House and Garden 
TERRA COTTA JARS BY LUCIE F. PERKINS, OF THE BRUSH GUILD 
succeeded in gaining simplicity ? Could any¬ 
thing be more complex than the surfaces in 
the Foil Ion ware tree pot A A ? What de- 
ducible law does the curve of the underbody 
follow ? Beauty that depends largely upon 
the lawless and the accidental has not in 
artificial objects, the elements of stability. 
The tree tub BB, in white unglazed Parian 
ware, has more to recommend it, and what¬ 
ever one’s views as to Art Nouveau, he 
must acknowledge the assertiveness of such 
specimens as these and their handsome qual¬ 
ities ot texture. That Mr. Pond is highly 
ingenious in devising forms and uses for 
outdoor pottery may be learned from the 
window ledge boxes he has designed and 
from his wall pocket, to be hung against a 
piazza post or in any convenient place. Any 
one of several colors is used for these pieces, 
with yellow a favorite, in a dull matte glaze. 
Here, too, must be mentioned a big garden 
bowl, CC, and a pierced and modeled jar¬ 
diniere stand, DD, the latter made after the 
general plan of 
Chinese garden 
seats of long 
ago ; 
To declare 
the garden pot¬ 
tery of Miss 
Lucie Perkins 
the most hope¬ 
ful , in an artistic 
way, that is now 
being produced 
in this country 
is to say much, 
but not too much. For who else has so 
absorbed the spirit that animated the old 
Etruscan and Indian potters, those curi¬ 
ously contrasting “ seekers for pagan per¬ 
fection ? ” Where again, among American 
potters, shall you find so keen a feeling 
for absolute beauty of form, for the true 
function of decoration, for the serene and 
authoritative in contour? Miss Perkins is a 
sculptor and she has modeled these jars 
without the aid of a potter’s wheel or other 
mechanical device. Her work frankly ac¬ 
knowledges a delight in the classics, and a 
conviction that the ancients are scarcely to be 
outdone. 11 she were a composer of music, 
one would say that she had studied Bach and 
Palestrina and Mozart, without neglecting 
the modern Brahms, and with a keen inter¬ 
est, moreover, in the Indian music lore of 
North America. Like Arthur Farwell, who 
has been turning to good account these very 
Indian melodies as a basis for a fresh and in¬ 
spiring musical expression, Miss Perkins has 
profited, fol¬ 
lowing the foot¬ 
steps of George 
de Forest Brush, 
by the noble 
and d i g n i f i e d 
achievements of 
ancient native 
races. 
Miss Perkins 
has used for her 
garden pottery 
red, bull or 
white terra- 
39 
