Vol. XX, No. 7. 
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK 
November 19 J 8 
NSIDE of a few months or per- 
haps a few weeks, who knows? 
the war will come to a just end 
and we will face the problem of 
reconstruction. That there will 
be a big- revival of art work, there 
is no doubt whatever, and surely 
also ceramic decoration will come 
back into its own, not only 
because it is an unlimited field in 
its artistic possibilities, but because more than ever after 
the war women will be independent of men, and there is 
no occupation which is more attractive to women having 
artistic tastes, and none easier to learn. However, it is a 
mistake many china decorators make to confine themselves 
to china, they should broaden their field. They cannot do 
any good ceramic decoration without a clear understanding 
of the' principles of design and as soon as they master these 
principles they will find it easy to apply their knowledge 
to other crafts. 
In the last two years on account of the scarcity of ma- 
terial many have given up their studios. It is a mistake. 
They will want to take their art up again after the war and 
will find it more difficult to start anew than to have kept 
work of some kind going all the time. The wise ones have 
done exactly that. In this respect the following extracts 
from a letter just received from Mrs. Rodman Tubby of Los 
Angeles may prove interestingly suggestive: 
"It pleases me to learn that you intend as soon as pos- 
sible to make the Magazine more general, to include decora- 
tive designs adaptable to all kinds of crafts. I have been 
hoping this could be done, for personally I have not been 
working in china since 1915. 
"The Magazine helps me to keep in touch with old 
friends and co-workers, and I enjoy it. However I have 
been working in other crafts and find Keramic Studio 
helpful, but it could be much more so, were the designs 
more adaptable to various branches of art. 
"I have just finished building a ten-room house, com- 
prising two five-room apartments. By drawing the plans 
and superintending the construction, I was able to get just 
what I wanted. Then I planned the decoration and executed 
that myself. Then the problem of furniture and hangings 
had to be solved. I have worked out some very interesting 
ideas and it is all very attractive. 
"My work in china has helped me grasp the big things 
and I am working into big things in decoration. I never 
lose sight of the possibilities in china when I am planning 
a room. 
"I am very proud to know that I am awarded the first 
prize in the Blair competition and I thank you. I must 
confess the design is one I used on the woodwork in one of 
my bedrooms, and while I was executing it I kept the 
thought in mind of the possibility of this design for an 
invalid set." 
The design of Mrs. Tubby which received first prize in 
the Blair competition will be given as a color supplement 
in the December issue. It was found impossible to have 
it ready for the November number. 
We quote from a letter received a few days ago: "I 
am fortunate in being well supplied with orders and have 
made a success helping my classes by taking younger 
children. The older girls and ladies give so much time 
to the Red Cross and it seems to me that there is need 
to train the young ones to love the beautiful to offset the 
horror of war pictures, etc." 
ART NOTES 
The September number of the "Touchstone" contains 
an illustrated article concerning the Arts and Crafts move- 
ment in Detroit, Mich. The Society organized in 1916 is 
now housed in the finest building of its kind in America 
and provides shops, sales and exhibition rooms for Craft 
Workers. It also has a Theatre for the study and pro- 
motion of Stage Craft and the production of Plays both 
of foreign and local talent. 
The Folk Handicraft Committee has interested the 
foreign born population of the city, encouraging them to 
develop their Native Crafts and their work has found a 
ready sale. 
Women whose husbands have been drafted into the 
war have developed this means of livelihood and while im- 
portations are cut off from Europe these industries are as- 
suming more and more local importance. 
Because of this revival of interest in handicrafts, 
fostered, by this Society, Detroit in 1916 ranked second in 
volume of sales made by such organizations in the country, 
the total sales for that year amounting to twenty-six thou- 
sand dollars ($26,000) and last year represented an ad- 
vance of 60% over preceding years. There is a course of 
lectures during the year by notable men and women which 
is open to the public and helps to disseminate and keep 
alive the interest in these most practical things. 
The Society is doing a notable work in fostering, pro- 
ducing and providing a market for these things of hand, 
heart and brain and is performing a service both to the 
producers and to the art and commercial world. 
Henrietta Barclay Paist 
APPLIQUE WORK 
"In line with what our Editor has recently said about 
the value of the designs in the Magazine for other pur- 
poses than china, I would like to tell of a new use for them. 
Some time ago, when business in my studio was very dull 
and I was, momentarily, tired of painting and wanted 
a change, I was turning over my magazines and designs in 
search of a new idea. It struck me that some of the enamel 
designs would work out in applique, like the old-fashioned 
Colonial patchwork and purely for diversion I enlarged 
one of Mrs designs to the size of a sofa pillow 
and sent out and bought pink and green gingham to try 
it. Then I thought of my favorite birds and medallions 
of little fruits— like Miss plate in the August, 
1917, supplement — and collected more colors to work out 
