneading ,

out the air holes whi ch will be fo und on the inn er

-

surfaces This process repeated a number of times

.

Will nally expel all the air bubbles and leave -

the clay in good condition for moulding Clay .

that is to be used on the wheel will need to be

much more thoroughl y kneaded than that for
hand moulded or built pottery
-
.

To o ls
B oxwood modelling tools are useful fo r the
han d m oulded pottery and for decoration One
-
.
10 H ow to M ake P o ttery

FI G . 2

FI G .
3

FI G .
4

pointed tool like a sh arpene d pen cil (see Fig I )

,
.
,

and another dou ble ended one wit h points t h at

-

are more att ened and rounded (se e Fig will

.

be enough to start with One Should also have a

.
 Th e Clays and To o ls 1 1

double ended steel tool w ith pointed knife ends

- -

( see Fig . for incising an d other de corative

FI G 6
.

work A steel tool with narro w atten ed ends

.
,

(see Fig 4 ) is necessary for cutting away the

.

background to leave the design in low relief .

The tools for use wi th the potter s wheel are

m o stly of thin steel and may easily be cut from a

,
12 H ow to M ake P o ttery

sheet of steel which one can buy of a dealer in

hardware Th ere shou ld be an oval sh ape two
.
,

and a qu arter by four i nch es and anoth er of t h e

'

same size and s h ape with t h e edges cu t in saw teet h -

(see Fig Th ere shoul d also be a to ol with

.

o ne st r aight side and t h e other curved ( see Fig .

an d a rectangular one about tw o by four inches .

A hoe shaped tool of steel ( see Fig 7 ) is indis

-
.

pensable for working on the wh eel as is a slender ,

point of steel an inch and a quarter long set in a

, ,

FI G . 8

wooden han dl e (se e Fig and a piece of sto u t .

wire A ru bber poli sh er t h e size and s h ape of

. ,

the oval tool of sh eet st eel will also be found ,

useful Th ese may be bo ugh t of dealers in potters
.

tools A Sponge a ground glas s slab abou t a foot

.
,
-

square a rolling pin and sandpaper are also

,
-

essent ial .

R ou nd and s quare slabs of plaster of paris

Sh oul d be p rovided up on whi ch t o p u t t h e pieces of
po ttery wh ile t h ey a
r e bein g formed Th ese may .

b e bought or cast i n mou lds according to t h e di re c ,

tions in Ch apter VII .

H and -
mad e P o tte ry
 CH A P TER I I

HA ND -
M A D E P OTT E R !

IT is qui te important that the potter Should

have a workshop b e it ever so small which
clay dust and water will not harm A light dry
-
.
,

cellar is a good place or an outb uilding if one

, ,

lives in the country The sense of freedom w hi ch

.

comes from wo rking in this w ay is a help in ac

complishing good results P rotected by a long .

Sleeved apron and in such a place one need not ,

have a care for clothes or carpets A stout old .

table one or two chairs and possibly a shelf upon

, , ,

whic to put the nished pottery with these

h ,

and t h e potter s wheel an d bench (se e Chapter

one will be well equipped This is taking for .

granted th at one h as been able t o buy one s clay

ready mixed Otherwise there must be a tub for

.

mixing t h e clay and a sieve (se e Chapter

,
In
addition to the clay and the tools already mentioned
in Chapter I a pitcher of water will be needed
.
, ,

and a bowl for the slip !

or clay thinned with ,

I
S
1 6 H ow to M ak e P o ttery

w ater to consistency of very thi ck cream Th e

th e .

potter is now read y fo r work .

Small pieces of pottery su ch as di shes and ,

candlesticks may be moulded with t h e h ands

,

from a single piece of clay (see Ch ap t er b ut ,

for large r piece s t h e strong and simple In di an

,

p rocess of bu ildi ng u p with c oils of clay is mor e

satisfactory Thi s may be done in a varie t y of
.

ways E ith er t h e pie ce i s formed by coiling t h e

.

strips of clay wit h in a mould as d e scribe d in ,

Ch apters VI and VII o r by b ui l d ing i t up by eye

. .
, ,

assisted by a c ar dboar d out line (se e plat e ) o r i t ,

may be formed ent irely by eye lik e t h e ro se bowl ,

-

wit h a mo t h d esign in Ch ap t er VI Th e rs t .

,
m
meth o d whi le i t i s t h e si ple st is no t t h e best to ,

begin wi th for one relies t o o much u pon the

,

moul d and unconsciously use s i t too oft en instead

, ,

of train ing one s eye to make a t ru e and beau t ifu l

form . Th e second me t h od t esting t h e form

with a pasteboard outline as the piece is bu ilt

will be th e best to st art wit h Having decide d .

upon the shape h e wi sh es to make t h e pot ter ,

draws it in ou t line (natural size ) upon a piece of

cardboard It will be wise to c h oose a form as
.

nearly like a cylinder as po ssible ; for example a ,

j ar for owers The ou tline sk et ch is di vided by

.
 H and -
made P o ttery I 7

a vertical line ruled exactly through i ts centre .

A nother straight line parallel with the rst is

, ,

drawn three inches to the right of it The outline .

is then cut out (se e Fig 9) so as to make a guide .

for the c ontour of the j ar A .

at round piece of clay about

, ,

ve inches in di ame ter and

half an inch thick is now ,

moulded and placed in the

centre of a plaster tile In .

the mi ddle o f this piece a ,

circle tw o and three quarters

,
-

in ches in di ameter is drawn

with a tool A lump o f clay
,

.
,

which h as been well worked to

get out all air holes i s rolled
-

on the table with the palms of

the hands (near the base of
t h e t h umb ) lightly yet with
,

s u f cient push to make the

clay revolve wholly each time .

If t h e r oll attens from too FI G 9 .

hard pressure pat it into

,

circul ar form and continue to roll it un til

,

it is of even t hi ckness about an in ch in diam
eter It is then attened evenly one end i s
.
,
1 8 H o w to M ak e P o tte ry

cut i nt o a long point an d the coil is start ed on

,

the clay bo tto m , whi c h has p reviously had

a steel t ool t o insu re t h e rst coil s cli ngi ng t o

,

it .To make t h is even more cert ai n a tou ch of ,

slip i s brushed lightly here and t here over t h e

nger ,on ei t her Side of t h e coil support i t t h e fore

, ,

nger presses i t down rml y o n t o th e bott o m all

a
t h e way ro u nd ( see plat e ) I t is so mu ch easier

.

t o are t h e walls of one s piece t han t o make

t hem s traight or bring t h em in th at t hey shoul d

, ,

be kep t as nearly vertical as pos sible es peci ally ,

in starti ng W hen t h e circui t h as been made cut

.
,

t h e end of the clay st ri p into a long a t point ,

whi ch wi ll t evenl y i nw i t h t h e one at t h e beginni ng

of the coil an d press t h e ed ges to get h er wit h t h e
,

a t of t h e nail of ng er or t h umb Th is is al so .

done where t h e ed ges of t h e coil come against t h e

stro kes of t h e nai l u p and d own join t h e edges .

I n put t ing on t h e second row no marki ng w i t h t h e

,

the second row i s added t h e j ar is p u t o u t i n t h e

,

air for half an hour or so until i t h as sti ffened a

,
BU IL D I NG A PI E C E O F P OTT ER !
1 . M a k i ng th e F rst C o il
i

2 Tes i ng h O tli n e
t t e u

3 . C on ti n i ng h Pie c e
u t e
 H and -
mad e P o ttery 19

little This is supposing that the potte r i s working

.

at a time whe n the clay w i ll not freeze Whe n the .

weather is cold the piece must b e left t o stiffe n in

,

doors as pottery that has once frozen is usel ess

, .

The inside o f the bottom and walls are the n

smoothed with great care for as it is to b e a tall , ,

j ar this must be done before the walls get too high

, .

Two more rows of coiling are n ow added as before ,

testing the shape by pressing t h e cardboard o utline

close against it all aroun d the circumfere n c e .

A ft er this the j ar is again put o ut in the air for

,

half an hour or so Thi s method is continued un til

.

the j ar is buil t up .

S houl d the walls become weak an d insecure

from working them too rapidly let them dry fo r a ,

longer time several hours or over night before

, ,

nishing Test the shape constantly with the

.

cardboard outline When the j ar is as high as the

.

drawing or even a quarter to half an inch higher

, ,

let it dry over night It should then be smoothed

.

with an ov a l steel tool which has a s a w t oo thed ,

-

edge (se e Fig to take the worst unevenness o ff

. .

The tool is bent to t the shape of the j ar an d held

at right angles with it smo othing it with short ,

strokes in different directions Thi s i s do ne .

inside and out The hollows are also lled i n

. .
20 H o w to M ake P o tte ry

To do thi s wet the spot r st with slip and ll in

,

with clay as nearly the consistency of t hat in

t h e j ar a s possible The sides are then made
.

perfectly even wit h t h e oval tool wit h smooth

edges holding it as the saw tooth ed tool w as h eld
,
-
.

When there are no hollows or ridges and t h e walls

are about a quarter of an inch th ick the surface of ,

the j ar is smoothed with a damp sponge and

polished wit h the ngers and thumb inside and
.

out takin g care in handling i t not t o hold it by

,

the edge but rest it in t h e hollowe d h and S h ould

, .

it have become very dry as it will in a compara ,

t i ve ly sh ort time in warm weath er so that it is ,

light gray in colour it wil l be wise to smoot h it with

-

sandpaper i nstead of with the Sponge as in thi s ,

state even a little water may cause i t to crack .

One cannot learn too soon o r have too often i m ,

pressed upon one s mind the risk o f addi ng w e t

,
-

clay to a piece of pottery th at is much drier The .

natur al shrinkage which h as already taken place

in the dry clay will be repeat ed in the wet and as i t , ,

shrink s it will crack the drier clay Cr acks in

, .

clay are of two kinds t h ose caus ed by shrink age

of the unbaked or green clay an d t h ose that come ,

fro m c o oling too rapidly in t h e biscuit or baked

c lay .The former can usually be mended satis
 H and -
made P o ttery 2 r

fact o ri ly but for the latter there is no remedy ;

,

t h e pie ce is Spoiled .

To mend a crack in clay that is only partially

dry put a little Slip into the crack an d the n
,

work in with a m o delling tool clay of the con

, ,

sistency of the piece If after drying longer the .

, ,

pie ce cracks again a long deep crack that goes , ,

t h rough to the inside there is no way to mend it

except by cutting t h e clay out on either side for
quite a Space beyond the c rack brushing b o th Sides t
,

with slip and lling in with clay as nearly as

,

possible the consistency of the piece This is .

pressed i nin small bits little by little until t h e , ,

gap is lled If it should crack again i n small

.
,

short places ll them with dry powdered clay

, , ,

pre ssed in and moulded with a steel tool .

In case of the piece cr acking when it is bone dry

that is after it h as dried for several days and is
,

pale gray in colour grind some pieces of baked
-

clay to a ne powder add enough water to make ,

a soft yellow p aste and ll the cracks with it

, , .

The edge of the j ar is cut as even as possible

with a tool a nd then made perfectly true by t h e
,

following method ! A little water is poured on a

ground glass Slab and the j ar held bottom up is
-

, , ,

moved rmly but rapidly round and round on the

2 2 H o w to M ak e P o tte ry

wet surface and th en qui ckly taken up (by

,

slidi ng it o ff at t h e edge of the slab ) before it

clings to the glass The bottom must now be.

ni shed The j ar is rst placed bottom up on a

.

slab or table th en a circle is drawn wit h a penci l

,

at about half an in ch from the edge of t h e bottom .

Thi s i s outlined with the pointed steel t ool and the ,

bottom withi n t h e circle is evenl y and carefully

cut out with strokes of the oval smooth edged ,
-

tool so that t h e outside ring shall form a ridge not

,

over one sixteenth o f an inch above the depressed

-

interior of the circle The potter now cuts hi s .

ini tial or mark which is made in as Simple lin e s as

,

possible into the bottom wit h rm deep strokes

, , .

If the j ar is not very dry a wooden modell ing tool ,

may be used for thi s Otherwise t h e pointed st eel

.
,

tool is chosen Care shoul d be taken not to ou t

.

under the edge in making t hese i ncised line s .

The edges should instead be bevelled so th at when , ,

t h e glaze is put on it will ow more freely over

,

th em .

If possible t hi s j ar being large shoul d be

, , ,

r ed in the biscui t that is before it is glazed and , ,

then again afte r it h as be en glazed ; u nl ess one is

obliged to send i t a long di stance t o be r ed so ,

that more than o ne ring is impracticable in ,

 H and -
made P o ttery 2 3

which case it must of course be glazed o n the u n

, ,

baked clay .

A pale green glaze (see directio ns in Chapter V ) .

will complete it.

In packing t o send pieces t o a far o ff kiln b y -

express use a wooden box and after lin ing it

, , ,

with newspaper wrap the pieces in soft paper

, ,

and pack them careful ly in sawdust .

W o rk ing o n th e W heel
 CH A P T E R III

W O R K IN G O N TH E W H E EL

T H AT the primitive po t ter did not mould his pot

t e ry on a wheel w e can be reasonably sure Th e .

E gyptians however as early as 4 0 0 0 B 0 used

, ,
.
,

the simplest potter s Wheel

,

as is proved by fragments
of pottery still i n exi stence .

This wheel w as a small ,

round table revolving on

a pivot (se e Fig . The
potter set it in motion with
his hand and from time t o
,

time gave it a S pin to keep

it revolving Th e same.
F m E n y l p d m B i anni a
ro c c o e r t c

FIG 1
wheel is used to this day !

i nmany parts of India A n improvement on this

.

simple contrivance w as made in E gypt under the

P tolemies .A larger circul ar table w as xed low er
down on the same axis This the potter set and
.

kept in motion w ith his foot leavin g his hands ,

2
7
2 8 H o w to M ak e P o ttery

fr ee at all times to mould t h e clay while the wheel ,

was kept at a regu lar Speed .

What is techni cally known as throwing or

moulding pottery on the wheel is a proce ss t hat is
not learned in a moment or even in a day It , .

takes t ime and pat ience but it is certainly o ne of

,

the most fascinating parts of the craft One wou ld .

have lost h alf of t h e ch arm of po tt ery making w h o -

ha d not felt t h e plas t i c clay on t h e potter s wheel

, ,

ri se and fall between h i s h ands almost as if endowed ,

with life !
The rapidity wit h which pieces can be formed on
t h e W heel is an advantage over other processes ,

while the regularity of Shape renement and per ,

fe ct i o n of ni sh give w h eel made po tt ery a beauty

-

all i t s o w n Unt il lat ely few w omen potters have

.
,

wo rked on the wh eel because th e ordinary form of

,

pott er s wheel whi ch was tu rned with one foo t the

, ,

potter st anding on the o t her made t he work t o o ,

dif cu lt and laboriou s for a w oman t o attempt .

Now h owever a wh eel c opied from an old French

, ,

model is in u se wh ich enables t h e potter t o si t while

at work Th is is t h e wh eel shown in Fig 1 1
. It . .

is obtainable from makers of potters tools Th e

.

cost of such a wheel wit h an iron t o p and s h aft

, ,

and wooden y wheel made of t hree t h icknesses of

-
 Wo rk i ng o n th e Wh eel 2 9

boards is eighteen dollars b u t second hand wheels

, ,
-

can sometimes be bought for much less When the .

wheel i s se t up the shaft box ( a square box below

,

the u pper wheel ) is fastened to the edge of a strong

t able or Shelf which has been placed in a good light
,
.

A sea t which slants

forw ard not u nlike a
,

rea di ng desk in form

-

is made of wood (se e

Fig. and se t up
near enough to the
wheel for a person si t
tin g onit to reach the
w h e e 1 comfortably .

I t is bra ced by a
board on either side
FI G H
ex t e n di ng di ago n ally '

forw ard from the leg of the seat to the oor and by
, ,

a board fastened on the right of the t 0p of the seat

an d reachi ng to t h e table Under the table a fo o t
.

rest roughly made of boards is needed

, , .

At rst it will be wise to learn how to se t the

,

wheel in mot ion S uppose w e practice this a fe w

.

t imes before begin ning to mould When one is .

se ated on the inclined bench the left foot on the ,

rest the right foot star t ing j ust below the b o dy

, ,
30 H ow to M ak e P o tte ry

near the outer edge of the wheel swings the y ,

wheel from right to left The p oint of the foot i s .

u sed for this Four or ve vigorous t urn s ar e give n

.
,

an d the n the foot swinging nearer t h e iron shaft

, ,

gives ve or si x more pushes to the ywheel and is ,

placed o n the foot rest E xpert potters can t urn

m
-
.

wi th the foot whi le the hands ar e busy o ulding , ,

but we who are beginners will do wi sely to start

!

the wheel revolving then keeping both fee t on t h e

, ,

rest give all o u r atte ntion to t h e hand work until

,
-

the Slower revolutions warn us t hat it i s time t o

give the wheel another start One c aution should .

be given and it may not be out of place here ! D o

,

not work too long a t ime at the wheel Half o r .

three quart ers of an h ou r s steady wor k at a time

-

will be enough After th at leave i t fo r half an hour

.
,

and you wil l not get p h ysically or nervously t ired ;

besides the work will go much better Have your
, .

tools an d a bowl of t hin slip wit hin easy reach as

you si t at t h e wheel .

I n beginning your pie ce a lu mp of clay s a y , ,

about two poun ds well worked is made into a

, ,

ball We t the t 0p of t h e wheel then ru b it o ff so

.
,

as to leave the wheel j u s t moist enough for the clay

t o stick but not slippery so t hat i t will slide The
, , .

lump of clay held in bot h han ds is then t hrown

, ,
 Worki ng on the Wh eel 3 1

rmly o n to the centre o f the wheel The bottom .

of the lu mp sh o u ld be well down on the wheel and ,

i t is most important to have it exactly in the centre .

The hands are w e t with slip which is also rubbed

,

over the lump o f clay with both han ds so that it is

thoroughly moist .

The wheel is now se t in motio n as already de

scri be d and when it is well star ted and both feet
, ,

are up o n the rest the hands held one on either

,

Side of the clay starting close to the wheel m ove ,

slowly up the sides of the lump drawing it up into ,

a cone shape The elbows Should be well braced

.

against t h e sides of the body so as to hold the hands

,

absolutely ste ady for t hey should never waver o r

,

swing with the wheel b u t hold true and rm If

,
.

the mas s is not exact ly in the centre of the wheel ,

or the cone shape is not even the hands are again ,

wet with slip a few drops of which are Shaken on

,

to the clay The thumbs are laid together and

.
,

the hands at t h e bases of the thumbs are pressed

rmly dow n on the clay ( as the wheel turns ) press ,

in g it agai n into mound shape The hands and .

clay are wet once more and the wheel started

,
.

The clay is now pressed up again into the co ne

form taking great care to have the pressure even
,

and slow The hands should move after each revo

.
,
32 H o w to M ak e P o tte ry

lu ti o n, not more t h an a quar t er of an inch When a .

goo d cone sh ape is made exact ly in t h e mi dd le of

the wh eel t h e pie ce is cent re d
,
!
In o r de r t o
.
!

prove that t h e cone i s ab solut ely in the cent re se t ,

t h e w h eel going b r a ce t h e arms against t h e bo dy

, ,

and s t eadying t h e ri gh t hand wit h t h e left move t h e

, ,

forenger o f t h e righ t closer and clo ser t o t h e c one ,

unt il i t all b u t t ou ches i t If t h e gu r e hi ts in

.
!

any one place t h at will prove t hat t h e cone is not

,

centre d and i t mu s t be p r e sse d again int o mou n d

,

s h ape a s al r ea dy de s cribed b u t if i t j u s t clear s i t all

,

t h e way r o u n d t h e pot t e r p r o cee d s t o t h e nex t s t ep

, .

The t h umbs h el d clo se t oge t he r above t h e c lay

,
.
,

are aimed at t h e exact cent re o f i t and t h eir ends ,

p re ssed rmly b u t ligh t ly in while t h e wh eel ,

r evolve s on ce o r t wice Th is i s t o mark t h e c ent re

. .

The next s t ep i s t o h ollow o u t t h e pie ce This is .

also done wi t h t h e t h u mb s Th e h ands and clay .

being w e t wit h sli p and t h e wheel s t art e d well t h e

, ,

nge r s inclo se t h e ou t er wall s o f t h e piece wh ile ,

t h e t h u mb s are p re s se d int o t h e cent re of t h e c lay

rmly and d e ci de dly d own t o wi t hi n le ss t h an half

an i f h fr om t h e bott om T h is i s somet hi ng t hat
.

t h e po t t er lear n s t o know almo st by in st in ct how

c lo se h e c a n come t o t h e t 0 p o f t h e wh eel and yet
leave a bo t t om t h ick enou gh t o t rim and ni sh .
 Work i ng o n the Wh e e l 33

A form as nearly cylindrical as possible w i ll be

t h e Simplest to begin with S uppose one wishes t o
.

make a j ar of the shape

sho wn in Fig 1 2. The
.

next step is to make the

walls of equal thickness ,

hollowing the bottom

more To do t his the
.
,

elbows a r e b r a c e d
against the sides and ,

t h e ngers plac ed in the

FIG 1 2
position Shown in Fig .
.

r3 This is one of the ways in which the hands

.

are made t o support each other and work i n uniso n .

The di fferent placings

of the hands to ac ,

complish variou s results ,

are known as potter s

grips In this one the.

,

right hand which re ,

mains out side the piece

(lying clo se again st i t ) ,

su ppo r t s the left by the

FI G 1 3
.

thumb w h i c h re sts
against it t h e forenger of the right hand hav
,

ing p reviously been coiled around its thumb ( see

34 H o w to M ak e P o tte ry

Fig . The mi ddle nge r of the left hand lies

agai nst the wall of t h e piece insi de The piece is .

thus supported outside and in by a hand .

S tarting at t h e bottom as t h e wheel turns the , ,

hands held steady and rm rise slowly with each

, ,

revolu t ion of t h e w h eel The right presses more .

th an t h e left hollowing t h e bott om and walls of t h e

,

piece S lowly slowly t h e hands rise until the top

.
, , ,

i s reached If t h e s h ape is not qui te tru e the

.
,

FI G . 14

hands start in t h e same posit ion at t h e bo t t om and

again go up pressing hardest wh en p re ssure is
,

needed and going ligh t ly wh ere it i s not ne cessary

,

to alter the shape Anot h e r posit ion of t h e hands

.

(se e Fig 1 4 ) may be u se d t o p re ss t h e clay into a

.

narrower form Th is mus t be done wit h great

.

deliberatio n and car e however as t o o muc h p res

, ,

sure may make acrease in t h e c lay wall wh i ch w i ll

 Wo rki ng o n th e Wh ee l 35

spoil t h e piece When the walls ar e of even thick

.

ness ( not more than a quarter of an inch ) and the

shape about what one
wishes the t o p mus t be
,

nished .

First the edge is ou t

even . We will use fo r
this t h e tool shown in
Fig 8
. .

H o l d i n g the tool ,

which h as been wet with

FI G 5 1
slip rmly in the right
,
.

hand brace t h e left by resting the thumb near where

,

t h e steel is inserted in the wood (se e Fig As .

the wheel turns lay the left forenger wet with slip
, , ,

just inside the top of the piece ,

and directly opposite ( at the

point where one w i shes to cut
the t 0 p ) run the point of the
tool through till it touches ,

the nger and hold it steady ,

and rm till one revolutio n of

the Wheel has bee n made
FI G 1 6
.

The wheel is the n stopped ,

and the edge that w as cut lifted o ff deftly and

quickly .
36 H ow to M ak e P o ttery

T o softe n the edge hold the foren ger an d mi ddl e

,

n ger of the right h an d apart ( see Fig .Wet

their i nn er su rf aces t horou ghly wit h s lip t hen , as ,

t h e wheel revolves h old t hem straight a

, nd r m
(while the left hand ste adies the wrist of t h e right)
an d press t h e roun ded j oini ng of the two ng ers
gent ly but r mly down on t h e t 0p of t h e pi ece ,

holding it there ste adi ly till one o r t w o whole r evo

lut ions of t h e wheel h ave been made If one wi shes
.

t o have a more aring t 0 p lay t h e forenge r of t h e

,

right hand i nside the edge wi t h ever so slight an

outward pressur e while t h e Wheel t ur ns once
, .

B efore perfecting the bot tom it may be as well t o

,

let the piece stiffen for half an hour .

The h oe shaped tool is used for cutti ng away t h e

-

extra clay un der the bot tom S et the whe el in

.

moti o n then take the t ool well moistened wit h

, ,

slip in the left hand Hold i t rml y with i t s long

,
.

edge on the t 0p of t h e wheel (if i t is to be a long

an d gradual slope into the bot t om of the j ar) while ,

the right han d ste adi e s the top out er angle of t h e

tool It is t hen run in under t h e bott om and t here
.

held t ill one or mor e revolutions have cu t away t h e

S hould one w i sh to make a more abru pt line up

fro m the bottom the process is r eversed t h e right
, ,
 Worki ng o n th e Wheel 37

hand holds the tool the short Side of which is laid

,

on the wheel while the left hand holds the outside

,

top angle to steady it

,
.

After an hour or two when t h e piece has sti ffened,

somewhat it may be smoothed and the form

, ,

rened or improved if ne cessary with the smooth

, ,

edged oval tool of sheet steel When the wheel is .

in motion t hi s tool moistened with water and bent

, ,

to t the curves of the piece ; is held in the right

hand at right angles with the piece while the left ,

hand supports the wrist of the right To o abrupt .

angles may be softene d and roughness removed

with thi s tool S tart at the bottom with it and
.
,

move i t up gradually with each revolution o f the ,

wheel li ghtly except where the form nee ds much

, ,

t rimming . The rubber poli sher w e t with water i s , ,

now passed over the surface in the same w ay taking ,

care that it is held at right angles wi t h the pie ce and

the hand that holds it is braced by t h e other A .

stout wire held close to the pie ce o n either Side is

then drawn under it once or twice to prevent i t s
clinging to the wheel .

The next day o r as soon as the piece i s s t iff i t is

, ,

r emoved to a plas t er tile In nishing the bo t tom .

,

the wheel is r s t scraped and wiped clean o f all clay ;

the piece is then placed o nit bottom up and centred .
38 H o w to M ak e P o tte ry

This is done by putting it as near th e mi ddle as pos

sible by eye ; t hen when the wheel is going well ,

hold t h e right forenger or a wooden t ool well ,

braced close to t h e piece S ee if it t ouches at any

, .

point and if s o move t h at side nearer t h e centre

, , .

R oll four s hort pieces of rather s ti ff clay With .

two of t hese make supports on the wheel about an

inch high clo se t o the piece on eith e r Side to hold it
,

steady no t close enough to cling to it No .

more supports are placed half way betwee n the -

rs t t w o .

Ge t the wheel going well and hol di ng t h e hoe ,

shaped tool so t hat i t s middle angle will s t rike t h e

bottom of the piece about h alf an inch from the
edge aim it t ruly and h old it stea di ly t ill t h e wheel
,

ha s made one or mor e revolutions whi c h will mark ,

a circle Withi n t his line dep r ess t h e bott om

.

slightly by cutt ing out a t hi n layer of clay T hi s is .

d one wi t h t h e r ect angu lar sh eet steel t ool held rst

.

near t h e line then with each revolu t ion near er the

,

centre till i t r each e s i t The pot te r next c uts hi s

.

mark on t h e bottom wit h a woo d en t ool if t h e pie c e ,

is not very dry o t h e rw i se it Shou l d be made with a

'

pointed steel t ool t aking care to bevel t h e edges of

,

the incise d lines .

The j ar is ni shed with a handle on each Side .

 Wo rki ng o n the Wh eel 39

R oll out two strips of clay ve and a half inches

long ; atten them an d trim the edges Now mark, .

FI G . 1 7 FI G . 18

a place on each side o f the top of the j ar so that a ,

line drawn from one to the other would exactly

divide the t 0 p M ake two other marks in the same
.

w ay at the bottom ,

di rectly under those at

the top These are fo r
.

guides in attaching the

handles . S tarting at
the top below o ne of
,

the marks criss c r oss

,
-

lines with the steel tool

fo r an in ch down the

side o f the j ar D o this .

FI G 1 9
on the other side of the
.

j ar and then starting an inch above the mark on

, ,

either side of the bottom cut criss cro ss lines for an,
-
40 H o w to M ak e P o tte ry

in ch u p the side of the j ar N o w take one of the .

c lay s t rips b r ush t h e u pper c ri ss c rossed lines o n

,
-

one Side of t h e j ar wit h slip and p r ess the e nd of the ,

strip u pon it working t h e edges close against the

,

side of the j ar wit h the at of t h e nail The other .

end of t h e strip is cu t in a long point t o t t h e fo rm

of t h e j ar and bent into the s h ape Shown in t h e
,

plat e Wet the criss cr osse d lines below i t wi t h

.
-

slip ,
and att ach thi s end in t h e same way as t h e
rst Th e ot her handle i s put on in t h e same
.

manner .

A mat glaze of gray green (see Chapter V ) will

-
.

complete t h e pie ce .

S u c h fo rms as ar e shown in Figs 1 7 and 1 8 can .

be made wit h o u t any di fcu lty and t h ey will be ,

r
mos t at t r ac tive fo r s h or t st emmed o w e s viole t s -

swee t peas o r nast u rt iums ,

A cream jug (se e .
-

plat e) is compar at ively simple Th e lip is formed . .

with a deft tou c h o f t h e nge r aft er t h e pie ce is

moul de d and t h e han d le added aft erwar d A
,
.

dull green mat glaze will make a c h arming ni sh

- -

fo r t h is pie c e Th e j ar s hown in Fig 1 9 i s mor e

. .

di f cu l t t o shape b u t i t is an ex c ellent o ne for

,

ower s .
M e th od s of D e co rat io n
 CH A P T E R IV

M E TH OD S OF D E C O R AT I O N

TH E more simple and strong pottery designs are ,

the better Those that are i ntricate no matter

.
,

how beautiful are out of place on t h e big sub

, ,

st ant i al forms ; while deli c ate traceries are lost

un der the glaze Here as in b asketry w e can learn
.
, ,

mu c h from the work of primitive peoples

m
.

In applying such designs si ple methods too , , ,

are bestincising buil di ng up t h e outline so that

,

the design shall be raised above the background ,

cutting away the background to leave t h e

design in low relief and pierci ng These are ,
.

good processes easy to learn and e ffective in

, ,

result .

In starting suppose w e de c or ate a W heel made

,
-

piece alow di sh for candy with a built u p design ,

-

o f rings .

D i s h fo r Candy w i th R i ng D es i gn

Materi a
ls A w h e el -
mad e d i sh or bo w l ,

d!
require Ultramari ne b lu e w at e r-
co lo u r p ai nt ,

43
44 H o w to M ak e P o ttery

A small w at e r -
co lo u r p ai nt bru sh
-
w i th a ne
p o i nt ,

A s au c e r of gro u nd ,
b ak e d cl ay , mi xe d w i th
w ater ,

A pi t c h r e of w at er .

The lo w bowl sh own in t h e plate is no t di f cult

t o mou ld o n t h e w h eel Aft er it h as become bone
.

d ry as i t will in t h r ee o r fou r days i t will be safe

t o d ecor ate i t in t h is way B e c ar eful in handling .
,

t h e pie c e no t t o grasp i t by t h e edge which in all

, , ,

u nbake d pot t e r y b u t especially in t h at t hat is bone

,

d ry i s the mo s t fr agile p ar t
, It s h ou l d be held in .

t h e hollow o f t h e left hand wh ile the r ight does t h e ,

work Have r eady some u lt r amarine blu e water

.

colou r p aint mixe d wit h w ate r in a cu p a small ,

paint bru sh t ape ring to a ne point and a saucer in

-

wh i ch i s some bake d o r biscui t clay pale yellow in ,

c olo u r gr ou nd ne and mixed wit h water to the

,

c on sis t en cy o f t hi ck c r eam A jug of water nearby .

is also ne c essary to t h in t h e clay mixture when it

,

sti ffens .

The de sign ch osen is one large and two small

rings alte r nating ar ou n d t h e bowl near t h e top (se e
,

Fig . First measu re t h e cir cumfer ence of the

t o p o f the bowl D ivi d e it i n
. to fths and mark the
di vi sions wi t h the paint bru sh and blue paint -
.

S t ar ting a qu art e r of an inc h below one of th ese

 M etho ds o f D e co rati o n 45

marks draw a small ring about half an inch in

, ,

di amete r with the blue p aint

, S h ould y o u .

make a mistake the p aint will e r ase easily after

,

it is dry .

H alf an i n ch below the rst ring another i s drawn .

One of these groups o f two small rings i s made

below each of the ve marks around the top of t h e

FI G . 2 0

bowl Then start ing half an inch belo w the t o p of

.

the bowl and midway between t w o gr o u ps d r aw a

, ,

larger ring about an inch in di ameter One o f .

these rings is out line d in t h e same w ay in ea ch o f

the ve spaces When t h e design i s per fected and
.

the paint dry dilut e a lit t le of t h e bake d clay in t h e

,

saucer t o the consisten cy o f thin c ream and wi t h ,

i t an d t h e brush t ho r oughly clean sed from blue

,
46 H ow to M ak e P o ttery

paint trace the out li nes of the decoration Use a

, .

full bru s h and make t h e lines as uniform as po ssi

,

ble in wi dt h and t hickness Th e re sh ould be fou r .

or more c oats o f thi s material applied in order t o

b u ild up t h e design su fcient ly b u t only t h e rst ,

one is thi n T hi s is so t hat i t shall cling t o t h e clay

.

under neath Th e next and subsequent coat s are

.

made wit h a thi cker consisten cy o f t h e creamy

mixt ur e which mu st howeve r be t hi n enough
, , ,

t o ow freely fr om the br u s h D o no t add .

a coat unt il t h e o ne u n der neat h i s t h or oughly

dr y .

piece i s no w rea dy fo r glazing

Th e .

A pale green glaze may be use d (se e Ch ap t er

-

Incising i s an ab so
lu t e ly simple p r ocess ,

whi c h give s a ch arm

ing effect E xample s .

of t h is m e t h o d of
decor at ion are s h own
FI G 2 1 .

in t h e fr ui t bowl wi t h -

a garland of orange leaves just below t h e rim on t h e

inside ( see plate and Fig and t h e smaller .

bowl wit h a maple seed de sign (se e plate and Fig

-
.

Incising also helps t h e pie r ced d e sign on t h e

rose bowl described in Ch ap t e r VII
-
.
 M e tho ds o f D eco rati o n 47

To D ecorate a S mall B ow l w i th I noi sed D esi gn

M ap le S e eds

Ma
teria
ls A small w h e e l mad e b o w l
-

req u ired ! A p o i nt e d s t e e l t o o l ,

A p o i nt e d b o xw o o d t o o l ,

A b o x w o o d t o o l w i t h c u rv e d p o i nt
-
.

Th e bowl a low one is made o nthe wheel accord

, ,

ing to the di re ct ions in Chapter I I I After it h a s .

dried for a day it may be dec o r a

, te d with an i n cised
design .

S uppose we ch o ose for t hi s a wi nge d maple seed -

the Simple outlines of which any o ne can draw .

Fr om tip to tip of the wings Should measure at le ast

an inch and thr ee quarters I f the bowl is small
-
.
,

n ot more than four and a half i n ches i n di ameter at

the top S i x seeds should be made at equal di stances
,

ar ound it First me asure the circumfere n ce of the

.

t 0 p of the bowl D ivide it into sixths and with a

.
,

pencil mark o ff as many divisi o n s o n the edge of the

bowl .

The design which is drawn so that the seed

,

portion is down and the little wings turn up is rst ,

outlined i n pencil near the top of the bowl B egin .

by drawing t h e seed p art which S hould be about ,

an inch below a pencil mark on the edge With a -

.

boxwood p oint deepen the line an d then make the ,

48 H ow to M ak e P o ttery

incision still deeper using the wooden tool wit h a

,

curved poin t Take care not to make a dou ble

.

line in deepe ni ng the rst out line ; it should be a

clean rm line with a bevelled edge Avoid cu t
, , .

ting un der the edge as the gl aze will no t run ,

smo othly ove r it .

If the piece is t o o dry to a dmit of incising with a

wooden tool u se a pointe d steel tool at rs t and
,

ni sh w i th a wooden one Cer t ain p ar t s of t h e .

desig n shoul d be accented by deepening t h e line

for example t h e roun ded seed portion particularly
, ,

where it j oins the w i ngs .

Thi s bowl may be nish ed with a pale green mat -

glaze ( see Chapter V ) or wit h a soft brown one . .

A decoration that is left in low relief by cu tting

away the b ackground i s admirable for some pieces .

The mot h design on the rose bowl in Chap t er VI is -

.

made in t his way The design is rst drawn on the

.

piece in pencil N ext it is outlined with rm su re

.
,

strokes using a point ed steel tool and taking great

, ,

care not t o cu t under the edge of t h e outline but ,

bevel it as in other processes Go over the whole

, .

outli ne of the design agai n wit h a boxwood point ,

making the lines deeper Th en start close to the .

edge of t h e outline wi th the st eel tool which h as a ,

at point and scr ape away from it cutti ng as deep

, ,
 M e tho ds o f D eco rati o n 49

as the outline close to the design a n d sloping

, ,

gradually up to nothing at about half an inch from

FIG . 2 2

it . Cert ain parts of the design may be emphasised

by cutt ing t h e outline somewhat deeper at those
points B e sure to cut away enough clay about
.

the design to leave it in decide d relief for the glaze ,

softens the e dges and makes them too inde nite if

,

they are not rm and clear in the beginning .

P ierced decorations are particularly g o od on p o t

t e ry . S uch simple designs as t hose in Figs 2 2 2 3 .
, ,

and 2 4 will be found the most satisfactory .

FI G . 2 3

I n planning a pierced decoration for the top of a

piece take care n o t to start it t o o close to the rim ;
,
5 0 H ow to M ak e P o tte ry

three quarters of an inch or more Shoul d be left

-

be t ween the edge and the decoration otherwi se ,

t h e pier cing will weaken t h e piece .

Outli ne the design r st in pencil then with rm , ,

clear strokes follow the line with t h e pointed steel

tool Th e lin e is traced a second t ime still more
.

deeply All t h e clay withi n the out lines is cu t

.

out as far as t h e incision h as been made and ,

FI G . 2 4

t hen t h eharp point of the tool is run through the

s

wall close t o the li ne Whi le t h e clay i s being cut

.

away wit h the right hand t h e left su pports t h e ,

i nner wall of the piece .

When t h e wh ole desig n h as bee n pierced moisten ,

the nger wit h water and soften the e dges o f the

decoration t hat t h e glaze may ow freely over it
, .

Decorations i n high relief a re made a s follows !

 M e tho ds o f D eco rati o n 5 1

Small lumps o f clay as nearly as p o ssi b le th e co n

,

siste n cy o f the piece o f pottery are applied t o the

,

porti on s whi ch are to be decorated and which ,

have previously bee n criss crossed with a steel to ol

-

an d wet with slip The desig n i s the n moulded

.

with the han ds and woode n modelli ng t o ols work ,

in g the edges close o n to the surface of the piece .

 CH A P T E R V

TH E GL A Z E A ND H OW T O A PP L ! IT

CL A Y
that is Simply baked without a glazed

coati n g will n ot hold water perfectly

,
.

One can imagine what a blow it must have bee n

to the early potter when he found that this w as the
case S ome say that he used wax at rst t o cl o se
.

the p ores o f h i s p o t t e ry and later perhaps by the
,

overheating of a kilnglaze d pottery was di sco v

ered P ottery that is soft will develop a semi
.

gla zed Surface whe n o ve r re d an d it is prob ab le

,

that s ome such accident suggested the u se of the

gla ze .

The rst gla ze w as 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 i s kno w n as biscuit is baked clay p o rous

an d without gloss for example a o w e r p o t ,
-
.

Glossy p ottery has a very thi n layer o f glaze up on

it
. The S am i an w are of the Greeks furnishes
55
5 6 H o w to M ake P o ttery

ex amples of thi s ni sh Glaze d pottery i s co vered

.

with a perceptible coating of glass .

En amelled ware or po ttery with a mat glaze

,
-

ha s a glazed coati n g made opaque with o xi de o f

'

tin Thi s ni sh is use d on some of the most beaut i

.

ful art pottery Glazes may be coloured with ce r

.

tain metallic oxides with ou t losing their trans

p ar e ncy .

One i s ofte n confuse d by he aring the ter ms

enamel and glaze carelessly use d E namel should .

be use d t o describe a vitreou s coati ng t hat i s

op m
ue an d glaze a glossy tran spar ent sur face
, ,

both may be c oloured The term mat glaze is an .

-

ex ce ption to this rule Thi s means an Op aque glaze

.

with a glossy ni sh .

The materials of which glazes are comp osed are

ab out the same as those that e nter into t h e com
p osition o f clays with a few addi ti ons There is .

in glazes as in clays the play of soft an d hard

, ,

mate rials or the ux and fri t Flint aluminum

,
.
, ,

or chi na clay forms the frit or hard refr a c t ory ,

portion ; potash soda lead or b orax t h e meltin g

, ,

p art or ux The addi ti on o f clays gi ves dur

.

I n preparing
the ux it is melted like glass and ,

the n cru shed to po wder The frit must rst be .

 The Glaze and H o w to A pp ly I t 57

melted then dr oppe d from the crucible i nto water

,

before it can be powdered .

The maki n g of glazes is n ot O fte n done by ama

t e u rs an d unless one i s planning to start pottery
,

making as a business an d requires large quantities

,

of gla zes it is best to buy them from a reliable

,

dealer They come in the form of powder soft

.

glaze hard glaze and stannif ere w hich is a hard
, , ,

glaze with some oxide of ti n added to make it ,

O paque The soft glazes are use d o n ware which

.

re s at a low heat and is therefore not durable

, .

A large pr o portion of hard glaze must be added t o

make the preparatio n ap plicable t o a p ottery
which is re d at an i ntense heat While if one wishes ,

a mat glaze the stannif e re i s also used

-
.

The c olour i ng materials may be bought o f the

same dealer They are as follow s ! Antim ony for
.

yellow cobalt for blue copper for gree n chrome

, , ,

f or green manganese for brown and iro n for brown

, , .

R e d oxide of iro n colours a purplish red an d ,

ca rb on ate of copper makes a gray green that is very

beautiful A ground glass or stone slab o n which
.
,

t o mix the glaze an d a palette knife will be re

, ,

quired ; also a small quantity of gum arabic and o f -

gum tragacanth a small teacup and a me a

, s uri n g ,

glass These with two or three soft paint

.
, brushes
5 8 H ow to M ak e P o ttery

of vari o us Sizes o ne t hat is an i n ch wide one ,

smaller and another larger will be e nough of an
,

outt t o start with .

The gum arabic should be di ssolved i n water t o

-

the con sisten cy of honey It is used in the rst .

coat of glaze to bind t h e glaze and prevent it from

rubbing o ! uite a little of it may be prepare d
.

at a time and kep t in a covered glass j ar until

needed The gum tragacanth is bought in small
.

quantit ies ve cents worth at a t ime Cover this

amount with one pint of water and let it stan d

over night I n the morning strain it through a
.
,

ne sieve an d put it away in a glas s j ar till it is

needed .

If possible very large pieces of pottery Sh oul d

,

be r ed before they are glazed i n the biscuit as it ,

is called S mall and me di um sized pieces may be

.
-

glazed on the green clay the term by whi ch
unbaked clay is know n among potters The pie ce .

Sh ould have dr ied t ho r oughly for several days ,

until it is light gray in colour and what is known ,

as bone dry I t is decorated if decoratio n i s re

.
,

qui red and then glazed All vessels that are used
, .

to hold or measure glaze shoul d rst be dipped i n

w ater to prevent waste from the glaze clinging to
them The han ds should be washed thoroughly
.
 Th e Glaze and H ow to A pp ly I t 59

after worki ng with gla zes as s ome o f the materials

,

use d are poiso n ous .

For the inside of m o st pieces a transpare nt glaze

is used whether the outer glaze is to be transpare nt
,

or opaque .

All of the odds and ends of tran spare nt glaze n o ,

matter what the colour that are left after each

,

glazing are poured into a large bowl or other ves

,

se l w hi ch is kept for the purpose The mixture of .

all colours i n th is combi n ation of glazes makes a

neutral ti nt which harmonizes most agreeably with
the outer glaze whatever its colour
, .

It is appli e d as follows !

To Glaze th e I ns i de o f a P i ece o f P o tte ry

Take asmall cupful of transp are nt glaze an d , ,

hol di ng the piece of pottery over the large vessel

c o ntai ni ng the liqui d pour the cupful of glaze into
,

it r olling it around the inside of the piece quickly

,

but c arefully so as to have it cover the entire i n ner

,

surface Then tur n the piece deftly and suddenly

.

bottom up so as to empty i t into t h e large vessel

,

without letting any of it drip over onto the outside

of the piece S hould this happen by accident rub
.
, ,

it quickly o ff with the ngers .

60 H ow to M ak e P o ttery

Th e Ou ts ide Glaze and H ow to A pp ly I t

The most satisfacto ry ni sh for the outside of

ne pott ery i s a mat or O paque glaze in any soft
dul l shade of green brown blue yellow or the red
, , , ,

obtainable with r e d oxide of iron For an art pot .

t e ry composed of re a
, nd blue clay which requires -

a strong h eat the following glaze is applicable !

,

Gray Gree n M at Glaz e

- -

M ix 1 p o o nful o f so ft gla
t able s ze ,

5 table sp o o nful o f s t anni fere ,

and
5 table sp o o nful o f Chi na clay ,

together on a stone or glass slab wi th a palette

kni fe ad d ng t easpoonful of gum arabic and
i

e nough water to make the consistency a little

thi cker than thi ck cream About teasp o onful of .

carbonate of copper added to thi s mi xture ( and

ground t hor o ughly into it with the palette k nife )
will make a light gray green For deeper shades -
.

increase the quantit y slightly The tint appears .

much lighter than it wi ll when red ; indeed in the ,

colouring of glazes as in painting on chi na the

, ,

worker needs a great deal of faith for until the ,

magic of the kiln brings out the colours o ne would

never guess what they were to be .

I n applyi ng the glaze place your piece bott om ,

 Th e Glaze and H o w to A pp ly I t 61

up on a table or other at surface D ip a s o ft at

!
, .
,

pai nt brush int o the bowl of glaze and begi nni ng

-

with the bo tt o m p ai nt it on i n sh ort strokes i n

,

every directi on w hat an artist w o uld call cross
hatchi ngan d o verlapping slightly like the shi n
gles o n a h ou se The bott o m receives but one coat
.

o f glaze as it is liab le t o stick in ring and be uneve n

,

if it has more than o ne N ext start at the sides .

,

near the b o tt o m (as the piece stan ds upside down ) ,

an d pai nt down for an inch or two all around The .

piece is the n set right side up pr o viding of course , , ,

that the b o ttom is dry whi ch it will b e undoubt ,

e dl y
, an d the rest of it i s glazed From time t o .

time stir up the gla ze from the bottom that it may ,

be th oroughly mixed .

The e dge especially sho uld be carefully c o vered ,

and the o uter glaze may even be brought over i nside

the piece a little B efore applyi ng the seco n d an d
.

thi rd c o ats (for the piece receives three ) two tea

spo o nfuls of gum tragacanth well mixed accordi ng ,

to directions are added t o the glaze I n putti ng

, .

on the seco n d coat the piece is again placed upside

,

dow n o n the table an d b egi nning where the Sides

,

j oi n the bottom the glaze is applied as before

"

.
,

The sides and top edge o nly are glazed this time .

The third coat which is put on w he n the sec on d i s

,
62 H o w to M ak e P o ttery

dry is begun at the top edge covering it well and

, , ,

is e n ded gradually and unevenly half w ay dow n the

sides .

P ale green M at Gla

-
ze -

To make a light er shade of green with just a hi nt ,

of yellow t o soft en i t add t o h alf the quantity of

,

t h e glaze r st m i xe d as much again of t h e u nc o l

o u re d glaze and a slight sprinkling of yello w .

It will be seen from t hese dire ctions h o w much

the colouring of glazes is like the ble ndi ng of pig
ments for a picture It is a delightfu l eld for ex
.

ri me nt and t h e element of chance is s u pplied by

p e ,

t h e kiln which oft en does unexpect ed and interest

,

ing t h ings to one s c olou rs and glazes leavi ng here ,

a tou ch of b r own about t h e rim to relieve an ex

p anse of green ; t h ere a metallic tinge almost like
,

lustre ; and again t h e bi s cui t peeps through the

glaze giving a warmer tone to the edge of a decora
,

tion .

In mixing t h e glaze for a pi e ce t hat has been red

in t h e biscu it make it a lit tle thi cker than t hat for
,

use on the green clay about t h e consistency of
whi pped cream I t is applied somewhat di ffer
.

ently too A pot te r would t ell you to rag it o n

, .
! !

that is put i t on wi t h rm short strokes using the

, , ,
 Th e Glaze and H o w to A pp ly I t 63

ends o f the hairs of the brush instead of the at

part Let each coat dry well before the next is
.

appli ed Three or four coat s will be nec ssary

.
e
,

except for the bottom which receives but o ne , .

After the rst coat gum tragac anth is added as in

, ,

glazing on green clay The fourth coat need not

.

entirely cover the piece but the top should be care

,

fully glazed I f fo r any reason the pottery has to

.

be re re d it should be re glaze d but two coats

-

,
-

only will be necessary and the glaze need not be

,

qui te so heavy as that used on the biscuit D o not .

be di scouraged if your pieces nee d a second or even

a third ring for often the most beautiful results
,

r -
are obtained by e ri ng ! uality that combina .

tion of richness and depth of colour an d textur e

m
,

rarely c o es with the rst ring .

P o tte ry fo r Be au ty Use
 CH A P T E R VI

P O TT ER ! F OR B E A U T ! A ND US E

WH E N one t hi nks Of the li mitless possibilities o f

pottery i n household decoration the great di shes
for owers and frui t the lamp bowls can dl esticks
,
-

, ,

an d tiles o ne may make one can hardly w ait to

-

begi n No w is the chance to work out a lo ng

.

tre asured idea for a match bowl or a plant j ar to -

,
-

hang against the wall or window frame N ow o ne .

can Show the superiority of one S con ce ptions over

,

the stupid t hi ngs i n Shops ! Let us h a

s te n to get

out the clay an d b egin .

D ark Gree n F rni t B o w l

- -

Materi a
ls Ab o u t 4 5 p o u nds o f clay ,

A p las t e r mo u l d fo r a b o w l , 1 0 or 1 1 i nch e s i n
di ame te r at th e to p ,
Th e o val t o o ls o f sh e e t st e e l ,

Th e w o o den mo d e lli ng t o o ls ,
Th e p o i nt e d st e e l t o o l,
A i nt b ag ,

A ro lli ng p i n-

A b o w l o f sli p ,

A small sp o nge
68 H ow to M ake P o ttery
!

Tak e ag oo d lu mp of clay about four an d ah alf ,

f

p ounds well worked an d free from air bub b le s

,
-
.

B eat out a piece with the at o f the hand on a table

'

until it is a bo ut t h ree quarters o f an inch thi ck a n d

-

m ore tha n large enough to cover the bottom o f the

plas ter mould you have chosen It should be o f .

eve n thi ckness and may be ro lled with a rolli ng pi n

,
-

to make it smooth B e sure that the plaster mould

.

i s c lea n a n d free fr o m scraps of clay Then dust it .

with powdered i nt tied up in a c o tto n cloth Now .

t the at pie ce of clay carefully into the bott om o f

t h e bowl mould pres sing it r mly but lightly
, , ,

agai n st it Cu t the edge evenly aro un d Ne xt a

. .

lo ng r o pe of clay i s rolled as describe d in Chapter I I .

I t shoul d be an i n ch in diameter an d long e no ugh ,

to go around t h e bowl just above the bott o m .

Pa t it at and even an d cut o ne e n d into a l on

, g
poi nt After cross cutting t h e edge of the botto m
.
-

pi ece (to in sure i ts hol di ng rmly to t h ecoil ab o ve ) ,

brush it with Sli p and lay the coil along pressing it ,

rmly o n to the edge of the bottom piece Work .

the edges of this piece and the coi l together with

rm short strokes of the at part of the thu mb or
,

forenger n ail Where the coil j oi ns the other end

.

it i s cut int o a lo ng at point that will t exactly

,

the p oi nt at the begi nning c ompleti ng th e r ow ,

.
 P o tte ry fo r B e au ty and Us e 69

For the next coil no cross cutting with the tool i s

-

necessary but otherwise the p rocess is the same i n

,

j oini ng this and subsequent coils Care should be .

taken to press the clay rmly against the walls o f

the moul d 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 c oils above the edge

, ,

taking care to have them slope in such a w ay as to

co ntinue the lines o f the bowl It i s then se t away
.

to harden The next day t h e clay will have drie d

.

an d Shrunk suf cient ly to come easily away from

the plaster The bowl is t hen place d bot tom up
.

on a table or at slab and the hollows left between

,

the coils on the outside are w e t with Slip and lled

i n evenly with clay of the c onsistency of that in
,

the piece This will take time and care The

. .

bowl is then allowed to dry for an h our or two .

Next it is carefully scraped and made even ; rst

w i th the oval steel t ool wi t h a s aw edge held at ,

right angles wit h the bowl and curved to t the

form ! t hi s is to get the large bumps off It is then .

carefully evened o ff wit h the smooth e dge d oval

tool bent to t the curves of t h e bowl The inside .

is made smooth and even in the same w ay brush ,

ing any deep hollows with slip and lling t hem in

with clay This process should be carefully and
.
7 0 H o w to M ak e P o ttery

conscie ntiously done so that the walls of the bo wl

, ,

as one feels th em bet ween nger and thumb are ,

even and free from lumps They shoul d not be .

more than a quart er of an inch thick .

A damp sponge is then p assed over the bowl and ,

t h e ngers and t humb smoot h and polish it outside

and in The edge is trimmed as evenly as possible by

.

eye wi t h a steel tool and then bevelle d as follows !

On a lar ge Slab of ground glass pour a lit tle water ,

whi ch should be sp read over t h e glass t ill it is thor

oughly wet Now hol di ng t h e bowl bott om u p
.
, ,

rmly with bot h hands press i t s edge qui ckly and

,

FI G . 2 5

wi th a circular motion at on the glass It must .

be done so rapi dl y and deft ly t hat it will not stick ,

but makes t h e e dge even and true S lip it o ff at .

t h e side of t h e slab inst ead of lift n it up from t h e

c entre . Th e bottom is nished as described in

Chapt er II If t his is d one in t h e morning the bowl
. ,

will be rea dy for t h e decorati on in the afternoon .

This i s a ban d of orange leaves ( see Fig 2 deeply .

 P o tte ry f
or B e au ty and Use 7 1

i n cise d ne ar the top of the bowl on the inside ( see

Chapter More character will be give n to the
design if the li ne is broad and deep particularly ,

at the points of the leaves which are thus e mp h a ,

si se d . This piece being so large Should if possible , , ,

be red in t h e biscui t an d then nished inside and ,

out with a dark green mat glaze (se e Chapter

,
- -

and re d again .

C andles ti ck ,
Th u mb D es i gn

Materi als Ab o u t 1 } p o u nd s o f clay ,

requ i red ! Th e b o x w o o d mo d e lli ng t o o ls ,

Th e p o i nt e d st e e l to o l,
A plast e r slab ,

A sma ll S p o nge .

Thi s sturdy little candlestick shows that it i s

hand moulded by the marks o f the potte r s thumb

on base handle and candle cup The square base

, .

is m o ulded from a single large piece of clay This .

i s patted at and even wit h the thick par t of the

han d and then cut square and the sides turned up

,

for about an inch maki ng the base about ve in ches

,

square and three eighths o f an inch thick It is

-
.

the n placed o n a plaster Slab and t h e c or ners are ,

pressed i n with a rmly held thu mb The sides of .

the square b ase are moulde d into a gradual inward

c u rve an d the corners are S lightly depressed (see
,
7 2 H ow to M ake P o ttery

plate ) A cup for the candle ( see Fig 2 6) i s made

. .

by rolling a pie ce of clay into cylin dr ical form ,

about an inc h and three quarters i n di ame t e r and

-

two inch es and a qu arter long At the t o p of this .

roll the nger makes a hollow for the candle It

, .

should be remember ed that the clay shrinks bot h

i n drying and ring S O t his hole should be a trie
,

large and deep for t h e candle .

The sides of t h e cup at about an ,

inch from the top are squared ,

and pressed in so that the

four corners will stan d out like
columns The hollowed sides
.

be t ween t h e corners Show t h e

mark of t h e thumb (see Fig .

FI G 2 6 '

The cent re of the base is now

wet with thick slip and the candl e cup pressed
rmly on to it while the edges are moulded c losely
,

on to the base .

A piece of clay is t hen rolled and att ened into a

han dle an inch in diame t er and ve inches long .

This is put on at one corner of t h e base and is no t ,

attached at any ot her point B efore moul di ng it

.

on to the base touch the cor ner lightly wit h thick

,

slip to insure i t s hol ding Where the handle j oins

, .

the base it is made t hick and substant ial by ad di ng

 P o tte ry fo r B e au ty and Use 73

a little extra clay The print of the thumb i s made

.

where the han dle j oins the c orner an other i s ,

pressed on the t o p and a n other still on the end of

,

the han dle (se e plate an d Fig To support the.

han dle until it dries roll a ball of s o ft paper un der

,

it A fter the candlestick has stood for a few ho urs

.

out o f d o ors or in
d oors over ni ght it is
,

care fully trimmed with

o ne of the wooden
to o ls or the s h a r p
p ointed m e t a 1 o ne ,

taki n g care to leave

sum ci e nt thickness to

give i t a sturdy su b ,
FI G 2 7 .

st anti al character yet ,

n ot e n ough to make it clumsy It i s then .

rubbed over with a damp sponge and polished with

the thumb and nger which will sm o oth away any
,

lumps and give the piece a han d moulded lo o k -

.

S h ould there be any very deep hollows to mak e it

uneven they should be w e t with slip very S lightly
,

an d lled in with clay as ne arly the consistency of

that i n the can dlestick as possible Whe n it is .

bo ne dry it will be ready for the glaze (se e Chap

,

ter
74 H o w to M ak e P o tte ry

B ow l f
or a L amp

Ab o u t 3} p o unds o f clay 1
,

A p las t e r mo u l d fo r a bo w l ,

Th e w oo de n mo de lli ng t o o ls,
Th e v al sh e t
o e st e el to o ls ,
Th p o i nt e d s t
e eel to o l,
A ro lli ng p i n -

A i nt b ag ,

A small S p o nge .

Having chosen a good mould for your bowl brush ,

it inside wit h grou n d i nt tied in a cott on cloth so ,

that the clay will not stick to it Now beat out a .

piece of we ll worked clay o n a board with t h e at

-

of the hand until i t is perh aps t w o in che s more in

,

di ameter than the bott om of t h e moul d and half ,

an inch t h ick It should be rolle d smooth with

.

the rolli ng pin Lay it in t h e mould pressin

-
. g it ,

rmly against the bot tom and sides I t may not .

be o u t of place h e re to say that no tool but a woode n

one should be used in working in moul ds as metal ,

t ools are li able to inj ur e t h e plaster The edge of .

the bott om piece is next ou t even wit h a wooden

modelling tool and a lump of clay is forme d into a
,

rude cube Sh ape between the han d s and then rolled

o u t on a table o r board wit h t h e at of the hand

till about three quarters of an inch in di ameter

-
.

Thi s 1 011 of clay is attened eve nl y for its whole

 P o tte ry f
or B e au ty and Us e 75

length The t o p edge o f the bottom piece i s marked

.

wi t h criss cross lines and wet with Slip The roll

-
.

of clay is the n started on edge along the top of the ,

b ottom piece presse d rmly down u pon it and

,

against the sides of the mould It is j oined to the .

bottom with rm even strokes of the thumb or fore ,

nger n ail Whe n the circuit h as been made the

.
,

two ends each cut i n a long at point so that they

, , ,

will unite perfectly are j oined Another roll is ,

.
'

now made the upper edge of the previous coil is

,

wet with slip and the coil is att ached in the same
,

way being careful to start at a di fferent place from

,

where the previous coil was j oined Thus the whole .

bowl is built up Where there are any decided hol

.

lows made by j oining the coils they sh o uld be lled ,

in with clay of the consistency o f the piece and the ,

bottom and Sides smoo t hed with dampened nger

or modelli ng tool If a moderately deep mould has
.

been cho sen after the sides are covered with layers
,

o f clay four or m o re coils may be added above the

,

mould to make a deeper bowl c o ntinuing the sides ,

i n a graceful l ine To do this whe n the rst coil .

,

above the mould has been attache d the bowl is ,

se t away out of doo r s for fteen or twenty minutes

,

if it is in summer or in doors for a lon ger time if one

is working in t h e winter Whenever two coils have .
7 6 H ow to M ak e P o ttery

bee n bui lt up the pie ce is se t aw ay to harde n

, .

These coils being free fr om the moul d c anb e

, ,

j oined on the out side as well as withi n They are .

brought gradually in (see plate ) until there i s a

space ve and a half inches in di ameter at the t op .

If a ce ntral draught lamp is t o be used i n thi s bowl

-

a pierced design will be practical as it does away ,

with the necessity for a hole at the bottom of t h e

bowl There is much t o be done however before
.
, ,

the piece is ready for the design When it h as .

s t ood for four or ve hours or over night t h e bowl ,

can be lifted from t h e mould t h e cracks on t h e ou t

,

side where i t w a s impossible t o j o in t h e coils are

w e t with slip and lled in with clay of the con

sistency of the bowl using t h e finger or a wood e n

,

too l When t h e bowl is qui te dry it is sm oo thed

.
,

in side and o u t rst with t h e oval t ool with saw

,

teeth and then wit h the smoo t h edged one as

,
-

des cribed on page 1 9 The s t rokes with t hese tools

.

shoul d be short and rm in every di rect ion The

, .

pie ce is the n turned bot tom up a circle is drawn ,

half an inch in from t h e edge of the bott om and ,

the clay wit hin it scr aped out so as t o leave a at

,

surface slight ly lower t han the outer rim Thi s i s .

where t h e pott er cut s his mark asimple quickly ,

made initial in lieu of a signat ure .

 P o tte ry f
or B e au ty and Use 77

The top edge after it has bee n cut as true as p o s

,

sible by eye is made absolute ly even by the meth o d

,

describe d on page 7 0 The wh ole piece is the n

.

rubbed wi t h a damp sp onge and smoothe d and

polished with the ngers It is n ow re ady for the
.

design ( see Fig .

The top edge of the bowl is marked o ff into fths ,

and at three quarters of an inch from the top the

-

FI G . 2 8

design is drawn with pencil so that e ach time it is ,

repeated the centre Shall be di re ctly below a mark

on the edge . It is rst i n cised with a metal t oo l ,

in rm sure lines A gain the outline is trace d

, .
,

this time more deeply Then the clay w i thi n the

.

li nes is cut o u t as deep as it h as been incised an d ,

nally the sharp edge of the tool cuts through the

wall close to the li ne The left han d Should sup
, .

port the inner wall o f the bowl during this pr o cess .

When the whole desig n has been made dip the ,

nger i n water and s o fte n the edges of the cut por

tion The b owl is n o w ready fo r glazi ng If pos
. .
7 8 H o w to M ak e P o ttery

sible it will be better to re such a large piece as

,

t his in the biscu it before glazing It will look well .

if glazed with gray blue or dark green (see Chap

ter
Wall jar fo r P lants or F lo w ers

Ab o u t 4 } 1 p o u nds o f w e ll -
mi x e d cl ay ,

A p last e r Sl ab ab o u t 10 by 1 2 i nc h e s ,
Th e o val t o o ls o f sh e e t st e e l ,

Th e p o i nt e d st e l t o o l e ,

A ro lli ng p i n -

Ult ramari n blu e w at e r c o lo u r p a

e i nt -

A me di u m i d p ai nt b ru sh w i t h ne p o i nt
-
S ze -

A s au rful o f gro u nd b ak e d clay mi xe d w i t h

ce , ,

w a t r e .

An In di an wat er j ar of basketry smeared wi t h

-

pinon gum pointed at the bottom so t h at i t could

,

be se t upright in the ground or hu ng by leather

thongs to a tree suggested the form of this j ar
, .

One side is made at so t hat it can hang against the

,

wall of library or piazza h ol di ng some long trailing

plant that grows in wat e r ivy or w andering Jew , , ,

or wild owe r s gathered on a walk through woods

and lanes What more appropriate way to make
.

it than the Indian process described in Chapter I I .

We sh all ne e d about four and a half pounds of clay

well mixed A large lump almost tw o pounds i s

.
, ,

attened out on a table wit h the thick part of the ,

 P o ttery f or B eau ty and Us e 79

han d an d then made eve n with the r o lli ng pi n -

.

The sheet o f clay S hould be te n by twelve inches ,

and n o t less than three eighths o f an inch thick

-
.

Up on it the j ar form Shown in Fig 2 9 is o utli ned.

with a pencil maki ng it as large as possi b le to allow

,

for shrinkage It is then cut out with the pointed

.

steel to o l and transferred very carefully to a large

plaster slab where it remains while the walls are
,

being built upon it A .

c oil o f clay is rolled out ,

as described in Chapter
I I and beginning at the
.
,

left side of the j ar shape ,

at the top it is attached

,

to the edge (which h as

previ ously bee n criss
'

FI G 2 9 .

crosse d Wi th a steel tool

and wet with slip ) all the way around to the o p
,

p o si t e Side of the top .

The j ar is then put in the air until quite hard ,

whe n the next coil is added in the same way The .

third coil is brought in a little t owar d the ce ntre ,

an d subsequent coi ls come in still more so as to ,

make the form that of a j ar o u t exactly i n half .

A fter each coil is attached it Should be left i n the

,

a i r t o sti ffen or the clay be neath will n ot supp ort

,
 M ake P o ttery
'

80 H ow to

t h e coil i nprogressso great is the strai n i nfor ing

,
'

m
such a Shape E ach time aco il i s added the wall
.

below sh ould be cris s crossed with the steel t o ol

-

( an extra precaution) an d We t with Slip Care .

should be t aken n ot t o make the walls t oo thick an d ,

to j oin t h e coils and ni sh the inside as it is made ;

'

for when the j ar is completed it is M p o ssi b le to

m
, ,

get the hand and t oo l i n far e nough t o s oo th an d

nish i t well .

Whe n t h e j ar is made except f or a di amo n d

,

shaped gap i n t h e mi ddl e of the fro nt Wall the

.

piece to ll it is cut and tted in It will lie alm o st .

parallel with t h e back wall Take care t o make it

.

full large for the openi ng and j oin it t o the i nner

,

edges m o st carefully for ,

here if anywhere is the , ,

j ar li able t o crack The .

top is now made eve n

by eye usi ng the poi nt ,

ed steel t ool .

Whe n the j ar is some

what dry two handles ,

F m 30
. ( see plate ) are formed of
rolls of clay (the co nsi st
ency of that used in making the j ar ) ve and a ,

half inches l o ng by an inch wide and half an in ch

 PO TT ERY F O R B E A U T Y A ND U S E
T h e p al e green rose b ow l w i h a m o h de si gn at h l ef has b e side it a l ow tch
O n th e ri gh is a fr i b ow l w i h a dee p gre en mat gl a e
- -
t t ,
t e t, Du
t u t -
t - -
z .

H OW TO
PL A S T E R M O U L D M A KE A
At th l ef t i s a p la s ter m o l d and b es i de it a ro s e b ow l w hi h w a s p a rtiall y for m e d
e u ,
-
c

wi thi ni t . S ee chap t r V I I e .

PO TT E RY F O R B E A U T Y A ND L S E
Th e l am b ow l on th e l e f has a gr a y b ma g a e Ne t it is a ca n d le s c k w i h
th e ma k s of h p o e r s h m b on e e ry ar T h w all ja i n h b ac k gro n d is for

p -
t -
ue t
-
z . x to ti , t

O n h ri gh is a n and l e s ic k i n gree n and w hi e

r t e tt t u v p t e -
r t e u

p la n s ha grow i n w a er
t t t t . t e t e w e r c t t
 P o ttery f
or B eau ty and Use 81

thick Th e se are rmly attached t o the b ack w all

.

of the j ar at the t op ( se e plate ) accor di ng t o the ,

meth o d de scri bed on p ages 39 an d 4 0 The de co .

rati on (see Fig 30 ) is draw n on the roun ded front

.

wall o f the j ar with ultramari ne w ater col our an d -

the n built up with pow dered bur nt clay an d water

( see di recti on s i n Chapter I f p o ssib le this ,

piec e sh ould be rst red i n the biscuit A glaze o f .

dark gray gree n ( see Chapter V ) Will nish it .

m o st attractively .

D u tch D i sh for Candy

M ateria
ls Abo u t I i !
po u nds o f cl ay ,

required Th e w o o de n mo de lli ng t o o ls ,
Th e sh arp -
p o i nt e d st e e l t oo l ,
A plaste r ti le ,

A ro lli ng p i n -
.

A quai nt D utch dish br o ught fr om H ollan d ,

years ag o w as the model fo r th is sturdy little piece

,

of p ottery It may be used for can dy o r t o hold a

.

vase of o wers or a potte d plant pr o te cting a p o l

, ,

i sh e d table .A lump of clay is rolled o n a tab le

with the hands and a r o lling pi n to the thic k ne ss -

of h a l f a n i n ch Up on this clay sheet a rectangle

.

f our an d a quart er by four an d a half i n ches i s

drawn with a pe n cil an d cut o u t with the p ointed
steel t o ol I t is the n transferred to a pl aster tile
. .
82 H o w t o M ak e P o ttery

To the edge of th is rectangle a coil of clay is

att ached accor di ng to the di rections in Chapter II .
,

and ared slightly outward taking care n ot to

,

make the corners sharp but rounded and eve n

, .

A fter the rst coil has sti ffened and the sides have
,

been made somewhat uniform and thi n it is cut ,

eve n by eye curving the edge up gradually toward

,

the middle o f the sides and depressing it slightly at

the corners .

A second coil is now added but instead of at

,

tachi ng it to the top of the rst one it I S J o me d just

,

below the top and inside the rst coil When it .

has stiffened su i ci e nt ly in the air the di sh is

,

sm o othed carefu lly inside and out with the hand

and the wooden modelling tools making the walls ,

even an d thi n and pe rfecting t h e shape .

The e ffect of legs is given by cutting u nder the

sides beginni ng half an inch above the bottom I f
,
.

thi s is starte d thr ee quarters of an inch from the

-

corners it will leave a sturdy short leg an i n ch and

, ,

a half wide at each of the fourcorners of the dish .

A roll of clay about ve and a half inches l o ng an ,

inch wide and three eighths of an inch thick i s

,
-

made into a handle (se e plate ) which is attached

,

at the middle o f one of the sides of the di sh A t .

the t w o points w here it is t o be j oined the side o f ,

 P o tte ry f or B e au ty and Us e 83

the di sh is criss crossed with the steel t oo l and wet

-

with slip .

The botto m is nished by drawing a square

with a pen cil half an inch in fro m the edge and
, ,

depressing it within the square so as t o leave a ,

at even surface The potter s mark is then made

,
.

withi n this square .

A pa le green mat glaze (se e Chapter V ) makes -

.

a charming nish for t hi s piece .

R ose B ow l -
w i th M o th D esi gn

Ma
teri a
ls Ab o u t 5 p o u nds o f clay ,

required ! A ro lli ng p i n -

Th e o val s h e e t st e e l
-
t o o ls ,
Th e p o i nt e d -
st e e l to o l,
Th e st e e l to o l w i th a at e nd ,

A p last er t ile .

This r o se bowl which i s shown i n the plat e

-

, ,

w a s buil t up without a pasteboard outline If .

o n e s eye is reasonably true this is no t a di f cul t

matter but otherwise the o utline process (see

,

Chapter I I ) may be followe d

. .

A piece of clay is rst patted at with the han d ,

and the n rolled out with the rolling pin until it -

is si x inches square and about ve eighths o f an -

i n ch thi ck Upon this clay sheet a circle is marked

.
,

ve in ch es in diameter cut out and placed on a ,

84 H ow to M ak e P o ttery

plaster tile The e dge is criss crossed with a steel

.
-

tool and wet with slip and the rst coil is attached
,

( se e Chapter 11)
Two coils are built up and then they are pressed
,

outward to form the

beginning o f the out
line shown i n Fig 31 , .

This outline was taken

from the lower sweep of
the wings of a lun ar
F I G 3I

moth and t h e s a m e ,

m o th forms the relief design upon it (see Fig .

The bo wl is then put out o f do ors until th e - -

clay i s su i ci ent ly rm to support two m o re co ils .

These are added ; ar

ing them to foll o w the
o utline and then the
,

bowl i s put aw ay to

harde n i n the air if ,

t h e temperature is n o t

t o o cold otherwise i n
,

d o ors I t is built up
.

e xactly as w a s the o wer

F I G 32
j ar i n Chapter I I ex
'

.
,

cept that there is no cardboard outline to test it ;

the eye alone is the gui de Gre at care sho uld b e
.
 P o tte ry f
or B eau ty and Use 85

take n no t to add the coil s until those be low

are qui te st i ff fo r the de cided are makes it
,

di f cul t to keep the sides rm and true in

outline The circumference o f the b owl at its
.
,

wid est p art sh o ul d be about thirty in ch e s

, .

Wh en it i s ni shed the sides within and with

,

out ar e sm oo thed rst with the s aw edg ed

,
-

o val t oo l then with th e smo o th one The edge i s

, .

cut as true as p o ssible by eye and made perfectly ,

level b y pressing it quickly and lightly o n t h e

gr o und glass slab wet with clear w ater as already
-

, ,

d escrib ed A damp sponge is the n pass ed o ver

.

the piec e inside and out while th e n gers rub and

, ,

po lish it dry .

Th e b o ttom is ni shed an d the potter s mark

made as described in Chapter I I .

Wh en the bowl is thor o ughly dry s ay t h e

fo ll owin g day i t is ready for the decoration .

D ivide the circumference of the top of the b o wl

i nt o fths with pencil marks lightly made Th en
, , .

draw the design upo n it so that the t o p of the u p

,

p er wings shall be not less than an i n ch from the

e dge o f the bowl M ake the m o ths as n early life
.

si ze as the bo wl will allow Three an d a half .

inches acr o ss from tip to tip of the upper wings

, ,

w ith s p ac es an in ch and a h a
lf b etween them will ,
86 H o w to M ak e P o tte ry

look well if the bowl is large enough Having

, .

drawn the design in pencil ou tline it rmly with ,

the sharp steel tool taking car e t o bevel the edge ,

of the design Never ou t under the edge as the

.
,

glaze will not ow well over it Go over t h e out .

line making i t rm and deep with a wooden

, ,

point Now starting close to t h e edge of the

.
,

moth with the at pointed steel tool scrape away

,
-

from it so as to cut as deep as the outline close

, ,

to the design and sh ave o ff to nothing at about

,

half an inch from it This will give a low relief .

e ffect which is very attractive The ant e nna

,
s .

are incised (see Ch apter and the markings

of the moth may be built up with ground baked ,

clay so as to heighten t h e relief Th e bowl may

,
.

be glazed a pale green with a slight yellow tin ge

( see Chapter V ) to suggest the colour of the.

moth I t shou ld however if possible be r ed

.
, ,

rst in the biscuit .

F low er Candles ti ck

M ateri a
ls Ab o u t I % p o u nds o f cl ay ,

re q u ire d! Th e w o o den mo delli ng t o o ls ,

A plast er t i le .

A candlestick in ower form may be made i n

g r een and white for a bedroom in a country
, house .

Five leaves much the shape of poppy leav es

, ,
 P o tte ry f
or B e au ty and Use 87

radiate fro m the ce ntre making a base from which

,

th e stem rises fo r three inches A round slightly .

,

atte ned calyx topped by a ve petalled ower

,
-

fo rms the cup fo r the candle A sixth leaf start .

,

ing at the centre o f the b ase curls over until its ,

tip r ests sideways against the stem serving the ,

do ub le p u rpose of a handle and a brace for the '

stem The base should be model led rst from

.
,

a single piece o f clay placed on a plaster tile Care

, .

sho ul d be taken t o have it su i ci e nt ly thick at

le ast half an inch in most places Although the .

leaves sh oul d be indicated do not try to carry ,

the leaf form w ay to the ce ntre o f the base L et .

th e irr e gular outlin e of the whole base with an ,

o ccasion al raised tip o r edg e of a leaf sugge st

, ,

rather than imitate leaves The leaf that forms .

the handle will of course be m o re carefully m o d

, ,

e lle d
. No w m oul d the st em about an 1nch in ,

diam et er an d thr e e in ches long with the calyx ,

o n the en d an in ch an d three quarters in diameter

,
-

an d an inch high A fter criss crossing the middle

.
-

of the base with the p o inted steel tool wet it with

-

slip and set the stem o n the base wo rkin g the ,

edge s rmly on to it with the at of the nail an d

wo o de n m o delling t o ols The leaf for the handl e
.

i s brought o ver against the stem with a graceful

88 H ow to M ak e P o ttery

turn and there fastened wi th a touch of slip an d

,

some clay added un derneath B e careful to have .

the whole candles t ick substantial an d not at all ,

thin in co n struction or it will suggest metal wo rk

,

rather than pottery .

A fter the candlestick h a s st i e ne d for a few

hours a ve petalled ower t hree and three

,
-

quarter inch e s in di ameter is modell ed and put ,

on top of the calyx whi ch h as rst been criss ,

crossed an d wet with slip The cup for the candle .

is n ext hollowed out in the centre of the o wer and

calyx raisin g the edge of the ower centre slightly
,

above the surrounding pet a ls The candle cup .

should be a trie larger t h an i t will need to b e

whe n ni shed as it shrinks somewhat in drying
,

and ring and the glaze too lls it up a little

, , , .

B e sure als o to have it deep enough t o hold t h e

, ,

candle .

The b ase stem and han dle are nished with a

, ,

gray green mat glaze ( see C h apter-

while the
petals are white the un c o loured mat
glaze .
Ho w to M ak e a P laste r
M o u ld
 CHA P T E R VI I

H OW TO M AKE A P L A S T ER M O UL D

I Nbui lding pieces o f pottery wh os e walls have

a decided are a plaster m o uld will b e fo un d most
,

useful Its sides supp ort the coils of clay an d

.

enable the p o tter t o fo rm h i s piece much m o re .

rapidl y and surely than he c o uld by eye o r even ,

with t h e cardb o ard o utline .

I t should however be used with judgmen t

, , ,

rath er as an aid in beginning a piec e which i s after

w ard nished by eye than as a mo ul d in which
pieces are duplicated Turning o ut many pieces
.

exactly alike savours of commercialism an d does

not develop the potter s in dividuality S everal
.

bowl shaped moulds v aried in form an d ar e if

-

, ,

used as suggested will b e a great assistan ce t o the

,

potter They are made quite easily as follow s !

.
,

A B ow l s h ap-
e d M o u ld o f P las ter

Ma
teri a
ls 6 or 8 p o u nds o f cl ay , w e ll mi xe d ,

required A b o w l o r mo ul d i n b o w l
, sh ape ,

A di sh p an full o f p last e r o f p ari s ,

91
9 2 H ow to M ake P o ttery

A di sh p an o f w at e r ,

A b ag o f gr o u nd i nt ,

A pi e ce o f o i lclo t h 8 i nch es wi de by 1 } yards

a clo t h es pi ns ,

A st o u t c o rd o r ro p e ,

A w oo de n w e dg e ,

A fe w d ro p s o f o li ve o il ,

Th e w o o de n mo d e lli ng to o ls ,
Th e re c tangul ar t o o l o f sh ee t st e e l ,

A large h o e sh ap e d t o o l
-

A large k i t ch e n sp oo n .

H avingchose n the bowl that you wish to copy ,

dust it with a cotto n clo t h in which groun d in t

is ti ed and roll out a piece of clay two or more
,

inch es larger in diameter than the bottom of th e

bowl and about an inch thick P ress this care
, .

fully in to the bottom making sure that it touches

,

everywhere Now roll out se veral other pieces

.

o f the same thickn ess large en ough to reach from

,

the upper edge of the bottom piece to t h e rim of

the bowl and four or ve in ches wide The upper
, .

edge of the bottom piece having been cut even and

wet with slip these pieces are pressed down rml y
,

and join ed to it with the nail stroke before men

t i o ne d Great care is also taken to press the se
.

pieces again st the sides of the bowl When the .

b o wl is lined in thi s way wit h a coatin g of clay

an i n ch o r more in thickness at every point close
 H o w to M ake a P las te r M o u ld 93

again st i ts walls the clay i s sm oo thed evenly on

,

top on a line with the rim of the b o wl (using the

,

rectangular tool of sheet steel ) and se t outside t o

harden .

When somewhat rm the b o wl is lled in with ,

clay un til o nl y a space the size of a man s han d

i s left in the middle I t i s t he n se t away this

.
,

time o ver night to harden

8

.
,

The n ext day the clay will have dried an d shr un k

suf ciently to e n able the potter to slip it out of the
m oul d A ny cracks o r holl ows that may be fo un d
.

o n the outside are wet with slip and lled in with

clay of the consisten cy of the piece A fter the .

clay i s quite dry the form of the m o uld should b e

,

made perfectly true by hand (usin g the o val she et

steel tools ) or o n the wheel I f the latter method .

is cho sen place the clay moul d bott om side up

,

o n the wheel centre i t ( acco rdi ng to the directio ns

,

in Chapter I II ) and taking a large hoe shaped

, ,
-

t oo l hold it rmly bracing the hand still better

, ,

with a stick laid across from a plaster mould or ,

other convenient object on t h e table to o n e s lap

, ,
'
.

Havin g se t the wheel i nmotio n hold the dull poi n t ,

of the tool so that it just touches the wall o f t h e

mould near the wheel Move the p o in t up very
, .

slightly with each revolutio n of the whe el this

 94 H o w to Mak e P ottery

will trim and perfect the sides The bottom is .

made even in the same way N ow wash the wheel

.

outside of the mould careful ly and oil it with olive

o il . Take a piece of heavy oilcloth about eight ,

i n ches wide and lo ng enough to reach around the

wheel overlapping about a foot P lacmg it with
,
.

the right side in draw it tightly and fasten with

,

cloth e s pins (see Fig . Next tie a rope or

stout cord aroun d the
o i l c l o t h about o n a ,

level with the wheel ,

and to make it more

,

secure wedge it with

,

a piece of wood R oll .

strips of clay about

the d i a m e t e r of a
lead pencil and stop the ,

cracks where the oilcloth overlaps also between t h e

,

oilcloth and the wheel very carefully so as not to

, ,

touch the clay mould B e 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 quantit y necessary for the moul dyou will

learn to judge this pret ty well by eye P u t in as .

much w ater as you will need and sift gradually

,
 H o w to M ak e a P laster M o u ld 95

into it by the handfuls the dry plaster pressin g

, , ,

out all lumps ; in this w ay the water will reach

every particle When there is a small islan d o f
.

plaster about an in ch above the surface of the

,

water there will be enough Let the pl aster get

, .

thoroughly saturated by the water as it will in a ,

few minutes ; then mix with the hands o r a large

sp o o n unt il it is the consisten cy of thick cream
.

P our it gradually ar o un d an d over the clay mo ul d ,

not all in one place unti l it is about an in ch an d a

,

half or two inches above the botto m of it Let .

it set for an ho ur or more until it seems perfectly

hard The oilcloth i s then take n o ff and with
.
,

the dul l point of the hoe shaped tool the bottom -

is trimmed true o n the wheel in the sam e way as ,

the wheel made pottery is nished The sides

-
.

shoul d also be smoothed and made even with the

straight edged sheet steel tool I t then looks like
- -
.

a great frosted cake When the plaster i s hard .

and se t the mould is taken from the wheel an d

,

reversed so that the clay may be removed To

, .

do this di g 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 b y the

,

steel The shell of clay remaining can be easily

.

lifted out with the ngers .

96 H ow to Mak e P o ttery

One who does no t o wn a wheel can make a

mo ul d by settin g the clay bowl bottom up in , ,

the centre of a small shallow bread or di sh pan ,

which must then be well oiled on its in ner surfa ce .

The plaster of paris is mixed and pour ed around

an d over the clay moul d as already des cribed
, .

I f o n e uses a great deal of clay plaster basin s,

may be made for drying

o u t t h e superuous
w ater from the clay
after it has been mixed .

The se are mo u lded in

the form shown in Fig .

34 the straigh t sided

,
-

circular cavity in the

cent re being about three
FI G 34.

1n o hes deep and the ,

whole slab perhaps sixteen inches square The .

b asin part like the bowl shaped mould just de

,
-

scribed is rst formed in solid clay and the

, ,

mould is made in the same manner .

P laster slabs both ro u nd and square to hold

, ,

the pieces of pottery while they are being made

an d dri ed may also be moulded
,
.
 H ow to M ake a P las ter M o u ld 97

R os e -
B ow l S tarted i n a M ou ld

Ma
teri a
ls A bo w l ap e d mo u l d o f p last e r
-
sh , 3} i nch e s i n
di ame t e r at t h e b o t t o m and 9 ; i nc h e s at
th e to p ,
Ab o u t 35 p o u nd s o f clay ,

A b ag o f gro u nd i nt ,

Th e w o o de n mo de lli ng t o o ls ,

Th e o v al t o o l s o f sh e e t s t e e l
rp
, ,

Th e sh a p o i nt e d st e e l t o o l ,

A b o w l o f sli p ,

A small sp o nge ,

A ro lli ng p i n -
.

A charming rose bowl may be built up in t h e

-

plaster mould described i n this chapter A bout .

thr ee and a half poun ds of well worked clay will -

be n eeded and the usual to o ls

, .

A small lump of clay is rst p atted out with the

han ds on a table or b o ard the n rolled smo o th ,

with a rolling pin until it is three eighths o f an

- -

in ch thick and about six inches across This i s .

laid into the bottom of the mould which h as ,

previously been dusted with groun d in t tied i n

a cotton cloth The clay is pressed lightly but
.
,

carefully against the bottom and sides an d the n

, ,

made even at its upper edge with a w o o den tool .

S trokes of the wooden modelling tool cutting this ,

upper edge criss cross and a touch o f slip prepar e

-

, ,

it for the rst roll of clay which is made and at ,

98 H o w to M ake P o tte ry

tach e d as described I n Chapter II These coils .

n eed n ot be as thick as those used in making the

rst pieces A s the worker gains experience he
.
,

can make the walls of his pieces much li ghter than

at rst and still keep them str ong S ubsequent
, .

coils are j oined in the same way taking care to ,

press each against the wall of the mould as well ,

as upo n the coil beneath When the sides of the

.

bowl are covered a coil is attached above the

,

edge of the mou ld This should be almost ver

.

tical in stead of aring and a second coil (which

, ,

i s jo me d after the rst has stif fened out o i doors - -

for twenty minutes ) is brought in slightly toward

the centre The bowl is then left over night
.
,

wh e n it wil l be quit e dry and have shrunk su i

ci ent ly to slip easily out of the moul d I t is turn ed .

bottom up on a table and the cracks between the

,

coils are wet with slip and careful ly lled in with

clay of the consistency of the bowl After i t has .

bee n set away to harden for a few hours it is made ,

smoo th 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 ,

c omp aratively thina little less than a quart er

of an inch Next the bottom is nished and

.

t h e p o tter s mark made

The edge after it
.
,
 H o w to M ak e a P las ter M o u ld 99

has bee n bevelled by ey e i s perfected on th e,

ground glass slab

-
.

The piece is now ready for its deco ration This .

is the design sho w n in Fig 35 The circumfer en c e

.

of the top of the b owl is divided int o fths an d ,

FI G .
35

marks are made in penci l half an i n ch b elow th e

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 th e ,

oval gures woul d be on each side of it The ce n .

tre of the design is pierced as indi cated i n Fig 35

, ,

by the method described in Chapter I V an d a .

,

deep incised line surrounds it .

A pale green mat gla ze (se e Chapter V ) c o m

-
.

pletes the b owl .

l I
r
N)
f
r
) 0
 CH A P T E R V II I

TH E M A KI NG or A TIL E

TH E ancie n t E gyptians were proba bly the rst

tile makers S ome of their most remarkable
.

pieces of e n amel wo rk are clay plaques or slabs ,

made as early as r 30 0 B C Figures of men an d . .

animals were drawn up on them modelled in low ,

relief an d coated with e n amels brilliant and beau

, ,

tiful in colour .

I n o ther ti les a kind of mosaic was made a

combin atio n o f ne clay and enamels which were ,

mixed into s o ft pastes The design was modelled

.

and tted together in these coloured pastes which , ,

when they were red the heat xed and vitrie d

, .

A gai n these cun ning craftsmen left in the clay

in cisio n s forming a design I n to these settings
.
,

so to Speak small pieces o f glass or enamel w ere

,

tted and when fused into place by the heat of the

,

kiln suggested jewels .

Now adays our artist potters are designing

- -

and modelling tile for wall and oor decoration

1 03
 How to M ak e P o ttery
'

10 4

wh o le mantels to match the colour scheme of
a library or my lady s boudoir
.

To the uninit iated ,

the making of a tile

seems almost too simple
to learn just a slab of -

clay cut square and ,

baked S imple enough .

it i s to be sure yet it , ,

has d i i cul t i e s enough

FI G 36
.
to make i t interesting .

S uppose we moul d a
tile and learn by experience just what the d if cul
ties are and how to surmount them .

The clay that is used

in moulding tiles is the
s ame as that of whi ch
the other pieces of p o t
te y
r are made i e .a .
,

mix ture of re and b a ll

or blue clay with the ad
ditio n of a large amount
of what is c a l l e d
F I G 37 .

by p o t t e r s , gr og
!
.

This is r e clay which after baking becomes pale

yellow in colour and quite har d It is pounded .
 The M aki ng o f a Ti le 105

int o pieces the size of a small pea and smaller , ,

and mixed thoroughly through the clay to act ,

as a tempering age n t Mould in as much of the .

grog as the clay will hold Too much w ill

!
.

make it lose its plasticity and separate int o small

lumps but short o f this the more grog the til e
,
! !

clay co ntains the better as b eing baked an d , ,

shrunken it minimises the chan ces of cracki ng

,

b y shrinkage .

In making a tile the follo wing materials will be

,

required
Ab o u t 4 1 p o u nds o f t ile clay

,

A le ve l b o ard abo u t 1 5 b y 2 0 i nch e s

, ,

A frame mad e b y scre w i ng a st ri p o f w o o d ,

of a n i nch t hi c k b y 2 i nch e s w i de and 2 1

i nc h e s lo ng o n e a c h o f t h e lo ng e d ge s o f a
,

b o ar d 1 4 5 i nch e s w i d e b y 2 1 i nch e s lo ng
, ,

3 p i e c e s o f w hi t e c h e e se c lo t h 1 5 b y 2 1-
i nc h e s , ,

A ro lli ng p i n -

Th e re ct angu lar sh e e t -
st e e l t o o l,
A T sq u a re o r a p i e c e o f sh e e t me t al ,
8 by 8
i nch e s ,
A st ro ng sh arp k ni fe
, ,

A b o w l o f sli p ,

Th e b o xw o o d mo d e lli ng t o o ls ,
Th e p o i nt e d st e e l t o o l,
Th e st e el t o o l w i th at p o i nt .

To begin with a large piece of tile clay is worked

,

until all the air h o les are out of it as already de

-

scribed .
106 H o w to M ak e P o tte ry

A wooden board which is absolutely level having ,

previo usly been covered with a piece of wet whi te ,

cheese cloth whi ch is

-

tacked securely upon it ,

the clay i s moul ded into

a square by hand and
laid upon the board .

I t is th en pounded at
wit h t h e thick part of
the h and into an irre gu
lar square cake and ,

FI G 38
rolled wit h a rolling pin
.

wet with slip until it is a little less than half an

,

A wo o den frame mad e

of a bo ard four teen and
a half in ches wide by
twenty o ne inche s long
-
,

with a strip of wood

the same length seven ,

eighths o f an inch t hi ck
when planed and two ,

inches wide screwed on

,
FI G 39 .

t o each of the long

edges shoul d have been provided beforehand
,
.

piece of wet cheese cloth is spread upon th is board

-
,
 Th e M aki ng o f a Ti le

an d the clay square i s carefu lly tran sferred t o it ,

tting it carefully int o the fo rm b y p atting an d

pressing with the hand .

It s h o u l d the n b e
smoothed with the rec
ta ngul a r tool of she et
steel .

The tile must n ow be

reinforced for the reaso n
that the o uter edge ,

which dries and shrinks

F G 4
rst w o uld naturally
,

crack when the inside nally dried and shrank and ,

so sp o il th e tile
. When re inforced the edges bein g
, ,

do u ble thickn ess d r y ,

m o re slo wly makin g the

,

who le tile shri nk evenl y .

S ix pieces o f clay are

rolled i n t o as many
rope like strips
-
Fiv e .

o f these strips are pat

ted at with the hand
until they are abo ut an
FG 4
in ch an d a half wid e
'

an d no t qui t e half an in ch thick They are the n

.

l aid alo ng the outer edges o f the tile which have,

1 08 H ow to M ake P o tte ry

rst b e en l ightly b rush e d with slip an d across t h e

'

middle (see Fig ; pressing them rmly onto the

tile and joini ng the edges carefully The sixth strip .

is cut int o two short pieces Whi ch are lai d in at t h e ,

centre between th e three s trips crossing the til e

,

(see Fig . and rmly attached by moul ding

them again st th e o t her strips and worki ng the edges
o n to the tile upon whi c h a touch of slip h as b ee n
brushed A damp piece of cheese cloth is laid on
. .
-

the tile and it is again rolled with the r o lling pin -

.

Next it is made smooth with the sheet steel t oo l -

and the four depr essi ons are moul ded evenl y as ,

shown in Fig 37 It is th en se t away over night

. .
,

to get in proper condition to cu t and ni sh f

The following day p u t a board on t h e bottom of
the tile and re verse the frame so that the tile will
,

slide o ff on to the board Then with a T square o r .

-

a piece of sheet metal eight by e ight inches (the size

of the tile ) l a
i d upo n it ou t aroun d t h e edges with
,

a sharp stro ng knife The tile is t h en se t away

,
.

to receive i t s decoration which should be made t h e

,

day following .

Care sh oul d always b e t aken to lay the tile only -

upon an absolutely level lboard or other at surfac e

in drying as o t h erw i se it will w a rp an d dry u n
'
!

evenl y.
 The M aki ng o f a Ti le 1 09

H avi n g ch o sen a simple design fo r example the ,

on e shown i n Fig 38 draw it up on the tile i n p en cil
. .

N ext go over the lines

with the p o inted to o l o f
boxwo o d an d with a
,

cu rved pointed wo o de n
t oo l in cise the outline
still deeper Make a
!

clean cut rm outline

-

, ,

bro ad and deep with a ,

bevelled edge This is .

,
F I G 42 .

of course , supposing
that the tile has not become very dry i n which ,

case the to ol used sh o uld be the poi nted steel o n e ,

nishing with the wo o d

en t oo l The w h o l e .

design sho ul d be deeply

incised with rm sure ,

strokes The pieces of .

grog which the to o l

! !

will run against no w

and then will not injure
the outline if the hand
FI G 4 3 .

is rm S hould o n e by .

mi stake cut aw ay more of the design than was

intended it can easil y be repaired with a t o uch of
,
1 10 H ow to M ake P o tte ry

slip and a small piec e of clay the co nsistency of ,

the tile worked in with the pointed st eel tool

, .

The port ions of the design whi ch are indicated by

dots in Fig 38 are depressed with the at pointed
.
-

steel tool accor di ng to the method for leaving the

,

design in low relief described in Chapter I V B e

, .

fore setting the tile away to dry for the last time ,

the potter in cises his mar k on the back A dul l .

yellow mat glaze or a gray green one (see Chapter

-

V ) will ni sh it attractively
. .

A tile such a s this eigh t inches square is rather

, ,

large for some purposes ; i t is however most e e c , ,

tive as a decoration and may do practical service in

,

holding a o w e r pot or vase of o w e rs protecting
-

a table or wooden mantel from moisture .

Fireplace til es ar e of course considerably , ,

smaller and those for use on a table are lighter as

,

well They are made by the same process o nl y

.
,

using a smaller frame and rolling the clay thi nner .

S ome d e signs for tiles are shown in Figs 39 4 0 .

, ,

41 42, and 4 3
, .
 CH A P T E R I!

TH E KI LN

P O TT E R Y until it is red has little or no practical

, ,

value One w h o owns a piece of Gay Head ware

.
,

made in Mart h a s Vineyard and called by t h e name

of the bluffs o f w h ose clay it is made will ap ,

p re ci at e t his 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 o n 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 woul d be lost and it i s therefore so fragile

,

that a rude touch will break or deface it In t h e .

early days of pott ery making when u tility was

-

everything pots fo r cooking and domestic pur

,

poses were baked eit her before the re o r covered ,

with bark and o t her burning fu el which hardened ,

the clay and m ade it strong enough fo r service .

We do not nd traces of kilns however among the , ,

relics o f those early potters .

1 13
1 14 H o w to M ak e P o ttery

P ro bably the rst people to use the kiln were t he

old E gyptians .

One which is represented in their mural paintings

w as a high c ircular chamber made o f bri c k
, The .

oor near the bottom w as perforat ed and beneath

, , ,

it was the fuel which was put in t hrou gh an open

,

ing on t h e side .

The kiln used by the early Greek potters had a

place for fuel o n o ne side and an u ppe r ch amber for
,

the pieces of pottery with a door t h rou gh wh ich

,

it could be p u t in and with d rawn This differed .

from t h e E gyptian kiln only in h aving a dome .

M any of t h e kilns of t h e present day are

shaped almost exact ly like those used by t h e early
Greeks S o important a part does t h e kiln play in
.

perfecting a piece of pot ery putting t h e nal
t

touch upon it ! the touch that shall make 0 1 mar

that the potter realises he mu st plan before any ,

thing else either t o o w n a good kiln o r t o know of

,

one wh ere his pieces can be sent t o be red Un .

less one wishes to make pot t e ry on a large scale as ,

a business t h e expense and care o f owning one s
,

own kiln is unnecessary Th er e are makers of art

.

pottery near t h e principal cit ies w h o fo r a reason

able amount will re one s pieces admirably and ,

with much less risk than an amateur coul d possibly

 Th e Ki ln 1 I 5

do them that i s providin g one uses the ,

same kind o f clay as is employed by the

owners o f the kiln W here one s pottery is t o be

red If no t this clay can usually be purchased

.
,

at the pott ery ready

mixed at slight ex
.

pense E ven though

.

o ne may no t care to

a ssume the c os t and

re s p o n s ib ili t y o f
owning a kiln it ,

may be o f inte rest

t o know something

o f the cons t ruction

of kilns and h o w
they d o their work .

TH E O PE N -
F IRE KI LN
The open re k l ln -

FI G 4 4 .

is P referred b y many A i s t h e c h amb er fo r t h e

) o tt e ry
potters S uch ki lns
.

B 8 t h e r e b o xe s .

CC t h e reb a ck s
have been used fo r
DDDDD t h e p assage and
generat ions by p o t o u t le t s t h ro u gh w h i c h t h e
h e at e nt e rs t h e k iln
ters in E ngland ; and
.

fo r ware that needs hard ring they have

proved most reliable Fig 44 shows the ln . .
1 1 6 H aw to M ak e P o tte ry

t e ri o rof one o f these kilns and Fig 4 5 the , .

ground plan From these diagrams o ne can ge t an

.

idea of the principle on which su ch kilns are run .

Thi s kiln is built mostly of re brick and s h oul d be -

under cover for more than one reason Firs t t here .

,

is no danger from frost if the kiln is incl o sed by a

wooden bui lding and ,

then it is more co nve n

i e nt fo r t h e potter t o do
h i s work where he i s no t
exposed t o t h e weather .

Th e kiln is cir cul ar ,

b uil t o n a foundat ion of

b r i c k or s t one and ,

strengthened with bands

FI G 4 5
.
of w roug h t i r on At all .

A A A A are t h e re b o x e s
- four sides of the central

B B B B B B B B B B B B th e p a
sa ge s fo r t h e h o t ai r
s
C hamber
.
W here th e p ot
,

CCCCC t h e o u t le t s fo r t h e t e r i s placed are r

y e .

,
h o t air .

boxes where t h e coal is

fed on t o a grate below the level of t h e oor of
the chamber Th e hot air from the re boxes
.

nds t w o outlets one t hrough a direct escape

, ,

close to the b o x the oth er t hrough a passage

,

and o u t at t h e centre of t h e oor Within t h e cen .

tral chamber are piled the saggers great circul ar

 Th e K i ln 1 1 7

boxes or drums made of re -

clay all of w hich ,

if possible contain pottery but whether ful l

, , ,

or empty they must ll up the chamber as

, ,

their clay holds and radiates heat which would

o t h e rw me b e lost The o f ce of the saggers is
.

to protect the pieces of pottery from direct

contact with the ame smoke and ashes of , , ,

the re .

The heat from the re boxes if it rushed directly -

into the kiln wo ul d re the pieces near the bottom

,

of the chamber t o o hard so slabs of re brick called ,

-

re b ack s are arranged s o as to send the heat up

,

(see Fig . It t hen passing up between the ,

saggers (which stacked one above the other form

, ,

nes to improve t h e draught) passes off at the top ,

O pening This aperture as will be see n in Fig 4 4

.
, .
,

has a slab supported by bricks above it to co ntrol

the draught The heat escapes through the cone
.
,

and t h us t hrough the chimney The cone is made .

of ordinary bricks and its o f ce is to help the ,

draught There is another kind of kiln much like

.

thi s model except that it has a down draught

, .

The heate d air as it escapes passes down through

, ,

an opening in the oor along a horizontal pass ,

age up and out This keeps the heat in the kiln

,
.

for a longer time b ut it als o c on ne s th e gases , ,

1 18 H o w to M ake P o tte ry

w hi ch affect the colour of the ware so that it i s not

pract icable for art pottery .

S een from t h e outside on a day when the kil n is

being l led i t s aspect i s qui te di fferent Inside
, .

t h e great brick ch amber workmen are st acki ng the ,

saggers l led wit h pieces of pott ery some of which , ,

no t yet packed are standing on t ables near at hand

,
.

They look w an and pale faint grayish green or ,

-

leaden g ray N o t u ntil they have felt t h e erce

.

h eat of t h e kiln will t hey glow with living green or

will t h e beau t y o f t h eir blu es appear ! ellow that .

is almost orange seem s t o be only a deep cream

colour before i t is red Then th ere are pieces of.

green o r u nbaked clay to be red in the biscui t

, ,

that is withou t t h e glaze These are put in another

, .

part of t h e kiln .

Just aw o rd abo u t the saggers These huge rough .

,

boxes of burnt re clay whose o ffi ce has already

-

been Spoken of are sometimes bott omless si mply

, ,

rings S h oul d a sagger be too low to contain a

.

piece t h at is placed in it (as i s often the case ) one ,

can bu ild up t h e clay box t o the requ ired h eight

-

wit h t h e bot toml ess saggers B et ween e v ery two .

saggers roll s of clay are l a i d ( c oiled arou nd t h e

edge ) t o h old them t oget her When t h e kiln is .

lled at last with i t s stacks of saggers t h e doorway ,

 1 19

is b ricke d up and the re started The O pen re .

-

kil n requires the best part of three days to

complete it The rst day it is lled with pot
.

t e ry and the re started In ring a kiln the he t

.
, a
shoul d be raised very slowly All that night the .

re is watched and fed as it must be kept at the

,

requi site temperature for if it gets lo w , or as the

, ,

potters say ,
! !
slips the glaze is Spoiled and the
,

pottery must all be reglazed and red again The .

weat her affects the kiln the draught no t being so

,

goo d on a damp or rainy d ay as o n a fair one ; and

the coal also must be Specially chosen for the kiln .

It takes several tons to re o ne kiln so that the ,

success or failure of a ring is no light matter The .

second day much attentio n must be given to keep

ing t h ere up and at about nightfall the guides are
,

drawn as follows
At equal distances around the kiln are four peep
holes small round apertures on a level with the
,

eye which are closed with a cylindrical tube having

,

a transparent asbestos end In the glare of the .

kil n directly on a line with these peep holes one can

,
-

s e e a ro w of clay rings which were daubed w ith

,

glaze before the re w as started Having W ith .

drawn the cylinder which closes the hole the potter ,

run s in a long metal rod with a hook on the end , ,

1 2 0 How to M ak e P o tte ry

catches a ring and draws it out He can tell from

, .

the appearance of t h is ring o r gui de h o w t h e kiln

, ,

is ring and about when the pieces will be done .

Usually aret hey

nis h e d t h at nigh t ,

but t h e kiln i s no t
opened unt il i t h as
cool ed fo r m a n y
hou rs .

TH E M UFF LE KI LN
The muffl e kiln is
shown in Fig 4 6 . .

Th is res at a lo w
degree o f h eat com ,

pared wit h t h e O pen

FI G 4 6 . re k i l n I t is .

A i s t h e mu i e b o x o r c h amb e r

-

mos t ly u s e d for
fo r t h e p o t t e ry .

B B B B B B B ar e t h e a rch es u nder glaze pottery -

su pp o rt i ng t h e b o x and o t h er
p art s o f t h e and for glazing In .

C C Th e d o o rs w h e re t h e fu e l
and p o t t e ry resp e c t i ve ly are t h is kiln t h e re
p ut i n.

co ul d no t c ome in
D D D Th e ! p assage s fo r t h e
h e at e d ai r .
di re ct cont a ct wit h
E T h e ash p an
-
.

t h e ware so t hat ,

saggers are unnecessary ; inst ead t here i s a ,

system of Shelves upon which t h e pott ery i s placed .

 The Ki ln 12 1

The fuel which may be wood is fed through a do o r

, ,

on one Side o f the lower part of the kiln with an

,

ash box below

-
. A brick arch supports the muffl e
box or chamber where the pottery is placed O n .

the O pposite side from the furnace door is the O pe n

ing through which the pieces are put into the kiln .

Thi s is carefully bricked up before the re is started .

The hot air passes through a passage extending

around all Sides and above the box and the out
,

let is over t h e door where the pottery goes in .

A Slab extending nearly across this out let controls

the draught .
Bask e t Cove re d P o tte ry
 CH A P T E R !

B A S KE T -
CO V ERE D P O TT ER !

T H ERE h as always been a close conne ction b e

tween pottery and basketry Those w h o study .

Indian handicrafts learn that pottery was evolved

from basketry in the long ago N e lt je Blanch an .

suggests that it may have h appened in some such

w ay as this P erhaps a hunter returned home
hun gry one day and his wife anxious to ,

hasten dinner fo r her imp atient lord coated her ,

cooking basket with clay that sh e might se t it

directly over the re with o ut danger of burnin g .

I magine the woman s surprise and joy to nd o n

removing it from the embers after dinner that sh e ,

!
had a basket plus an earthenware pot !
The t w o crafts have helped each other from that
day t o this The Indian woman suspends her
.

earthen cooking j ar with coils of wild grapevine

-

w hi ch ever and anon sh e smears with wet clay when

the ames come t o o near Japanese craftsmen .

enmesh their pottery j ars with wistaria stems to

12 5
12 6 H o w to M ak e P o ttery

prot e ct t hem from breakage or t o su sp end them ,

against t h e wall whe re growing plant s or t raili ng

,

vines may ll t h em t o overowing E ven t h e little .

ha
s i ts case and h andle of pliant cane .

ing o f o ne s o w n or anot h er s h ous e if o ne knows

.

somet hi ng of t h e t w o craft s A few of th em are

Ma
te r a
i ls A n I ndi an po t t e r y bo w l i n w h i te and I ndi an
re qui re d re d , 6 i nch es i n di a met er at t h e top ,
A bu nch o f I ndi an re d r afa ,

Any one w h o h as made ra ah at s wit h t h e knots

that our mothers use d t o call macram in t h e early
eigh ties will se e by a glance at t h e plat e how the
,

net work of rai a whi ch incloses t hi s bowl i s

fashi oned Th e bo wl i s t h e rst consi derat ion I t
a
. .

may be bo u g h t at n Indi an st ore for abou t a doll ar ;

o r if one prefers one can mou ld one s own bowl of
, ,

o w e r p o t clay
-
In t h at case h owever t h e whi t e
.
, ,

To begin with ! Thread a No . 1 8 tapestry needl e

 Bas k e t C o ver e d P o ttery
-
12 7

w ith a strand of Indi a

n red raf a the end . Tw ist
three or four times around the mi ddle and fore
nger o f the left hand and cover the small ring
,

t hu s made with button h ole stitches The ring

-

should be about an inch in diameter .

Finish o the end of t h e raf aby sewin g several

stitches through and through
the ring P in t his ring to
.

a cushion on one s lap or to
some rm soft obj ect near
,

at hand Take t w o strands

m
.

o f r a a double t h e m
,

around the ring and with ,

the four ends thu s made

tie a S olomon s k n o t as

follows ! Hold t h e t w o upper

strands straight and taut .

B end the under strand on

FI G 4 7 .

the left across t hem to the

right (se e Fig and bring the un der strand
.

on the right over t h e end of the left strand back of ,

the middle strands and through the loop made

,

by the left strand in starting Anot her pair of .

strands is knotted on in t h e same way and ,

another until there are thirteen grou ps aroun d

,

the ring B egin ning anywhere o n the ring the

.
,
12 8 Ho w to M ak e P o ttery

strands on the right of a group are brought

beside t h e two on t h e left of t h e grou p t o t h e
right of i t and t h e mi ddle pair of t h e four are
,

h eld straigh t d own w h il e the s t rands on t h e right

,

and left are knott e d u pon t h em as already de

scribed Thi s knot shoul d be abou t h a
. l f an inch
from those in t h e p reviou s ro w M ake a double .

knot t hi s ti me th at i s repeat t h e proces s alr eady
,

de s cribed Take t h e st rand w hi ch w as on t h e left

.

aft er the rst knot was t ied bring it o v e r t h e mi ddle,

strand s t o t h e righ t and aft er bringing t h e st rand

,

on the righ t over t h e end o f t h e left one and bac k

of the mi ddl e st rands p as s it up t h rou gh t h e loop
,

made by t h e left st rand in st art ing Th e t w o .

st rand s at t h e righ t of t h e righ t h and g roup are -

next knot ted in t h e s ame way wit h tw o on t h e left

of the next grou p t o t h e righ t and so i t goes on ,

around t h e ne t making a d ouble S olomon s knot

each time .

Five rows more of t h i s knott ing are made each ,

row being h alf an in ch fr om t h e previous one except ,

th e ft h whi ch is t h ree quart ers of an in ch from

,
-

the fourt h Now bring all t h e st rand s from three

.

groups t oget her at an inch and t hree quarters from -

the last row of knott ing Hold t h e mi d dle one of .

t h e th ree groups t aut and tie t h e st ran d s t o righ t

,
 B as k e t C o vere d P o ttery

-
1 29

an d left upon it in a S olomon s knot Tie ano ther

.

knot close t o the rst o ne and another until there

, ,

are seveno ne below the other Three more .

groups are brought together at an inch and three

quarters from the last ro w of knotting and tied in ,

the s ame way Then another three Th e fourth

. .

b u nch will have four groups o f strands i n it (as

there were thirt een grou ps in all at starting ) Tw o .

of these gro u ps t h e middle ones are held taut and

, , ,

those to left and right a re t ied upon this double

group as t h e others were Then taking the long .
,

ends o f o ne o f these bunches tie them again in three ,

S olomon s knots at an inch and three quarters from

-

the seventh knot They are next brought straight

.

down without knotting fo r t w o inch es more when

, ,

two knots are made F o r t w o and t hree quarter

.
-

inches more t hey are brou ght without knotting ,

then tied and wound around a large ring an old

curt ain ring abou t t w o in ches in diameter will do .

W hen all fo u r bunches hav e been knot ted in t h e

same way and t h e ends o f all have been fastened
,

se curely t o the cu rtain ring the ring is covered ,

neatly wit h but t on hole stitch in r af a and

-

a raffi a bindin g abo u t half an inch wide is

made j u st below the ring where the strands are ,

fastened t o it .
1 30 H o w to M ak e P o ttery

Gr een P o ttery far I nclo s ed and S u sp ende d w i th

B row n R attan

Th e P o t t e r y J ar ! Ab o u t 2 5 p o u nds o f cl ay ,

Th e w o o den mo de lli ng t o o ls ,
Th e r c t angu lar t o o l o f sh e t st ee l
e e ,

Th e p o i nt d t l t o o l e s ee ,

A bo w l o f S li p ,

A small sp o ng e,

Th e B a k e t Co v e ri ng ! Ab o u t si x le ngt h s o f
s

NO 4 d e p bro w n rat t an
. e -

A p i ec e o f ne b u t st ro ng w i r 4 i nch e s lo ng e 2 ,

A p ai r o f pli e rs ,

A b u nch o f d ee p bro w n raffi a -

.

Around t h e quaint and attract ive h anging j ar

from wh i ch t h is one is copied is woven a tale as
cu rious as i t s covering of knott ed brown t wigs It .

i s th is ! t h e re ct angul ar gr een jar w h i ch looks like ,

a pottery b o x w a , s once the casket in w h ich some

Chinese lady kept her pomades and perfumes .

When sh e slept h e r head whi ch h ad been dressed

, ,

most elaborately wit h t h e aforesaid pomades was ,

laid upon th is same pott ery box fo r a pill ow

another instance of t h e painful ness of pride in
Chi na !
How s t range t h e litt le Chinese lady woul d t hi nk
it of u s t o u se h e r eart hen pillow as we do for a -

hanging o w e r j ar ! W h o covered i t wit h knotted

-

wist aria twigs ! I Sh oul d suspect it was some deft

 Bas k e t Covere d P o ttery
-
1 31

ngered Japanese tho ugh the j ar w as bought in
Hawaii .

It will not be very difcult to copy First there .

is the box like j ar to be made A rectangul ar bot

-
.

tom is cu t from a well worked lump of clay after -

it h as been patted at with the hand and rolled

with the ro lling pin It shoul d be ve b y three
-
.

and a half inches which allows an inch on length
and breadth for Shrinkage Upon t his foun dation .

coils of clay are built as described in previous ,

chapters making them thinner h owever than

, , ,

usual not over a qu arter of an inch thick A S the .

walls are built th ey shoul d be nished careful ly

inside and o u t keeping them straight and true at
,

t h e corners as well a s on all sides

, Whe n the j ar .

is seven and a quart er inches high the top is ,

made even by eye and perfe cted on the gro und

glass slab as described in Chapter I I A ro o tan
,
.

gular piece of clay is then rolled and cut the size o f

the bottom ; an oval piece about t w o by three inches
is cut o u t o f the middle with the pointed steel tool
, ,

and i t i s left on a plaster slab to stiffen for half an

hou r The upper edge o f the j ar i s then criss
.

crossed wit h t h e pointed steel tool and wet with

Slip and this at t o p is att ached to it deftly and
,

careful ly A fter drying for several hours it may

.
,
1 32 H o w to M ak e P o tte ry

be nished wit h t h e sheet steel tool t h e shape per

-

fe ct e d and t h e su rface dampene d wit h a Sponge

,

and polish ed wit h t h e nge rs Wh en i t h as dried

.

for several days it i s coat ed wit h a glos sy green

glaze and r ed .

Th e covering O f knott ed rat t an is mad e as fol

lows ! S ix pliable lengt h s o f No 4 brown r att an.

are needed fo r t h is c o v e ring Th ey mu st be care

.

ful ly s ele ct ed fo r as t h ey are t o be t ied t h ey sh ou ld

, ,

when w e t be almo st as pliable as co rd I t i s no t

, .

diffi cu lt to nd t h em as s o ft as t hi s espe ci a l ly afte r

,

t h ey h ave been dyed In st art ing a lengt h of rat

.
,

tan w hi ch h as been wet u nt il soft is t ied arou nd t h e

j ar at abou t h alf an in ch from t h e t o p Th e long .

end is twi st ed on c e arou nd t h is foundat ion ring .

Thi s may be done o ff o f t h e j ar if i t is easie r Wh en .

t h e ring h a s been r epla ce d o n t h e j ar t w o pie c es ,

of ve ry p liable r attan abou t Sixt y in ch es long are

dou bled a rou nd t h e ring at t h e mi ddle of t h e front
of t h e jar and tied in a S olomon s knot as al ready

de s cribed (see Fig . Th e s econd part of t h e knot ,

however is no t t ied as t h e raf aw as in making t h e

,

knotted c overing fo r t h e In di an bowl Instead .

,

t h e end w hi ch is on t h e righ t aft er t h e rst knot

ha s been t ied is bro u ght over to t h e left above t h e ,

middle strands and t h e o ne on the left comi ng

, ,
 B as k e t Co vere d P o ttery
-
1 33

down over its end goes back o f the middle strands

,

and up t h rou gh t h e loop left in starting the right

strand (see Fig . Anot her pair o f strands of
the same lengt h is t ied in t his way around
the ring at t h e middle of t h e back of the
j ar and a pair at eit her end
,
Th e strands
at the right o f the knot in the middle of t h e
front are t hen bro u gh t beside those at the
left of t h e group o n
th e right end and ,

the se are knot t ed as

j u s t described at,

abou t an inch and

t h ree qu art ers from
t h e rst ro w ,
and at
t h e co rner o f t h e j ar
FI G 4 8 .

The remaining s t rands

o f th e g ro u p o n t h e right end are knotted with
t hose at t h e left o f the gro u p in t h e mi d dle of

t h e back and so o n around t h e j ar

, There .

wil l t h en be fo u r knots all an inch and three

,

qu a rters from t h e rst row and each at a ,

corner o f t h e j ar Three mo r e r ows o f knot

.

t ing are made in t h e same way and then the ,

fou r ends remaining at the front and back after the

fth ro w o f knots has been made are w e t wit h warm
1 34 H o w to M ak e P o ttery

water until ve ry pli able and tied together under the

j ar Those from the sides are tied in the same
.

manner and at the same place A ll the ends are .

boun d s e curely just below these knots with ne

wire and over t hi s an inch wide band of rai a
,
-
.

Th e ends are cut irregul ar lengths t h e longest ,

not more than fourteen inches fro m the bottom

of the j ar .

A handle is then made as follows

A piece of pliable brown ratt an No 4 about two , .
,

yards long is wet until soft and passed around the

,

knot nearest the t o p at one end of the j ar The .

ends are brought toget h er and t wist ed for t h eir

entire lengt h At the O pposite end of t h e j ar they
.

are brough t around t h e knot nearest t h e t o p tu rned ,

up ,
and rmly bound to the handle with a piece
of wire whi ch may then be covered with a binding
,

of raffi a .

Take care to make this wire binding secur e for ,

this is the place where t h e greatest strain comes .

It is in such places as t h is t h at t h e Oriental crafts

men show t heir superiority Their ends t h us .
,

bound are bound to stay while ours sometimes

, ,

sli p .
 Bas k e t C overe d P o ttery
-
1 35

f or o f F lemi s h P o ttery I nclo s ed w i th P ale -

Green
R attan

teri a
Ma ls A jar o Flemi sh p o tt e ry
f , 4 i nch e s h i h g ,
2
req u ired ! i nch e s i n di ame t e r at t h e b o t t o m and 1 i nch
at
th e to p ,
Abo u t si x le n th s g of N O . 00 gre e n rat t an .

A little j ar of quaint Flemish pottery, charming

in form and colour i s the foundation of this pie ce, .

This ware whi ch is just becoming kn own to u s is

, ,

interesting in many ways First o f all for its own .

,

sakethe attractive shapes ! candlesticks b owls , ,

jugs j ars and tiles all have the s t amp of individu

, ,

alit y rare in any ware that is within reach o f the

,

average purse
The colours are beautiful deep
.

greens and blues soft browns and dul l orange for

,

the most part S ome o f the pieces are made by

.

B elgian school children others in potteries started ,

by a club of men in B elgium followers of R uskin , ,

w h o have revived t h e craft employing only B e l ,

gians to design and moul d t h e ware The old .

methods are carefully followed the pieces are
wheel made no t formed in moulds Mu ch o f the
,
.

de c orat ion is done by boys w h o make a ch arming ,

picture clad in blouses and sabots t heir youn g

, ,

faces all interes t ed and absorbed in the work .

The open meshed weave of pale green rattan -

1
36 H o w to M ak e P o ttery

wit h w h ich th is j ar is in closed only sligh t ly veils

the olo r
c u o f t h e
glaze deep green at t h e base
-

shading t h rou gh blue t o a soft mou sy brown at -

the top Th e c overing i s made as follows !

.

One end o f a piece o f green N o 0 0 r attan t wenty

.

Seven in ch es long is tie d int o a ring t w o in ches

and a h alf in diameter Arou nd t h is fo u ndat ion
.

ring the long end of t h e r att an is t wist ed in and

out unt il it has m ade t h e circu it t wi ce t hree
,

t imes c o u nt ing t h e fo u ndat ion ring

, S ome very .

pliable lengt h s of N o 0 0 green ratt an are cu t int o

.

t wenty pieces thirty two inch es long -

Th ey are .

w e t u nt il qui t e so ft and t h en t w o o f th em ar e
,

dou bled arou nd t h e ring and t ied wit h a S olomon s

knot (see Fig Anot her pair is dou bled and

.

knotted u pon t h e ring and anoth e r until ten

, ,

groups have been att a ch ed at int ervals arou nd t h e

circumferen c e S tarting wit h any o ne o f t h e
.

groups the t w o strand s o n t h e right are brought b e

,

side the t w o o u t h e left o f t h e grou p t o the righ t of

it and knott ed t oget h er as des c ribed o n page 1 32
,
.

at three qu arters of an inch from t h e rst row o f

-

knots Th e t w o remaining st rands o f t h e righ t

.

hand grou p are brought beside t h ose o n t h e left o f

t h e next group to t h e righ t w h e r e anot h er knot is
,

made and so on until the cir cui t is complete One

, ,
.
 B as k e t Co vere d P o ttery 1 37

more ro w o f knots is made in the same w ay three ,

quarters o f an inch from those in the previous row .

The whole network is then w e t thoroughly and

tted over the lower part o fthe j ar tying it if ne ce s ,

sary to mo ul d the rattan in t o the form A t about

, .

an inch and a half from the last ro w of knots a ,

ro w of pairing is made with a very pliable piece o f

No 0 0 green rattan F o r the benet of those w h o

. .

may not know this Simple b asket weave the fol ,

lowing directions are given

Holding the j ar wit h its p artial covering of rat
tan right Side up draw the ends of the strands
,

remaining after the last row of knots was tied close ,

up against the Sides of the j ar D ouble the pliable

.

piece of No 0 0 rattan around a pair of ends whi ch

.

formed t h e mi ddle st rands of one of the knots .

Taking the upper half o f the piece which seems to ,

come from behind the two strands (to the left

of them ) bring it over them under the next pair
, ,

and o u t in front H old down wit h the left hand

.
, ,

t h e end you have just used while with the right

,

bring the other end (which was on the right of the

rst pair o f strands ) over the next p air of strands
on the righ t and under the next It is no w held .

down in front while the process i s r epeated

!

always taki ng the end on the left to weave w ith .

 1 38 H o w to M ak e P o ttery

The doubled strands or spokes on which these

, ,

stitches are woven sho u ld be drawn clo se together

, ,

till not more than a Sixteenth of an inch apart so ,

that they will cling to the j ar When the circui t .

O f the j ar has been made another row is woven

, .

At the end of this second ro w both of t h e weaving

strands are ou t so that their ends will come back
,

of t h e last pair of strand s in t h e circuit For half .

an inch the s t rands are

drawn up toward t h e top of
t h e j ar wit hou t weaving ;
then o ne row more o f the
,

pairing i s made and afte r ,

th oroughly wetting t h e ends

o f t h e verti c al s t rands t h e
following border is woven !
B ring each pair of strands
over t h e next three on the
FI G 4 9
righ t under the su c ceeding
.

two and outside of the j ar Th e e ntire circuit Oft h e

.

border is made in t his way only leaving the rst

,

part of i t loose and open so t h at the last st rand s

,

can be woven in easily W h en nished t h e border

.
,

i s again w e t and i t s edge made even and t rue on

, ,

a line with t h e t o p o f t h e j ar or slight ly above it .

The ends of the strands are then cu t close to the j ar ,

 B ask e t Co vered P o ttery
-
1 39

so as to allow each to lie b ack of the last stran d it

went under If the covering stands out from the
.

j ar does no t cling as it ought it shoul d be thor ,

oughly w e t and bound arou nd with string or raffi a ,

and rmly t i e d until it is dry Fig 4 9 shows the

'

,
. .

completed covering .

Green P o ttery B ow l i th C o veri ng and H andles f

w o

Green R attan
M ateri a
ls A gre e n p o tt e ry b o w l 5 5 i nch e s i n di ame t e r at
t h e u pp e r e d ge a nd 31 at t h e b o t t o m

N
,

3 p
0 i e c e s o f p ale gr e e n o r a t
-
t an 4 8 i nc h e s . 00

lo ng
le gre e n N
,

2 le ngt h s o f p a O rat t an
-
. 00 .

This green bowl inclosed with a knotted cover

,

ing of pale green ratt an may be used as a hanging

-

o w e r pot or fo r cut owers

-
The original was a .

piece of deep green S panish pottery but if one can

-

make t h e bowl so much the better as long as the

,

dimensions are those given above In startin g .

,

fteen pieces of No 0 0 green rattan which have .

been w e t unt il qu ite soft and pliable are laid side

by Side in a group which is doubled at its centre ,

and the ends tied secu rely together about two ,

inches from where it was doubled One group o f .

ends containing fteen pieces is made at and

, ,

even and then separated into three groups of ve

,
1 40 H o w to M ak e P o ttery

pieces each and braided in a three stranded plait

-

ten and a half inches long It is t hen tied securely

. .

The ot her group is separated and braided in t h e

same way keeping the strands at and t h e plaiting
,

close and even Fifteen more pieces of rattan of

.

the same size and length (which have been wet

until pliable ) are now passed t h rough t h e loop
made by doubling the other pieces bent at t h e ,

middle and tied as t h e ot h ers were two inches ,

from the place where they were dou bled .

Th e ends of these pieces are also braided in two

plaits for ten and a h alf inches and t h en t ied

Hold ing the braids so that the ends of the strands

turn u p and starting at about t w o inches from
,

where t h e braiding stops a pliable piece of No 0 0

, .

rattan is doubled arou nd the pair of ends on the

left of one of the groups and is woven in pairing
,

upon these en d s and th ose succeeding t h em keep
ing t h em abo u t half an in ch apart As t h e re is an
.

uneven number of ends in each grou p t h e fteenth

,

one is brought besid e t h e rst end in t h e next group ,

and t h e pairing woven upon t hem (se e Fig .

Thus it goes on u ntil the circu it h as been made

, ,

when t h e bowl is t ted into the ring (the braid ed

handles o f cou rse turning up ; and t h e ring about
, ,
 Bas k e t Co ve re d P
-
o ttery 1 41

an inch below the top of the bowl ) I f the ring is .

too loose the stitches may be wet and drawn up a

,

little ; if t o o tight they are wet and stretched Tw o

, .

more rows are woven with the handles t ur ning

down ; t h en the work is reversed so that the u nn ,

isho d ends sh all turn down The ends are w e t .

unt il soft and pliable and at three quarters of an

,
-

inch from the last row of

pairing they are tied
into a ro w o f the knots
described on page 1 32 .

A second ro w o f knots
is made at an in ch from
the rst The case is
.

then tted over the

bowl an d w e t if it is
necess ary in order to
FI G 5 0 .

moul d it in to t the
shape Tu rn the bowl upside down and at
.
,

half an in ch from the last ro w of knotting double a

pliable piece of No 0 0 rattan around a pair of ends
.

anywhere on the circu mference of the covering and

weave o ne row o f pai ring drawing the ends of the
,

st rands in t o t the bottom of t h e bowl This will

, .

b ring t hem about three eighths of an inch apart

-
.

A not h er row of pairing is woven and t hen a base ,

142 H o w to M ak e P o ttery

is made as follows ! After the ends have been wet

until pliable start with any one of the pairs
, .

bringing it over t h e rst pair on t h e righ t un der ,

the second over t h e t h ird and u nder t h e fourth

, , ,

taking care to leave t h e base loose and open where

it begins that t h e last st rands may be easily woven
,

in (se e Fig . Th e next pair of ends on the righ t

i s woven in the same way over the rst o n its right ,

under t h e se cond over t h e t hi rd and under t h e

, ,

fourt h. S o i t goes o n arou nd t h e bowl u ntil t h e

time comes t o weave in t h e last st rands wh ich ,

will no t be diffi cul t if t h e cau t ion in regar d t o leav

ing t h e beginning open and loo se has been h eeded .

When t h e base i s nish ed w e t it t h orou ghly and

, ,

draw u p t h e st rands o r let t h em o u t u nt il t h e edge

is even and on a line wit h t h e bottom of the bowl .
 Bas k e t C overed P o ttery
-
1 43

The ends of the strands are the n cut so that the

tip of each will lie behind the last strand it w e nt
under .

Th ree H andle d B ow l
-

f
or P lants or F lo w ers

M ateri als Ab o u t 3} p o u nds o f clay ,

requi re d ! A p last e r mo u ld fo r ab o w l ,

Th e w oo de n mo d e lli ng t o o ls ,
Th e o val t o o ls o f sh e t st e el
e ,

Th e sh arp p o i nt e d st e e l t o o l
-

A bu nc h of r afa .

Thi s charming bowl for a growin g plant or cut

owers may either be used as a centrepiece on a
table or suspe nded by a heavy raf a braid in the
,

recess of a win dow or o n the porch The dull gray .

gree n mat glaze with whi ch it is ni shed harmo n

-

i ses delightfully with the colours of growing thin gs .

It is formed in a bowl shaped plaster moul d in the -

same w ay as the rose bowl described in Chapter -

V I I and the bowl for a lamp in Chapter VI but

. .
,

the bottom is made unusually thick ( three quarters -

of an inch) to allow for cutting away as the form ,

is as nearly a hemisp h ere as p o ssible o n ly atte n ed ,

slightly at the bottom .

When the bowl has been built up to within an

in ch perhaps of the top of the mould if it is n ot a
, , ,

deep one make the n ext coil free from the sides of
,
1 44 H o w to M ak e P o tte ry

the moul d almost vertical in fact Th e coil that
,

succeeds it slopes in ever so Sligh tly .

This will make the sh ape deep enough It is .

now necessary to let t h e bowl harden enough so

t h at i t can easily be slipped out of the moul d The .

hollows between t h e coils after they have been wet

,

with slip are l led in wit h clay of the consistency

,

of the bowl Th e bowl is again set away to

harden and then smoot h ed and ni sh ed as de
, ,

scribed i n previous chapters aiming t o t rim i t as

,

nearly as po ssible to the form of a half sph ere -

Aft er the edge has been cut as nearly true as possi

ble by eye i t i s made ,

absolutely even by t h e
p r o c e s s described in
Chapter II
FI G 5 2
.
.

Three handles are cut

from a at piece of clay about three inches
wide by Sixteen long and half an inch thi ck ,

in the Shape shown in Fig 5 2 and attach ed .

,

as follows ! The cir cumference of the top of t h e

bowl is divided into t h irds and marked with a
tool or pencil It is th en an easy matt er to place
.

t h e handles so that the centre of each shall be just

above one of the marks on t h e top edge A t the .

p o i n ts w here the handles are to be attached the ,

 B aske t Covered P o ttery
-
145

top o f the bowl is criss crossed w ith the p o inted

-

steel tool and wet with slip The handles are then
.

placed in position and their edges worked closely

,

again st the top and sides of the bowl with the at

of the nail They shou ld be curved in a little to
.

follow the lines of the bowl (se e P late ) .

After the inside has been glazed with the glossy

mixture mentioned in Chapter V a mat glaze of .
,
-

gray green will complete the bowl The three

raffia ropes by which the bowl is suspended are

made as follows
Thirty strands of n atural coloured raf a are
-

doubled around one of the handles an d the ends ,

are braided in a three stranded plait for twelve

-

inches where they are tied Tw o other braids are

, .

made on the other handles in the same way and ,

whe n they are twelve in ches long the strands from

all three braids are uni ted in a t hi ck Ioop .
I nd i an P o tte ry
 CH AP T ER ! I

I N D I A N POTTE R !

I Nno other country can primitive p o tte ry be so

convenien tly studi ed as i n ours Withi n our .

borders he w h o digs may read the hi story of clay

,

working from the earliest days Those who are .

denied this study at rst han d will n d i n museums

plenty of mat e rial quaint b owls and j ars some ,

of them smoke stained an d cracked but all won der

-

full y well preserved whe n one thinks o f their age .

From th e rudest pots made by inferior tribes w e

, ,

can trace the progress of the craft gradu ally

advancing un til in the p otte ry found in or near
,

Mexico we see what may be co n sidered the

,

masterpieces of American cerami c art .

In the United S tates the pottery of the P ueblo

,

tribes ranks rst and close to that the charmin g

, , ,

w ares of the Mississippi V alley and Gulf Coast .

There are many tribes which are still practising

the craft some following the old methods while
, ,

others in uenced by the white man are maki ng

, ,

I 49
1 50 H o w to M ak e P o ttery

w are of little i nterest to the student of primi tive

p ott ery The I ndi an s of the P ueblo coun try are
.

usin g almo st the same process es as those o f

ancient days .

The pottery o f di e rent sections of the country

FI G .
54

varies i n material form c olour and decoration

, , ,
.

That the ware of a certain tribe w as crude and i m

 I ndi an P o tte ry 1 5 1

perfect d oe s not necessarily i n dicat e that th e

people w h o mad e it were inferi o r in cul ture but ,

that the natural conditions were not favourable t o

pottery making A .

tribe living near clay

beds wou ld as natur
ally make good pot
t e ry as one around
whose homes materials
for basket m a k i n g
-

g r e w in abun dance
w oul d excel in that FI G 5 5 .

craft P erhaps on the

.
,

whole the p ottery of the So uth is more advan ced

,

than that o f th e No rthern tribes probably becaus e

,

of the difference in
climate While t h e.

people of the N orth

w ere wanderin g hun t
e rs for the most part ,

those of the S outh were

more prosperous an d
F ro 5 6
.

stay at home a n ( 1 ,

w o ul d be likely t o hav e more wants than the

No rther n tribes with leisure to gratify them
,
.

A S t o the uses to w hich the I n di ans p u t their

152 H o w to M ak e P o ttery

pottery ; m ost of the pieces Show with simple

stra i ghtforwardness what purposes they served .

nl
In o y a few cases is there any doubt notably
some Spool Shaped articles of clay found in the
-

Ohio V alley At rst pottery w as chi ey used

.
,

for the st o rmg cooking and carrying of water

, ,

an d food ; taking the place in some degree of , ,

vessels of wicker horn and stone This has, , .

remained its most important function .

E arth en vessels w e r e
employed in religiou s
and other ceremoni es ,

and earthen tools were

often made while ther e ,

are besides the myriads ,

FI G 5 7.
of pipes a host of small ,

clay vessels and gures

whi ch were evide ntly toys or used in games
( S ee Figs
.
5 3 and It is interesting to note the
difference between our cooking pots and those of

thi s pri mi tive people Th eirs h ave almost i n.

variably around or cone shaped base (S ee Fig -

.

whi ch P rof W H Holmes explains was natural

. . .
,

as among barbarous nations hard level oors were

, , ,

t h e exception whi le those of sand and soft earth

,

w ere the rule Under those condi tions the

.
,
 I ndi an P o ttery 1 53

rounded base woul d be much the best I n putting .

the pot over the re the fuel or other support s

,

k ept it in position Often c o oking vessels were

.
-

made with short strong handles (S ee Fig 5 6) o r a

, .

ari ng rim so that they coul d be conveniently

,

swun g over the r e with vin es or cords I n .

certai n parts o f the coun try where the Indi ans

made salt by evaporating the water fro saline m
Springs large vat shaped vessels o f clay ar e foun d
,
-

w hi ch were evidently mo ul ded for the purpose .

Th ey are pecul iar because o f their size and the

great thi ckness of the walls w hi le almost i nv ari
,

ably they have on the outer s ur f ace markings

, ,

w hi ch seem to have been impressed with a woven

fabric.

Other Indians made maple sugar using earthe n ,

v essels to collect and boi l the sap .

1 54 H ow to M ak e P o tte ry

Numbers of th e early writers tell of the use of

clay vessels for drums and earthen whi stles and
,

rattles are common to day (se e Figs 5 7 and

-
.

A cur ious shaped implement somewhat like a

-

toadstool w as evidently a modelling t oolto

,

support the wall s of a partiall y s t iffened piece of

pottery f r o 111 wit hi n ,

whi le the ou t er surface

w as n i shed with other
tools .

In t h e lower Missis
sippi Valley clays were
employe d in plastering
the walls of cave dwel
lings as well as for the
,

FI G 5 9
.
oors .

As burial urn s pot ,

t e ry b owls and vases were ofte n made u se of .

Not so often however for holdi ng t h e ash es

, ,

of the dead as for the sk ul l and other bones ,

which were crowded into a Single j ar or bowl , ,

such as w as common in the household Thi s .

was covered with a smaller vessel (see Fig .

S ometimes several of these bowls surroun ded and

covered the bones .Occasionally an earth en ,

c asket seems t o have been made especially for the

 I ndi an P o ttery 155

purp o se There have bee n found beside these

.
,

burial vessels in the I ndian graves smaller recep ,

ta cle s for food and even rude toys The latter

,
.

were usually animal forms gu ri ne s im ages of ,

sh turtles and birds

, ,
It is surmised that these
.

were O fferings made with the expectation of their

being of service t o the dead in a future life .

Unlik e the Egypti a ns the I ndians made little

,

u se of clay i n m o ulding b eads and other pers o nal

FI G . 60

ornaments They evidently did not nd it gay

.

enough in colour not kn owing the secret of the

,

brilliant enamels with which the early E gyptian

potters coated their clays P ipes while they w ere
.
,

often made of st o ne and other substances were in ,

some parts of the country moulded from clay and ,

ranged in form from a simple tube to curious and

grotesque shapes Those made by the Iroquois
.

were particul arly elab o rate a head of an animal
15 6 H ow to M ak e P o ttery

or bird f ormed the bowl o r a sn ake coil e d ab out it

,

( e e Fig
s .

One woul d have thought that in makin g ,

their clay pots which ,

were primarily plan ned

to serve useful pur p o se s ,

and were moreover , ,

somewh at perishable no ,

attention woul d have

bee n given to decor a
t ion ; y e t t hi s is far

from bein g t h e case .

B owls cups and caul d , ,

rons water j ars an d

,

FI G 6 1
.

bottles (se e Figs 6 1 and .

6 2 ) wer e often elaborately incised with beautiful

an d intricate design s The forms too were sim e

.
, , m
and good .

The clay used at rst was such as could be foun d

almost anywhere near the surface and co nse ,

quent ly w asfull of impurities Later however clean

.
, ,

clays were much sought after and no pains were

,

spared to grind and work them into good con dition .

This w as don e wit h the feet or hands or both ,

.

A S the craft advan ced potters began to temper

,

th eir clay with o ther ingredi en ts according t o th e

,
 I ND I A N PO TT E R Y
The b lack p i ch e r on th e ri g h i s of S m aC l ara a e e si de i s a w ate cooler or
e aiama de b aZ i
t t t w r . B it r-

t h
'

v u rl
 I ndi an P o ttery 1 57

u se t o which the vessel was to be put For .

i n stan ce t h e clay for t oys and the smaller vessels

,

needed no temperin g P ipes were made of such .

clay or of one tempered with a nely gro und

,

substan ce while cookin g pots and caul dron s which

,
-

were subj ected to constant heat w ere made of ,

clay con taini ng a large amount o f coarser temper

i

ing ingredients S ome of the t e mp eri ng agents

.

were rock sand pulveris ed S hell bits of baked

, , ,

pottery cinders ashes

, ,

of bark and even raw

,

vegetal materials The .

heat at which the pieces

were red w as rarely
strong e n o u g h t o
change a ny of the min
eral substan ces in the
clay .

In shapin g the pieces ,

the ngers di d the work

unaided except where a
,

baske t or gourd w as FI G 6 2 .

used as a moul d or ,

where such S imple t o ols as coul d be fashio ned of

clay stone or shell were employed A piece of a
, , .

gourd w a s s o m etim e s h eld agai n st th e i nne r w all

1 5 8 H o w to M ak e P o ttery

t o support it while th e outer sur face w a s

scraped and smoothed wit h these rude tools .

The bottom of t h e piece was formed either from

a small lump of clay patted and moul ded i nto
proper shape by the ngers or with t h e end of a,

clay strip which w as coiled aroun d o n itself In .

whichever way the bottom w as begun the walls ,

were made of coils of clay The ancient Cliff .

Dwellers or P ueblos used t hi s method very

, ,

skilful ly Their strips of clay were cu t an d

.

coiled with great exactness and the edges over ,

lapping on the outside made Spiral markin gs .

There are no evidences of anyt hi ng lik e the potte r s
wheel the nearest approach being t h e basket
,

moul d whi ch w as probably turned with one hand

,

as the coil of clay w as applied with the other .

The markings of cords and weaving which are

o ften seen o n the outer surfaces of Indian pots and
vas e s were probably made by pli able fabrics ,

which were used to support the piece as it was

formed Woven textures were a
. l so wrapp e d over
the hand or a t oo l to impress the wet clay and
, , ,

cords woun d ab o ut paddles or o ther too ls made

similar impre ssions In some cases the oute r
.
,

surface was rubb e d smooth with t h e n gers and

thumb or with a stone ; i n others the coil st ructure
, ,
 I ndi an P o tte ry 1 59

is plainly seen A fter the body of the piece was

.

n ished the rim was perfected and the handles

, , ,

legs or o t her parts in relief were applied These

, .

were made separately and were attached by ,

pressure and rubbi ng .

I n decoration the potters of each tribe had

,

di fferent ideas as well as t o ols and devices fo r

,

working them out The ngers an d nails were .

used to produce certain e ffects an d tools of various ,

kinds were made for sp ecial purposes pointed o n es -

for incising gouge lik e tools to scrape away the

,
-

clay and all kin ds o f stamps for impresse d de

,

signs Some of t h e stamps were in paddle form

.

( such as we use for making butter balls ) others -

were thin disks wi t h indented edges which were ,

rolled over the soft clay surface .

Incised designs were perhaps the most usual ,

th ough colour w as often employed in decorating

the ware E specially was this the case in the
.

P ueblo country and in Arkansas The colours .

were white brown red and black and they were

, , , ,

m o stly powdered clay sometimes mixed with ,

ochres The surface of the piece rst received a

.

wash of ne paste and afterward the colours , ,

ground ne and mixed with water were applied ,

with the n ger or a piece or reed grass The -

.
1 60 H ow to M ak e P o ttery

design s were generally made by the women .

Circles and cu rved designs were mos t used prob ,

ably because t hey coul d be m ade wit h such

freedom in contrast to the Slow and painstaking
,

process of weaving right angled desig ns into -

baskets .

The pott ery w as dried in the shade in the , su n ,

or before the re and ,

aft erward baked more

or l e s s t horoughly .

S ome ribes t h e Ca
t

ta w ba s for example ,

simply b a k e d t h eir
ware before t h e re ,

FI G 6 3
.
w h ile o t h ers covered
t h e pieces wit h burning

bark or ot her fuel surrounding t h em evenl y wit h

,
,

i t inside an d out The pieces we re p rotec t ed from

.

contact wit h each other by broken pieces of

p ottery Th ey were carefu lly kept from draughts
.

during t h e ring and the rst part of t h e cooling ,

for fear of cracking .

Among t h e Ch erok ees a glossy black w as given

,

t o the inner surface of t h e po tt ery by w h at w a s

known as smot h er ri ng When t h e process of

-
.

b aking just described w as c ompleted t h e ves sel

, , ,
 I ndi an P o ttery 1 61

w as turn ed bottom up o ver a small hol e in the

,

gro und which had bee n lled with burn in g corn

,

cobs F rom time to time the fuel was ren ewed

.

until in half an hour the inside of the pi e ce had

become gliste ning black .

I t is t o be regretted that amo ng the I n dians

n
, ,

this art lik e that of basketry i s passi g The

, , .

FI G . 64

coming of civilisation has brought iron an d tin

cooking vessels and ordinary tableware to take
the place of the bowls platters and cups the
, , ,

j ars and bott les of clay so full of individual charm

,
.

N ot only to the collector and the student of

ethnology is Indian pottery of value ; t h e potter
of to day nds much that is helpful an d suggestive
-
1 62 Ho w

to M ak e P o ttery

i n primitive processes as well as in the forms and ,

decoration .

A study of the range of shapes and designs in

I ndian p o t t e ry i s a revelatio n to many who have
'

thought of the Indian as an ignorant savage .

Aside from its beauty and decorative value the ,

u ses to which Indian pottery can be put in our

h omes are many The great bowl shown in the

.

plate suggests o n e
delightfu l way o f util
ising t his ware Foli .

age plants o i any

size f r o m a tiny ,

cactu s w h ich seems ,

to nd a bowl wit h a
FI G 65 .

rounded b a s e the
most comfortable of abiding places to a great ,

Spreading fern harmonise with th e Indian

,

colours S o will owering plants except those

.
,

w h ich have red pink or p u rple blossoms ; and

, ,

what a relief these plant bowls are to the eye

~ -

after some of the j ardinie res one sees !

Large bOw ls are usefu l too for holding fruit on , ,

the porch of a count ry house while smaller ones ,

serve as nu t bowls L o w plaque sh aped p i eces

'

-
.

make excellent card trays and the small bowls -

,
 I ndi an P o tte ry 1 63

hold matches There are curious littl e pieces i nthe

.

form of shoes made by the I ndian s o f N ew Mexic o .

These also are useful for m atches or cigar ashes

(see Fig Last and least though onl y in si ze
.
, ,

is the toy p ottery money b anks i n the f o rm of -

well fed pigs w histles and toy dishes cups jugs

-

, , , , ,

and plat es bewitchi ng alike t o little girls and

big A few of them are shown i n Figs 64 and 6 5
. . .

They are Indian red and creamy yellow i n col our ,

with designs of black and rarely are tw o of them

,

alike .

Fashi o ns change i n pottery as w ell as in o th e r

things and freakish forms whi ch pl e ase u s to day
,
-

may be ridicul ed to m o rrow ; but primitive wares

-

have an enduring value P ieces that were m oul ded

.

for service by potters whose love for nature and

,

its beauties must needs express itself eve n on t h e

decoration of a cooking pot will last l ong after -

the ware that is made only for money has gone

back to the groun d from when ce it came .
M od e rn A me ric an P o tte ry
 CH A P T ER ! II

M O D ER N A M ER I CA N P O TT E R!

ONE of the most encouragin g signs of the

advance in taste among American people is to be
found in their appre ciation of the pottery which
is now being made in this country Time w as .

when majolica j ardinieres and Austrian chin a ,

with their high colours and glassy glazes were ,

things to be desired Happily they are going the

.
,

way of plush co vered suites of furniture and

-
!

crazy quilts
-
.

Mu ch of the simplicity of method an d design i n

American pottery comes from the study of primi
tive processes shapes and decoration s Indian
, , .

ware though of less value than some others to

,

the student o f ceramics on account of its softn ess

,

of body and unglazed surface is nevertheless full

,

of art istic feeling and suggestion to makers o f

pottery There are many evidences also o f
.

French and Japanese inuence .

I n various parts of the coun try true art p o ttery,

1 67
1 68 H ow to M ak e P o tte ry

is b eing made e ach ware wit h i t s ow n indi viduality

and more or less characteristic of the section of

the country from whence it comes A s yet but .

li ttle tableware h as been attempted at these

potteries the D edham being a l most the only .

one where it is made .

Modern pottery is either moul ded by han d ,

thrown on t h e potter s wheel or c ast in moul ds

, .

After it has been formed it is gen erally decorated , ,

either by the artist potter himself or by some youn g

-

man or woman who has learned design as applied

to pott ery The decoration is either paint ed with
.

colours whi ch have been mi xed with clays like ,

some of the R ookw ood ware or incised modelled , ,

in relief or buil t up as the Volkmar pottery

, , .

A fter it is quite dry the pot is red in the great

,

kiln thi s time without glazing or in the biscuit

, ,
.

It is then glazed and red for th e second time

, .

The philosop hi cal potter and eve ry potter

needs philosophy will no t d espair if in the ,

second ring the piece is not satisfactory

,
He .

glaz es it again with every care in t ime for the

, ,

next ring and is often rewarded by havin g this

,

ugly duckling of one kiln t ur n out the swan of

t h e next .

Among the pioneers of art pottery in thi s

 M o dern A me ri can P o ttery 1 69

country w as Mrs M aria Lo n gworth S torer a .

,

Cin ci nn ati woman who in 1 8 8 0 opened a pottery

,

call ed b y the name of her father s place R o ok

wo od Mrs S torer had in addition to an artisti c

. .
,

temperame nt the patie n ce an d determi nation as

, ,

well as the nanci al resources necessary to such ,

an undertaking The rst kiln of the new p ottery

.

was draw n on Thanksgiving D ay By 1 8 8 9 the .

,

pottery had bec o me self supporting R ookwood -

.

ha s always bee n a disti n ctively A merican pottery .

Fro m the rst native clays were used and their

, ,

possibil ities were discovered with the ring of each

n ew kiln Clays that re at a comparatively low
.

heat were used at rst and thi s necessitated ,

employing the soft glazes Later the yellow or .

, ,

R ockin g ham ware formed the body of the pieces

, ,

and now a creamy whit e body is used which -

produces a strong and beautiful pottery Thi s is .

ni shed with a m at glaze At rst the tint of the-

.
,

n ative clay inclined t h e colour scheme to warm

brown s yellows and reds Thi s ware was deco
, , .

rated with ower or gure designs under a brilliant

glaze I t is kn own as S tandard R ookw ood

. .

The Tiger Ey e and G oldstone are other wares with

glaze e ffects not unlike the S tandard R ookw ood .

Bo th o f th e s e have dark groun ds with a n occasio n al

1 7 0 H o w to M ak e P o tte ry

lumi nous gleam of gold one of the i nterestin g
accidents of the kil n Other varieties of R oc k .

wood ln the order of their development were

, ,

S ea Green in whi ch an O palescent green effect is

,

sometimes relieved with a touch of yellow or red ,

and I ris which h as t h e creamy white body al ready

,
-

referred to This enables the potter t o produce

.

gray tones in hi s glazes In R ookwood which .

,

is coated with the owing glaze th ere is a quality ,

not unlik e some of t h e old C h inese wares I t h as .

a richness of texture lu minous and beautiful .

The decorations are paint ed in relief s o Simply ,

that the glaze ows charmi ngly over them There .

i s also a variet y of the R ookwood pottery with a

mat glaze In thi s the process is entirely di e re nt
.
,

from th at used in making the ot h er kinds of

R ookwood The glaz e is of the greatest i m
.

portance the forms are Simple sometimes a

, l most ,

rugged and t h e decorations are s u bordinate

,
.

There are even pieces ent irely undecorated whi ch ,

depend upon their beauty of colour and texture

alone D ecorat ions adapt ed from Indian designs
.

are often modelled in relief or incised Occasion .

all y metals are applied M antels wall panels

,
.
,
-

drink ing fountains and architectural reliefs are

-

also made of the R ookwo od faience .

 M o dern A meri can P o ttery 1 7 1

Many are the potters marks that have bee n

used at R ookwood B efore 1 8 8 6 there were eight

.

in all At that time the mark shown in Fig 6 6

.
, .

was adopted This was used with the additio n of

.
,

a ame mark for every succeed

ing year until 1 9 0 0 when the
, ,

mark w as like Fig 6 7 S ince

. .

that date a R oman nu meral has

,

been added below the mark ,

according to the year the piece

P M 66
was made For example the
.
,

pieces of the present year have the R oman num

ber IV below t h e mark used in 1 9 0 0
. .

A comparatively near neighbour of R o okwoo d

is the Gates pottery near ,

Chicago where Teco ware is ,

made The potter s love for.

his work and the potter s ,

zeal to produce something

more perfect and beautiful
than h e had eve r done b e
FI G 6 7 .

fore led William D Gates

, .
,

w h o had long made terra cott a for architectural

purposes t o experiment with clays and glazes until

,

n a l ly Teco ware was evolved It is a hard durable .

,

pottery built o n simple lines Western artists and .

1 7 2 H ow to M ak e P o ttery

architects of note have contributed design s and

forms for this ware and for the most part the
, , ,

pieces are beau tiful and restful to t h e eye The .

few incised o r moul ded decorations are not made

prominent but are s u gges t ed rather th an Sharply
,

dened Over all is a mat glaze of soft wax lik e

- -
.
,

texture in green the gree n that makes on e

thi nk o f weat h ered bronze .

S et in a pict uresque valley surr ounded by ,

owers and near a lit tle lake t h e Gat es potteri e s

,

are so sit u at ed as t o inspire t h e art ist potters who

mould t h e forms and decorat e t h e ware It has .

been t h e aim of t h e makers of Teco pott ery to

produce a ware t h at sh al l b e sat isfying and beauti
ful and yet of comparat ively sligh t cost
, .

It i s a far j ourn ey from t h ese pott eries to the

three New E ngland cit ies wh ere are t h e Gru e b y ,

D edham and Merrimac pot te ries

,
Gru e b y ware .
,

w hi ch was rst made in B o st on in 1 8 9 8 is re ,

markable for t h e glaze whi ch was discovered by

,

Mr Wil liam H Gruch y

. Alth ough for many
. .
,

years du ll ni sh e d pottery has been produ ced by

,
-

sand bl a sting ware wi t h

-
a glossy nis h or by ,

taking a pi e ce of glazed pottery and treating it

wit h acid t o m a ke i t dul l t h e Gru e b y potteries
, ,

were t h e rs t in t h e h istory of ceramics to make a

 M o der n A meri can P o tte ry 1 73

dull ni sh e d p o tt e ry in their kil n s ! The surfac e

-

thus obtained h as a deep velvety look unlike any , ,

other nish made such as that which was pos
sessed by old Corean pottery The ware was r st .

exhi bit ed in P aris in 1 90 0 where it made quit e

, ,

a sensation and t h e French G overnment awarded

,

the Gru eb y P otteries a gold medal for enamel s

and glazes as well as a Silver medal for design and
, ,

gave Mr Gru e b y personally a gold medal for th e

.

work he had accomplished in dul l ni sh e d enamels -

.

The forms are simple and good and t h e decoratio n s , ,

which are incised or modelled in relief are planned ,

so that t h e glaze Shall ow well over them Co m .

mon plant forms su ch as the mul lein leaf blades

, ,

of grass plant ain and the enfolding leaves of th e

, ,

lil y are th e mot ives for th ese designs

,
There i s .

a delicacy one might almost s ay a reserv e i a
their treatment t h at is rare and very interesting .

The pottery is hard and the glaze such as is ,

applicable to a ware which res at a great heat .

The colours of Gru eb y pottery are beautiful and

rich ranging from an Old ivory tint to golde n
,

yellows russet browns and velvety bl u es and a

, ,

variet y of green shades The texture of th e .

glaze is soft like the bloom of a melon an d it h as

, ,

an un usual network of markings No moulds are .

1 74 H ow to M ak e P o ttery

used in making this pottery ; i t is all th rown on

the wheel and as in t h e o ld wares no t w o pieces
, , ,

are exact ly alike .

B esides i t s beau ty and artisti c value the fact ,

that the Gru eb y pottery is made in forms that are

useful makes it dou bly desirable Among lamp
j ars particul arly t here is the greatest variety
, , .

These are mad e both fo r oil and electri city In .

t h e Gru e b y Ti f
fany lamp t w o ch arming products
-

of applied arts ar e combined the j ar being Gru eb y

ware and t h e leaded or blown glass sh ade o f
,
-

Tiffany design and workmanship .

The D edh am pot te ry is remarkable for many

reasons chief among them being t h e fact th at it
,

is as already s t at ed almost the onl y place in this

, ,

cou ntry wh ere art tableware is made S ome of .

this ware which is pop ul arly known as t h e B unny

,

china has lifelike lit tle rabbits on the border

, ,

other pieces h ave designs of du cks and oth ers ,

still have borders of frui t Th e wonderful Oriental .

glazes that ar e used on pieces of D edh am war e

were re discovered by Mr Hu gh C R obertson
-
. . .

The be st known glaze of th is pottery however is

-

, ,

the gr ay crackle war e wit h designs of blue -

.

A t the Merrimac pottery in Newburyport an , ,

excellent ware is made A few of t h e pieces are .

 M o de rn A me ri can P o ttery 17 5

mo ul ded but the maj ority are thro wn o n th e

,

potter s wheel Little decoration is used th e

.
,

charm o f the ware being its form and c olour .

A m o ng the most remarkable of the artist pot

ters of this country is Mr Charles Volkmar of .
,

th e Volkmar Kilns in Metuche n N ew Jersey

, , .

A n artist to his nge r tips he has a potter s

-

thumb which is the e n vy of all those w h o were

less evide ntly bor n t o the craft Mr Volkmar . .

studi ed not o nly art but his craft as w ell i n

, ,

P aris wearing the blouse o f a w orkma n in the

,

potteries where he learn ed so ad mirably how to

,

work i n clay that there are few in this country

who approach him The w are made by Mr . .

Volkmar and hi s son Mr Leon Volkmar is re , .

,

markable for the simple beauty of its forms and

fo r the quality of its glazes The body of the ware .

is pale yellow and it is exceedingly hard and

,

durable ! ears ago Mr Volkmar made a ne

.
, .

blue and white w are w hi ch w as decorated with

- -

historical scenes His pieces now are for the

.

most part ni shed with a mat glaze alth o ugh ,

s o me have a glossy transparent surface A ll are .

beautiful i n colour Here is where the artist

.

shows pre emine ntly The deep rich texture o f

.
,

the mat glaz e s oftens but does n ot hide the simple

-

, ,
1 7 6 H o w to M ak e P o ttery

I nC1se d
or built u p designs The pierced designs of
-
.

V olkm ar pottery are decorat ive and strong .

Thi s ware is as practical to u se as it is charming to

look at The o w e r j ars are in tones that har
.
-

mo ni se delightful ly with t h e blossoms that ll

th em and the jugs have o Wi ng and graceful lines

, ,

and yet are subs t antial and of generous proportions

'

The plate sh ows a few pieces of th i s ware The

'

piece on the left is a pale yellowish brown with a -

glossy ni sh ; t his is suitable for a lamp bowl or -

for owers B eside it is a sturdy lit tle mug with

.
,

a deep green mat glaz e The next jar l s nished

-
.

with a d ul l blue transparent glaze and the taller ,

vase sh a ped piece on the righ t has a mat glaze of

- -

pale gray green Not far from the Volkmar

-
.

Kilns at Woodbridge New Jersey is the P o illo n

, , ,

pottery where garden ware is made Great tree

, .

and plant tubs sun dial st ands well curbs and

- - -

, , ,

window ledge boxes are a few of the thi ngs that

come from t his p ottery The forms of these .

pieces are substant ial a nd good S ome excellent .

indoor pottery is also moul ded candlesticks ,

toilet sets jugs and o e bowls a host of

,
w r ,
-

useful and att ractive Shapes coated with a owing ,

glaz e The ware is nished in a variety of colours

.
,

yellow being one of the most successful The .

 M o de rn A meri can P o tte ry 1 77

potteries have design ed Special e arthe n

P o illo n
ware for country clubs lamps toilet sets ash , ,

trays match bowls ; all uniform in colour and

,
-

design and each S pecially adapted in fo rm to the

,

use for which it is intended .

The work of the B rush Gu ild of New ! ork is

more like Indian pottery t ha n any other of the
American wares The pieces all have a hand
.

moulded look and the few designs are quite

,

primitive i n their Simplicity The glossy black .

-

ni sh suggests I ndian smother ri ng It is not -

.

un like the black pottery wh ich the S anta Clara

Indi ans make and the great generous pieces are
,

also suggestive of this ware Unlike any Indian .

pottery however the bowls and j ars of the

, ,

B rush Guild will hold water perfectly .

Fro m the far S outh comes an exceedingly

interesting ware ! this is the N ew co mb pottery made ,

by the students of Newcomb College N ew Orlean s , .

It may be seen at exhibitions of arts and crafts

guilds here in the North The ware originated .

ep a rt me nt of Newcomb College ! .

or years teachers of drawing and painting

,

had been educated but it began to be m anifest,

that wit h the lack of other elds for art workers

, ,

this depart ment could no t be widely useful .

1 7 8 H o w to M ak e P o ttery

The establishment of a pottery was the practic a l

solut ion of this difculty M any young women .

have found in the making of this pottery an

, ,

art i st i o vo cat i o n fro mwhich they reap prot a nd

reputation The aim of the origin a
. tors from the
rst has been to make a ware that woul d be

individual one that shoul d have a charm all its
own This has been accomplished by taking as
.

motives for the designs the unusual and beautiful

S outhern owers plants and trees as well as the
, , ,

ani mal life of that part of the country A charm .

ing p i t ch er h as a design of snow drops painted in

'

cream white slip on a yellow gray background

- -
.

A nother piece h a s a decoration of sh es and o n

still another a hi gh sl ender o w e r j ar stalks of

"

, , ,

the sugar can e form the design

-
.

The methods of decoration are in cising painting

, ,

and modelling used t ogether Or singly according

, ,

to the requ irements of the design Great freedom .

is a llowed in the choice Of colour as well as in the

decoration each w orker feeling the responsibility
,

attach e d t o a signed piece of pott ery S ome of .

the ware is undecorated save for t h e u nexpected

touches of the kil n which gi ve charming and ,

unusual e ffects .

The mark sh own in Fig 6 8 distin guishes th e .

A PI EC E OF NE W CO M B PO TT E RY
 M oder n A meri can P o tte ry 1 79

Newcomb pottery an d only thos e piece s rec eiv e it

,

which are a pproved by the art department .

In di vidual work of merit is bein g pr oduc ed

every year in this country ,

and it w ill not b e l o ng befo re

the s olitary p o tter of to day
-

moulding his pieces and t e st l ng

his glazes in some little work
S h Op
, like a b r own Chrysalis ,

will perfect his ware ; so that FI G

the tiny w orkshop will expand int o a great

buildin g and another beautiful w are w ill b e
,

added t o m o d e rn A m e rican p ott e ry

.