28 
RERAMIC STUDIO 
PALE VIOLET HANNAH B. OVERBECK 
working for the day, put a drop of lavender oil on the gold 
slab at one side. Work your brush in this until most of the 
gold is removed to the slab. Then put the brush aside 
until it is needed again. The lavender oil will serve to keep 
the brush pliable. 
If the brush seems very clogged after it has been used 
repeatedly, clean it by shaking it in the alcohol in the little 
covered jar or bottle, which, by the way, must always be 
kept tightly covered. The gold settles in the bottom of the 
jar and is saved in that way. The knife may be cleaned in 
the same manner. When you have saved sufficient 
gold to be of use, pour off the liquid and pour the residue 
on a glass slab. This will soon dry out, and can then be 
mixed with equal parts of Dresden thick oil and lavender. 
Use just enough to bind it together, and then thin it with 
turpentine as before. This is excellent to use for first coats 
of handles, etc. 
Lavender is the most satisfactory medium to use with 
gold. It does not dry out so quickly as turpentine, and 
therefore keeps the gold open longer. It also makes it 
much easier to spread the gold over large surfaces. Care 
must be taken, however, in using it when the gold is to be 
placed on edges or next to unfired tinting. Too much oil 
makes the gold "runny." It will spoil the tint, and that, 
of course, means that the tint must come off. One of the 
best methods for putting gold on edges is with the finger. 
For this, have your gold rather stiff er than usual. Dip the 
finger-tip into the gold and then, holding the piece of china 
in the left hand, rub the finger back and forth on the edge, 
revolving the plate as you work. This will give you a fine, 
even edge if the gold has not been mixed too thin. It is 
easier to do your edges in this way than with a brush. In 
covering a large surface, such as a handle or the lining of a 
cup, it is best to use a large square shader; a number six or 
eight is good. Fill the brush well, and then put the gold on 
with broad, regular strokes. Take your strokes all in one 
direction, and spread the gold thin but even. Two thin 
coats, each fired once, give much more brilliant gold tan 
one thick coat fired once. Gold put on too thick will chip 
and scale off when fired. In applying it, make one brush- 
ful go as far as you can. Gold will stand a hard firing. 
When it comes [from the kiln it will have a dull yellow finish 
very disappointing to behold. To bring out the luster it 
must be polished. 
This may be done by three different methods; a glass 
brush, burnishing sand, or an agate burnisher. The glass 
brush is made up of hundreds of strands of spun glass packed 
tightly together and wound with heavy cord. The end of 
the brush is rubbed over the gold and gives a beautiful soft 
finish. However, this method has one very disagreeable 
feature. The tiny particles of glass break off, and entering 
the fingers are very painful. Sometimes, indeed, they 
produce a very serious condition. If in using the glass brush 
you do get some of these bits in your hands, wash them with 
very hot water and soap, rubbing them one way only. 
Some people protect the hands with a loose pair of gloves 
and so avoid this trouble. The burnishing is done over an 
old newspaper, and the paper is afterward carefully gathered 
up and burned. 
If bits of glass remain on a piece and get into the color 
or gold before it is re-fired, they will make very unsightly 
spots which can not be remedied. 
Burnishing by means of the sand is much simpler and 
is the method recommended to the student. Place some 
of the sand in a shallow saucer. Moisten it well with water. 
Have at hand a small piece of flannel or any very soft cloth. 
Old knit underwear is excellent. Dip the cloth into the 
saucer, taking up a little sand and considerable water. 
Rub this lightly over the gold, keeping the cloth pretty wet. 
Do not bear down with all your might and main, but keep 
up a quick, light circular motion. The gold polished in 
this way has a beautiful sheen and luster. It is very easy 
by this method to polish under handles and the insides of 
LONG SPURRED VIOLET— HANNAH B. OVERBECK 
