232 
RERAMIC STUDIO 
now and the effect is quiet and restful. These same prin- 
ciples apply to the decorating or painting of china. The 
entire failure of our china painters to consider the piece 
of china as a thing to be decorated, and instead, regarding 
it as a surface upon which to paint pictures of fruit, flowers, 
and what-not, is at the bottom of this misconception of 
decoration. You see, your plate is no more a fit place for 
naturalistic painting than your wall is. If you feel drawn 
to do naturalistic painting confine it to slabs or tiles to be 
framed or to plaques for the wall or plate rail. Do not 
condemn all formal decoration because you see much that 
is flat and uninteresting. And likewise, do not allow a 
love of color and atmosphere to lead you into painting 
pictures on your table-ware. 
MATERIALS FOR LESSON 
Form to be decorated — coupe plate 6^ or 7 inches; 
about twenty cents. 
Painting medium. 
Plate divider. 
China pencil. 
Square shader No. 6. 
Gold. 
Colors: 
Peach Blossom. 
Olive Green. 
Brown Green. 
Dark Green. 
Carnation. 
Violet No. 2. 
With this lesson two small flower motifs or "patterns" 
are given, and a suggestion as to arrangement. This, 
''f- 
11 
however, is not to be copied for lesson work by the student. 
Instead of that, the student is to make as many different 
arrangements as possible of either or both of the motifs, 
carrying out the most successful one on the small plate 
suggested for the lesson criticism. There are numerous 
ways in which these motifs may be used, in fact one of 
them has been made into eight different arrangements. 
The student may use gold in lines, bands or broken bands 
in making the arrangements. Color may be used also, 
either in spaces of solid tinting, or in lines and bands. 
Additional separate small roses may be used also; in fact, 
any combination the ingenuity of the pupil may suggest. 
In the painting of roses we use Rose, a color which 
is perhaps one of the most beautiful and most trying of 
all the list of mineral colors. A bit over-firing will turn 
this color into a disagreeable hard lilac pink, and "trying" 
seems a mild word to use. All varieties of rose, and this 
includes peach-blossom and the carmines, are gold colors. 
There are a number of good makes on the market, some 
of which are advertised to not "purple" in the firing. The 
experienced worker is rather sceptical on that point; how- 
ever, some do not purple as easily as others. A great 
many workers use and prefer peach -blossom, which does 
stand a harder fire than rose, and the student is advised 
to use it in carrying out the lesson. 
In preparing this color, more than ordinary care should 
be used to grind it thoroughly. Always use the small 
square of ground glass described in the first lesson. If 
the color is to be used for tinting, always add a drop or 
two of Dresden thick oil to the medium in mixing the color 
and grind until very smooth. 
In painting small roses endeavor to keep the treat- 
ment very simple. 
They are not to be carried as far as a larger rose painted 
in a naturalistic way. A rose is a mass of curves, and 
the strokes of the brush must be made with that in mind. 
Learn to sweep the brush freely around in a small circle 
if you would paint good roses. 
Sketch in very lightly, with the china pencil, your 
arrangement of the motif. The fewer lines you have the 
better. The effort to always keep within set lines pro- 
duces a hard, tight way of painting. 
The best small roses are those painted in without 
drawing. Just indicate with the china pencil where they 
are to be, and then paint them in very simply and directly. 
Use a number six square shader for this work. Work a 
little painting medium into the brush to make it pliable, 
