KERAMIC STUDIO 
257 
(see Fig. 4) and cover it with water. This is to keep it frotiT 
flying; pound the pestle with a wooden mallet to break the 
lump into small pieces. Put these in a small agate mortar 
and grind finer, using the pestle in the hand and the water as 
before. The water must be changed often in this process so as 
to keep washing the enamel. If this is not done the enamel 
is not clear when fired. Opaque enamel does not require 
washing unless dirt gets into it. It is not necessary to grind the 
enamel too fine, the coarser it can be used the richer the color. 
As the colors selected are ground, arrange them in saucers. 
At this stage the enamel looks like fine colored sand and is 
ready to put on the engraved and cleaned metal. Take a 
small piece of German silver wire and hammer out one end 
of it, file this into a spoon like shape (see Fig. 6) . Take up the 
enamel with this and put on the engraved spaces. Alwaj^s 
keep water with the enamel at this point, so that the powder 
will deposit itself easily. There are unlimited combinations 
and different ways of applying the enamel for different effects. 
For illustration, imagine a leaf which needs both light and 
dark green. One method would be to put in a light green and 
fuse it on the metal, afterwards shade it with a deeper color 
and fuse again. Another method would be to mix the light 
and dark color together in the powder form, placing this in the 
design and fusing together in one firing. This nuist be left to 
the judgment of the artist. 
Enamels are fused on the metal by getting it to a full red 
heat. Great care must be used not to melt silver, as the melt- 
ing point of enamel and silver are not far apart. 
TO BE CONTINUED. 
MIRROR BACKS IN METAL AND WOOD 
THE hand mirror is something everyone uses and is a good 
problem for the student either in metal, wood or horn. 
The following points should be well considered; to have it a 
good shape not weighty, or clumsy in appearance, and the 
design just right. In the group of work done by students of 
applied design at the School of Industrial Art of the Pennsyl- 
vania Museum, Philadelphia, illustration No. I, the darker 
mirror is of bronze designed and made by F. C. Griffith; the 
lighter one is of brass, designed and made by E. J. Earley. 
The carved mirror backs in illus. No. 2 were designed and 
made by students at Pratt Institute, Brooklyn. The two 
mirror baclcs in illus. No. 3 were designed and made bj^ Haswell 
Jefferj^ as follows: Maple one inch in thickness was used, 
the general outline sawed out and the design sketched on, 
followed by making the outline true, and modeling the design. 
A soft finish was given with a file and sandpaper. Devoe's 
oil stains were used to color, walnut first for dark effects and 
when this was dry antique oak was put on, then malachite 
green. When this stain Avas thoroughlj^ dry, the wood was 
rubbed well so that the grain of it showed under the stain. A 
mixture of wax and turpentine (warmed) was applied and 
after a few hours rubbed well, obtaining in this way a soft 
dull finish. 
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