I^O 
ilERAMIC STUDIO 
perfectly clean and free from dust for every speck of dust 
shows in the finished work. It is well to always test samples 
of the different enamels as they fire much stronger than they 
appear on the palette (except the reds.) If the enamels fire 
too pale a wash of color and refiring will remedy it. 
In light greens and yellows always use a touch of black 
(Brunswick) to soften the intensity of the tone. For yellows 
use the mixing and silver yellow (silver yellow is much strong- 
er.) Never mix red with enamel (use the prepared red ena- 
mels.) For light greens use Apple Green toned with Chrome 
Green 3b, the yellows, Brown Green and black. For dark 
greens any of the darker shades mixed and ^ Aufsetzweiss. 
For turquoise blue — Deep Blue Green, Night Green, mixed 
with body enamel. For dark blue — Dark blue, Brunswick 
black, little Ruby Purple, Aufsetzweiss For pink — Osgood's 
Standard Pink with body enamel, l^flux. 
Miss Mason's prepared enamels are excellent and fire at 
same temperature as the china and are to be recommended 
to beginners. Her glazes (green, azure and turquoise) mixed 
with color give good enamel effects and can also be dusted 
on over color before fired or grounded on over fired color giv- 
ing a fine underglaze effect. Enamels used over a tint re- 
quire a lighter fire than when used on white china and a still 
lighter fire used over a grounded color; used over gold, the 
gold should first be fired to be perfectly safe. Some mix 
enamels with a horn knife. I find a steel one answers quite 
as well. In raised enamel work it is best to buy and use 
those already prepared, rub down smoothly with enamel 
medium, after that when they become dry, use only lavender 
oil to make it drop smooth and round from the point of a sable 
liner, No. o or No. i., fire only once and a light fire. For a 
relief white for a last fire, use Aufsetzweiss and | flux. Give 
a rather hard fire. 
Great care must be used in doing relief enamel or jewel 
work, else the dots will look like lumps or knobs. The dots 
must be round and smooth, not with a little point on top and 
full of air holes as is so often seen. Take them off not once or 
twice but many times until practice makes perfect. Sartor- 
ius Co. prepares a very fine gold relief enamel in Cobalt blue. 
000 
Fourth Prize— Lucy L. Brown, Roxbury, Mass. 
[extracts only.] 
The best enamel and that which will stand the hardest fire 
is the German Aufsetzweiss in tubes ;this is what is called hard 
enamel, as it stands a hard fire and seems to be the most reli- 
able, as we use more French china for decorating than any 
other, and as it is very hard, it is better to add a little flux to 
the Aufsetzweiss, to help unite it to the glaze of the china 
and prevent it from chipping; some do not add any flux 
when color is used but it seems safer to add a very little. 
For dark jewels, you can make the jewels white, not 
mixing any color with the enamel and flux, and after firing, 
paint the dark color over them and fire again. 
Sometimes, when the brush is lifted, a little point will 
be seen on the dot, often by breathing on this the trouble is 
remedied and a smooth surface is formed. Never dry jewels 
by artificial heat as the outside dries more rapidly than the 
inside and keeps the inner part moist, so that it may bubble 
in the firing. Wait till the surface looks dull before having 
fired. 
For fiat enamel, use a square shader as large as the 
design will allow and let the enamel flow off the brush as 
evenly as possible on the china, as 3'ou cannot meddle much 
with this kind of painting. 
For powdered enamel, take out sufficient powder on a 
ground glass slab, mix with it just enough fat oil to hold it 
together, add color, if needed, and thin with oil of lavender; 
make thinner for flat enamel than for jewels, and foUow the 
same method as above in applying to china. There is a good 
red and orange enamel in powder form, that it is well to buv 
when those colors are needed, also an enamel medium to use 
with the powdered enamel which is very convenient. 
000 
Fifth Prize— Mary Powers Afcam, Flandreau, S. D. 
[extracts only.] 
First and most important use only MuUer & Hennig's 
relief white or Aufsetzweiss, to this add any color you wish to 
use. If your relief white is very oily use dry color with it, 
working in the powder thoroughly. If it is still somewhat 
oily place it on a clean blotter, the oil will be absorbed in a 
very short time. Now remove to your palette, mix again 
and for each portion of enamel the size of a pea add one 
drop of water; this will take about a minute's thorough 
mixing, it is then ready to use; if it should be too dry to work 
freely add a drop or two of turpentine. In the case of relief 
white that is dry or nearly so, use the. tube colors for tint- 
ing, one-fifth color is the general rule,though I have used more 
with excellent results, add water as before and turpentine if 
necessary. 
Never use enamel that has been exposed to the air 
ORANGE LEAVES— ALICE WITTE SLOAN 
