KERAMIC STUDIO 
15. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS 
J. L. B. — Does it do bind: outlining aily harm to stand a great length of time 
before firing? 
No. 
E. L. Y. — In painting a dresser set I put the background on different pieces 
at different times and did not get them the same color. My comb and brush tray 
is too deep. I used Imperial Ivory and this tray is a sickening yellow. Is 
there anything that can be done for it to make it lighter? 
Try oiling and dusting with Ivory Glaze and give it a hot fire, this may 
and may not help it, as it is not always successful. The background could 
be taken off with a china eraser but it will take some of the glaze with it. 
M. B. B. — 1 Is it true that the Belleek ware does not fire ivell, that it is 
liable to break? 
2. Is enamel ever used in making a monogram when a color is desired in- 
stead of the gold? 
3. Can you tell me where I can obtain pieces of crockery such as are being 
decorated, recently? 
1. The Belleek ware is a little more liable to crack than the French 
china but it fires very successfully as a rule. The large heavy pieces should 
be set on a stilt to allow the heat to circulate around them, there should be no 
trouble with the smaller pieces. 
2. Enamel may be used or you may dust the colors on or paint them. 
3. We do not know to what ware you refer and so are not able to give 
the desired address. 
E. D. M. — What would a dinner set containing the following pieces 
" be worth, decorated with heavy design, solid gold, layed on twice. 
2. Would third application of gold increase the durability of the gold decor- 
ation? 
3. What is the difference between Oil of Copaiba and Balsam of Copaiba 
I have a bottle of oil of copaiba which seems very thin. Hoiv can I use it? 
1. The best way to determine this is to figure the piece of china, firing 
and materials used to find the actual cost, then figure as nearly as possible 
the number of hours or days that it will take to do the work and value your 
i ork at whatever price you think it is worth by the day or hour. This will 
have to be determined by the grade of work. 
2. Yes it will increase the durability of the gold. 
3. The balsam is heavier than the oil. You might be able to use the oil 
if you used a larger proportion than is called for. 
R. S. B. — 1 In regard to conventional design for stein by Sara W. Safford 
on grey page in your fruit book page 24, is one application of carnation and black 
enough and one application of liquid and two of burnish silver? 
Wouldn't it rub off by cleaning? 
Why is one silver used once and the other twice? 
2. Can one brush be used for both silvers and are they cleaned with turpen- 
tine or alcohol or do both have to be new brushes? 
3. Is special tinting oil the same as grounding oil, is it used the same way? 
4. Is the grounding oil spoken of for the. stein put on and padded before 
the black paint is put on and. is the black paint put on with a wad of cotton? 
5. In the class I attended we called it powdering the background, does 
dusting the background mean the same thing? 
What does dry dust mean? 
1. One application of the color is enough unless something happens 
such as over firing or if the color is not applied heavy enough in the first place. 
The silver would not rub off. 
Two applications of burnish silver are required to cover over the liquid. 
The liquid may be dispensed with if desired, some people use only the two 
applications of burnish silver. 
2. It is best to use separate brushes, they are cleaned with alcohol, they 
should be new brushes kept just for this purpose. 
3. Special tinting oil and grounding oil are used for the same purpose 
but are not quite the same. 
The grounding oil is heavier and should be padded, while the special 
oil can be painted on thin enough in small places so it does not have to be padded, 
in a design when several colors are dusted on in one fire it would be impossible 
to pad without disturbing the other colors. 
4. Yes. 
■5. Yes, they are the same thing and dry dusting is also the same. 
F. N. S. — Would like to ask what success painters have with the black out- 
lining mixed with sugar and water? My lines seem to look so heavy made of this 
and fire uneven. 
2. Would like also to ask if you have a colored study of for-gel-me-nols 
in any of your back numbers and also if you have any of wild roses? I mean 
naturalistic. 
1. Some people seem to have success with it and others have trouble 
You probably do not use it thin enough which causes it to go on heavy and you 
will then find it easier to apply evenly. 
3. We have not had any studies of the flowers mentioned recently ex- 
cept a, small one of wild roses in the March No. 1915. Consult illustrated 
catalogue pages 11, 12 and 34. 
./. B. B. — May I ask for Fi-y's address in Neio York? 
35-37 West 31st St. You will always find his name among our adver- 
tisers in the front of the magazine. 
1. — / see that in your instructions for use of enamels you add lavender lo 
the medium. Is it belter than turpentine? 
Yes, it does not evaporate as quickly. 
D. T. — 1. What, are the designs like I see spoken of to be outlined in Black 
and done in silver, a plan to sell transfer outlines? 
2. Read an article the other day saying only two letter monograms are used 
now even by married women, is this true? 
3. Are the 3 letter gold monograms used on dinner sets as much as formerly? 
One. of my pupils planned lo do a breakfast set with Blue monogram and 
bands. What blue or blues would you use? 
4. Are craft monograms preferable to script? 
1. What article do you refer to? There, are a number of different 
ways of carrying out a design in silver and outline. 
2. Yes the two letters are used now. 
3. The monograms are not used as much now as they were a short time 
ago though some are still using them, either one, two or three letters. 
If two shades of blue are used, Water Blue and Grey Blue would be good 
color or Water Blue if only one is used. 
4. The craft monogram is the better. 
A Reader — I have pieces of china with color and gold on them that were 
fired once, the color sand papers off and the gold all .polishes off. Are they not 
underfired? Can I remedy them by firing again? 
Is it best lo fire them as they are or repeat the color and gold as for regular 
second firing? 
Yes, they are underfired. Fire them again just as they are, they will 
require a little hotter fire than ordinarily. 
A. G. — What is your opinion of china dinner sets decorated with a wide 
stippled border of gold and a script monogram almost covering the center of the 
2. Is it possible to put a good coat of gold on with only one firing? 
3. If put on twice will gold look and wear as well if the first coal is mixed 
with liquid bright gold? 
4. Is it belter to use a banding wheel for putting on bands of gold? 
1. The decoration you mention is not used now, the later way is to 
put the monogram near the edge of the plates and use bands of gold; a wide 
band with a narrow one close to it is very good. 
2. Yes, it is possible, but two coats wear better and look heavier. 
3. No, the color is better if the liquid is not used. 
4. A great deal of time is saved by the use of the banding wheel and the 
bands are more even. 
ST UDE NT. — Why do you not publish water color treatments with your 
studies? 
2. — Why not publish a smaller magazine for the student about the size of 
Keramic Studio, but containing fewer pages, devoted to instructions in water colors 
and is it possible to publish an adequate magazine for $1.50? 
1. — We think it a good suggestion. It has been done in many instances, 
but of late years has been neglected. 
2. — Answering the second question, in the first place would say that it is 
impossible to publish a magazine for $1.50 per year that is adequate. It would 
have to be printed on the cheapest material, the reproductions would have- to 
be done at the very lowest cost, which would not be interesting to the teacher 
or student, and the publishing house would go out of business inside of three 
months or less. 
We suggest to Student X. X. that she purchase the set of sixteen numbers 
of Palette and Bench, formerly published by us, a few of which we have on hand, 
worth $3.50 postpaid. These numbers contain much material by artists who 
are seldom seen in print. They are beautifully illustrated and have a color 
study in each number. The sixteen color studies alone are worth $4.00 at 
their retail price of 25c each. 
Lastly, we suggest that Student X. X. will not endeavor to get a cheap 
publication nor cheap instruction from a cheap teacher. The product of this 
combination is usually the cheap artist. If she will give us her full address, 
we will send her a sample copy of Palette and Bench and give her an index of 
the sixteen numbers. 
