91 
ftERAMIC STUDIO 
BON-BON OR POWDER BOX— C. S. BABCOCK 
use of the reels, or any of the iron colors. When mixed 
with the enamel, these colors fire out entirely, or else are 
only an ugly neutral tone. This range of colors includes 
Carnation, Yellow Red, Blood Red, Yellow Brown, Yellow 
Ochre and most of the Browns. Outside of these, there is 
a large list of colors which will be quite ample for the stu- 
dent. Red effects are obtained by painting on the flat color, 
and it is really rather difficult at first glance to distinguish 
it from the enamel. 
Sometimes the Aufsetzweiss and Flux are found to 
be very oily when squeezed from the tube. This is due to 
the oil and the enamel having separated, the oil rising to 
the top. You may remedy this by inserting one end of a 
hairpin, stirring it thoroughly about in the tube. This 
will usually suffice. If not, with the palette knife take up the 
enamel from the slab and place it on clean blotting paper 
for a minute or tv o. Too much oil will cause the enamel 
to bubble or blister, so care must be exercised. O e of 
the chief reasons that the tube enamel is recommended, 
is that for the beginner it solves this question of the right 
quantity of oil, being properly ground and ready for use. 
The powered enamels most used are the Dresden, 
Aufsetzweiss, or Relief White as it is commonly called, and 
Hancock's English Enamels, which come in three grades, 
soft, medium and hard. 
The Dresden Flux also comes in powdered form. Place 
upon the ground-glass slab the required quantity of pow- 
dered enamel. Use only enough Dresden Thick Oil to bind it 
together, just so it does not crumble. Thin 
with turpentine until it is the consist- 
ency of the ordinary colors. Use the 
same proportions of Aufsetzweiss and 
Flux as when using the tube enamel. 
Some decorators use the English Enamel 
and Aufsetzweiss. The proportions are 
;\ Hancock's English hard white enamel 
and | Aufsetzweiss or German Relief 
White, as it is sometimes called. This 
makes a splendid foundation or body 
enamel. For the green leaf forms, take 
out upon the Palette some Yellow Green, 
mix this with enough lavender oil to make 
a soft mass, but not soft enough to flow 
well. As colors used very heavily will 
contain a large percentage of flux, very 
little enamel is needed ; so add to the green 
J part of body enamel, mixing it thor- 
oughly together. For the blue, use Band- 
ing Blue, adding just a tiny bit of Black 
to tone it, and the same proportion of 
enamel as used with the Green. For the 
yellow take some of the body enamel and 
add the dry color, using Albert Yellow 7 . 
Mix this in a little lighter than you wish 
it|to be when fired, as all colors used with 
enamel are much stronger in tone when 
fired. The smaller flowers are made with 
two tones of lavender, using Violet No. 
2. The lighter tone has very little color 
mixed with the body and the darker tone 
is mixed about twice as strong. Mix suffi- 
cient of all of these for the entire piece, 
as it is sometimes difficult to get the quality 
of tone just the same if you fall short and 
have to prepare more. Take the leaf forms 
first ; thin the green mixture with turpen- 
tine until it is pretty wet. With the red sable outliner, take 
up enough color on the brush to flow freely from the brush 
to the china; the enamel touching the surface and not the 
brush. Move along rapidly, keeping within outlines and 
coaxing the color exactly where you want it. If it flattens 
out too much and spreads and runs, you have too much 
oil. Dry it out on the blotting paper for a minute or two, 
and then wet up with turpentine again. If it does not 
flow freely and easily you have not used enough turpentine. 
Do not build the color up high. It should be only slightly 
raised. It is not considered objectionable to have a cer- 
tain degree of unevenness or wavering in the tone of the 
enamels ; it gives more vibration of color and rather adds to 
the charm.* This quality is especially noticeable in the fine 
old Chinese porcelains, some of the pieces seeming to fairly 
pulsate with color. It is well in carrying through a piece 
to do all parts of the design requiring the same color be- 
fore proceeding with the next. This saves endless wash- 
ing of the brushes, and remixing of the enamels. You 
will notice that the smaller flowers are shaded. To do 
this, place first around the center of the flower the lightest 
tone of the lavender mixture; next, float in around the 
outer edge of the flower the darker toned mixture. Clean 
the brush and then moisten it with a little clean turpentine, 
with this lightly touch the place where the two tones meet 
and with repeated little light strokes the two tones are 
*But do not let brush marks show. 
