May, 1 9 10 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



191 



Striking pieces of hand-made pottery 



them slope so as to continue the lines of the mold. The 

 vessel must be set on one side to harden, and next day it 

 will be found that it will come away easily from the 

 plastered mold. The vessel should then be turned upside 

 down, so as to have the edge of the top symmetrical, and the 

 hollows filled as described in the making of a bowl. Now 

 is the time to correct any faults in the contour. If a spout 

 is to be added, it can be modeled around a straw, and added 

 to the main piece, as can also the handles. It is well for a 

 beginner not to have them too large or too long, until ex- 

 perience has taught how much weight can be added with- 

 out breaking off. 



The piece of pottery is now ready for ornamenting. Line 

 incision may be done with any of the tools already described. 

 The depth of the lines will depend upon the thickness 

 of the clay. Straight lines girding the vessel or a group of 

 several lines, may be the only decoration. Sometimes a 

 broad band of color may be added, outlined by line incision. 

 A study of the pottery made by the Arizona Indians will 

 give the beginner many ideas for decorating pottery. 

 Simple designs can be drawn with a sharp tool while the 

 clay is moist, taking care to bevel the edges of the design. 

 It is well to go over it again with a wooden pointed tool, 

 making it firm and deep. 



As the bowl was finished with a soft mat glaze, I will de- 

 scribe another process for glazing. The inside of the piece 

 of pottery must first be glazed. Glaze can be purchased 

 all ready for use. Take an after-dinner coffee cup full of 

 transparent glaze, and pour it into the vessel, then roll it 

 around until the entire inner surface is covered, then turn 

 the piece quickly upside down, emptying it into another ves- 

 sel. A good deal of care is needed to prevent the inside 

 glaze from spilling onto the outside. If any of the glaze 

 smears the surface, rub it off quickly with the fingers. The 

 outside finish of the pottery can be an opaque glaze in any 

 color preferred, brown, blue, yellow, red, or green. Mix a 

 half tablespoonful each of stannifere and of china clay, and 



one tablespoonful of soft glaze together on a glass slab 

 with a palette knife, add as much gum arabic as will cover 

 a ten cent piece, and enough water to make it as thick as 

 cream, then add the coloring, about the same quantity as 

 the gum arabic, and grind it thoroughly with the knife. A 

 darker tint can be given by adding more color, although it 

 must be remembered that firing deepens the color consider- 

 ably. Place the vessel upside down and apply the glaze 

 with a large flat paint brush, painting in short strokes in 

 every direction. The bottom will only require one coat; 

 this may be done first. Now paint from the bottom up- 

 wards. By the time the entire surface is covered the bot- 

 tom should be dried. It is best to apply two or three coats, 

 but one coat must be allowed to dry before the other is ap- 

 plied. A dessertspoonful of gum tragacanth must now be 

 added to the glaze, which is applied in the same way as the 

 first coat. The top edges must be glazed when the second 

 coat is added. The third coat is begun at the top; in a few 

 days the vessel is ready for firing. 



The above mentioned and many other simple shapes can 

 be molded by coiling and building, and it is well to become 

 perfect in this form of pottery making, before going to the 

 expense of providing a wheel. The wheel is kept in motion 

 with the foot and the hands are used to mold the clay while 

 the wheel is kept moving. 



■iHtiMiti 



Molding the top of a vase 



Bruges hand-made pottery 



Throwing pottery on the wheel requires experience, but 

 it is one of the most fascinating parts of the craft of pot- 

 tery-making. Of course the work is much more rapidly 

 done on the wheel and there is more regularity of shape and 

 perfection of finish to wheel-made pottery. 



Some of the modern wheels are sold with the slanting 

 bench and these are easier than the more general wheel to 

 which one has to stand. The wheel is started with the point 

 of the right foot swinging from right to left. Several turns 

 are given to start it in motion. 



Have ready a piece of well-worked clay in the shape of a 

 ball. Wet the top of the wheel and rub off slightly, leav- 

 ing the surface moist enough for the clay to stick. If too 

 wet the clay will slide. Now take the clay in both hands 

 and throw it firmly onto the center of the wheel. Dip the 

 hands in slip and rub over the clay so that it is thoroughly 

 moist. 



Now set the wheel in motion, and when it is revolving 

 keep the feet on the rest. Both hands are now held round 

 the ball of clay, starting at the bottom and rising slowly, 

 drawing up the clay into a cone shape. It is not easy at 

 first to hold the hand steady while the wheel is in motion, 

 as this only comes with practice. If the clay shifts its posi- 

 tion, start again by throwing it on to the center, wetting 

 the hands with slip as before, and shaking the drops over 

 the clay. Lay the little fingers on the board and grasp the 

 clay with the hands, press it into a cone form slowly and 



