190 
RERAMIC STUDIO 
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handled before firing, and as it is perfectly impossible to 
do paste work and not place the fingers on the china, the 
average worker had best avoid attempting it. This does 
not mean that it can not be done, for, as the worker be- 
comes more and more expert in handling materials, many 
"stunts" may be performed that would be entirely unwise 
for the beginner to attempt. Any good mat gold may 
be used over paste, taking care to not thin it too much with 
lavender or turpentine. The paste, being porous, absorbs 
considerable gold, so that one coat is usually all that is 
required. The paste when it comes from the kiln is a light 
yellow, without glaze. This forms a good background 
for the gold. If after it has been gilded and fired there 
are places where the paste shows through, retouch and 
fire again. 
It is best to not fire paste more than two or three 
times, as it will after repeated firings sometimes scale off. 
In working with it the brush is very apt to become clogged. 
To work easily, therefore, the brush must frequently be 
cleaned. 
Another method of preparing paste often used is to 
bind the powder with Dresden thick oil, adding, as in the 
case of the tar oil, just enough to dampen the paste and 
not to wet it. It should crumble and still not be powdery. 
MARGUERITE CARNATION— EDITH ALMA ROSS 
(Treatment page 204) 
work, and the student is urged to experiment with the 
designs given with this lesson. Either design is capable 
of many variations, all of which is splendid practise for 
the "bump" of invention. Try placing the designs on 
other forms, grouping and spacing the motifs in different 
ways, keeping always a harmony of line between the dec- 
oration and the object decorated. Do not dry paste work 
by artificial heat. Stand it aside to dry thoroughly be- 
fore firing. The length of time will vary, according to 
the amount of oil used. Sometimes in an emergency 
the gold may be applied before the paste is fired. To do 
this, after the piece has stood long enough to dry out 
thoroughly, place in the oven and let it become "bone" 
dry. After it has cooled apply the gold, being careful to 
not use the gold too thinly. The best tar oil is that which is 
thick and oily. Much that is sold is thin and poor. A very 
good plan is to cook the oil on the stove until it is quite 
thick. The members of your household may threaten to 
prosecute you for doing so, but the oil prepared in this 
way is ideal to work with. Sometimes after the paste 
has been fired, tiny cracks will show. This is due to the 
use of too much oil. If this happens work very carefully 
some fresh paste into the cracks, and then after it has 
become perfectly dry you may proceed with the gilding. 
Paste may be used over very delicate tinted color, but not 
on heavy or ground-laid color. It may be laid over un- 
fired lustre, but for obvious reasons this is not advisable. 
As you learned in a previous lesson, lustre should not be 
RED OSIER DOGWOOD— EDITH ALMA ROSS 
(Treatment page 199) 
