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MISS BEACH 
MRS. BILLINGS 
MRS. DOREMUS 
MRS. DAVIS 
MRS. HURD 
PARTS OF THE LUNCHEON SERVICE 
TABLEWARE 
CRAFTSMEN and educators tell us that art only ful- 
fills its mission when it is related to life itself. If 
this is so, the production of tableware is legitimate and 
justified. It is a need of our daily lives. 
As much perhaps may not be said of all our work in 
overglaze ceramics. Many of the vases and jars we pro- 
duce might better be of pottery instead of porcelain, with 
overglaze decoration. The latter are rarely suited to any 
use, although their existence is, of course, often justified 
by their beauty, and they are enjoyed as arrangements of 
line,?mass and color, rather than as articles of service. 
History of handicraft proves that the best things are 
those in which the material, form and ornamentation are 
suited to some special use. Thus, I believe that to study 
out the requirements for satisfactory tableware, and to 
produce something which fulfills them, is perhaps the high- 
est mission of overglaze ceramics. 
In actual sendee, tableware is seen upon white linen 
with an accompaniment of silver and glass, and it is in re- 
lation to this environment that the success of our work 
will ultimately be judged. 
Blue and white china has always been popular with 
people of good taste. Mr. Whistler used it in his house in 
Chelsea (England). Mr. Dow uses much of it in his sum- 
mer house at Ipswich, and cares particularly for the color 
of the old Canton ware, a dark grey blue on a low tone 
greenish white ground. Everyone knows and loves the 
blue plates with the willow pattern. The most delightful 
meal I remember was served on dark flowing blue AVedg- 
wood china. Most of these blues of tradition are under 
the glaze, and it of course is impossible to obtain the same 
quality in overglaze. 
In my own experience with tableware in overglaze, 
schemes of pale greys, grey blues and greens on grey or 
white ground, have given most satisfaction in actual serv- 
ice. Being highly fluxed, such colors become more a part 
of the ware, and so have something of the charm of under- 
glaze. The richness of gold and white is often desirable, 
for some occasions or courses. 
The opinion has prevailed that the production of artis- 
tic tableware is impracticable commercially, but we find 
that, in actual use, the simplest patterns treated in the 
simplest way (usually without outline) and requiring only 
one or two firings, are the best. 
The effect of tableware is spoiled when shown in our 
exhibitions on other than white ground. The Bridgeport 
Art League showed at its last exhibition the table, set with 
china for serving a luncheon, cuts of which appear in the 
accompanying illustrations. It was first decided what 
pieces should comprise a luncheon service. The best forms 
obtainable were then procured, to which border designs, 
made in class, were adapted, and a color scheme for the 
whole decided upon. Proceeding so carefully and thought- 
fully, the result was a success, a demonstration of what 
ceramics may accomplish when working with a definite 
and intelligent aim. 
Marshal Fry 
USE OF TERMS 
IN our effort to express a distinction between the kind 
of flower painting which has been popular, and the 
more restrained sort of decoration which is fast coming 
into favor, the terms "naturalistic" and "conventional" 
are almost universally used. Both terms are inaccurate 
and mean quite different things to different people. 
If we study the principles of composition, and if we, 
as ceramists, study the requirements of our material, and 
consider the use for which our ware is intended, our work, 
or at least our aim, will be in the right direction, and the 
results need not be named. 
It would be misleading if it were said that Corot painted 
the "naturalistic" style, and Hiroshigi the "conventional" 
because the work of the latter is less like the popular idea 
of nature than that of Corot. It is not so much that 
Hiroshigi's work is less "naturalistic," but he suited his 
treatment to the requirements of color printing. His 
landscapes were cut on wood blocks and he planned them 
accordingly. Marshal Fry 
