74 
KERAMIC STUDIO 
CUP AND SAUCER— OPHELIA FOLEY 
(Treatment Page 88) 
They would make very unsightly "jots" of color if left and 
fired in. If the oil has been properly laid in, and the color 
well dusted into it, you will have a very clean, high glazed 
color. This will be much richer in tone and more even in 
texture than you could possibly lay on with a brush. Color 
laid on in this way has a brilliance that is entirely unlike 
brush work. The design of this plate would work out very 
well indeed done entirely in the blue. If you do one in this 
way for practise, be careful not to load on the color too 
heavily. It is necessary to grind it thoroughly on the ground 
glass slab. Then use the color thin enough to flow evenly 
from the brush so that the surface which you are covering 
will have a thin, but solid, coat of color. Do not build it up 
high or have it lumpy in some places and barely covering the 
design in others. It is essential that you float it on, so that 
it has an even, solid flat body. 
After the design is cleaned thoroughly as directed, it is 
ready to be dried. After it is fired, you will have a beautiful 
glowing blue, with almost the effect of underglaze. Things 
done in this way are delightful. One of our foremost 
decorators, at a recent important exhibition, showed an 
individual breakfast set done in this same blue on the white 
china. The design was very simple, but the color was very 
beautiful and the technique absolutely perfect. In this 
great gallery with all its rich display one turned again and 
again to this charming set. Here, the decorator considered 
the surface of her china as a thing beautiful in itself and 
relied only on the clearness and brilliancy of its glaze, en- 
hanced by the contrast of its rich blue, and a design so 
simple that it was restful though repeated on so many pieces. 
The result was a joy to behold or to possess. 
The design of this lesson may be applied to bowls, or 
to a large coffee cup and saucer. It could be used to ad- 
vantage on a pitcher, using the center motif at intervals 
around the body of the pitcher and the bands and smaller 
flower motif at the top. Do not be afraid to experiment. 
Try several different arrangements of the panels and bands 
