Vol. VII, No. I 
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK 
May 1905 
HE Problem of the water pitcher in 
Morning Glories was a popular one 
and many interesting solutions were 
offered, the weakest points with 
most competitors being the shapes of 
the pitcher and the handle. A water 
pitcher should be "fat and squatty'' 
so that it can hold a good supply of 
water and a large piece of ice, the 
handle shoidd be simple and strong 
and large enough to get a good grasp. The top of the pitcher 
should curve inward slightly, this gives strength and a^'oids 
cracks and nicks. 
The first prize was awarded to Minna Meinke, Roclcville 
Center, L. 1. The grey tones were finely balanced, the color 
schemes clever and original, the shape good although it might 
have closed a little at the top . The border was in good proportion 
to the piece, the design cleverly handled and simplj' treated. 
The second prizes were awarded to Hannah Overbeck, 
Cambridge City, Indiana, and Austin Rosser, Butler, Missouri. 
Miss Overbeck's pitcher was good in shape though the 
handle might have been better. The proportion of the border 
to the piece was also good, the design cleverly conventionalized 
from the morning glory seed, the balance of greys was good 
although the grey of the main motif was a little too strong. 
Miss Rosser's j)itcher was good in shape but the handle 
was too small and the mouth would not hold water an inch 
from the top. The greys were good and the design clever 
but not so restful as the other second prize. 
Mentions were given to Ophelia Foley, Mary Overbecl<, 
Minna Meinke, Austin Rosser and Alice Sharrard. 
Miss Foley's color schemes were very fine^ perhaps the 
best of all, but the designs were not restful, the lines moving 
in too manj' directions and the shapes of the pitchers were not 
very good and appropriate rather to a milk pitcher than to 
a water pitcher. 
The pitchers submitted bj^ Miss Mary Overbeck were iDetter 
in shape but the handles were not well thought out. The 
designs were simple and good and the color schemes fair. 
Miss Meinke's second pitcher was similar in shape to 
the prize one, though the handle was not so good and the 
greys not so well balanced, or the design so harmonious, the 
treatment was rather Egyptianesque both in drawing and 
color which was in rich green, blue and black. 
The second pitcher by Miss Rosser was rather a milk 
pitcher and the mouth had the same defect as the second 
prize. The conventionalization was very clever. 
Miss Sharrard's pitcher was also for milk rather than 
water, but as it was submitted without a color scheme it was 
impossible to judge of its full value. 
We missed some of our old good competitors and hope 
they will enter the lists again. 
4= 
The Problem for the September competition, closing July 
15th, will be a marmalade jar with a conventionalized decora- 
tion of bees. Studies of the wasp from "Art et Decoration" 
in this issue will be suggestive in this connection. The bee 
motif may be used alone or in combination with any floral 
motif. One section at least must be given in color. 
LEAGUE NOTES 
THE annual meeting will be held on the lOth and nth of 
May as previously announced, but the date of the open- 
ing evening reception will be the i ith in.stead of the 9th of May. 
The erection of a Fine Arts Building at Portland has given 
us more time, and we now hope to speed the Traveling 
Exhibition on its way before responding to that call. Mrs. 
Cross will keep members ittformed regarding it. 
In the course of a week or ten days, the schedule for the 
Traveling Exhibition will be mailed to the clubs by Mrs. 
Bergen, Chairman of Transportation. The first nine places 
are listed, according to request, and time arrangements for 
others that have given no preference will be made with utmost 
care. The cordial replies to her letters augur well for our 
future. 
Belle Barnett Vesey, 
President. 
THE BEGINNER IN CONVENTIONAL WORK 
[continued] 
THE same method is followed where several colors or tones 
are desired. Where it is advisable to use a gold outline, 
the enamel or color had better be first fired as it takes skill and 
practice to put on a fine gold outline; if raised paste for gold 
is to be used it may be put on for the first fire after the decorator 
has gained a steady hand, then it may be gilded in the second 
fire, at the same time retouching the enamel or color where 
needed. However, after practice, the entire work can be done 
in one fire; when the enamels or colors are thoroughly dried 
the paste outline may be put on, avoiding touching; then where 
the paste is thoroughly dried the gold may be put on in two 
coats — for a flat gold outline three coats are safer. 
When soft enamels are to be used it is better to do the 
raised gold work first and fire it, then put in the enamels, a 
second fire for soft enauiels should be av'oided althoiigh some 
stand a second fire. 
If the design is to be executed in lustre and gold with black 
outlines the method to follow is to put the lustre wherever ' 
desired, dry and clean off where the lustre overlaps the draw- 
ing, then put in the gold background or parts of design; dry 
thoroughly, clean out the outline with a knife or pointed stick 
where necessar3^ Then go over the outlines witli yoiu- black 
paint twice before firing. 
If the design selected is one of those carried out in the 
soft harmonies of the latest schools of decoration, the pro- 
cedure is as follows: Tint the plate all over a soft cream or 
whatever prevailing tone you may have selected, sometimes 
the border is tinted a deeper tone than the center of the plate. 
After this is fired, draw your design and fill in the colors of 
the design, and if it is necessary go over the background color 
also. Then take your powder color and dust it over the 
painted portions to bring them together. An example will 
better illustrate this method. Take the bowl of the prize 
design child's set by Marie Crilley Wilson in the December 
Keramic Studio. First tint all over a soft cream tone and 
fire. After firing draw the design delicately with India ink, 
use as large a square shader as convenient, so as to avoid show- 
