i8o 
KERAMIC STUDIO 
VASE— WHITE CRYSTALLINE GLAZE 
PORCELAINS 
THE editor presents two page illustrations of her own 
latest porcelains that she may be justified in claim- 
ing place with keramic workers. 
The first page is of pieces thrown and carved, and ready 
to be "biscuited" before glazing. The little covered tea cup, 
Japanese style, is of egg shell porcelain, of which delicate 
material only a few pieces have yet been attempted, this 
work still being in the experimental stage. It is carved 
with a little border of plum blossoms, the background being 
cut back so. thin that even before firing the light shines 
through the clay. The large jar with the moose decoration 
is unusually large for a porcelain thrown on the wheel in one 
piece, being eleven inches high and ten inches diameter, yet 
the light shines through the cut back portions almost as 
much as in the tea cup. 
The rims at the bases of many of the pieces are ground 
off after glazing. They are necessary for safe placing in the 
kiln. 
To show the vicissitudes of firing at high temperatures, 
which explains somewhat the difference in technical and 
money value between porcelain decorated with colored glazes, 
and pottery, it must be explained that of the eighteen 
pieces illustrated only seven came out of the kiln perfect 
and four were spoiled beyond redemption. However this 
was a very unfortunate firing. Ordinarily from thirty to 
fifty per cent are injured but rarely more than ten per cent 
are spoiled utterly. 
The bowl with the viking ship decoration and large 
handles is a thrown piece eleven inches in diameter after 
firing, but, alas! at the moment of placing in the kiln a 
handle was broken, so that both handles had to be removed 
before firing. The tall gourd shaped vase was suggested by 
the summer squash and is a very difficult piece both to 
throw and burn. It is twelve and one-half inches tall, (four- 
teen and one-half inches with stand and stopper) and in fir- 
ing a vase of this slender shape, there is a great risk that 
the neck will be bent to one side; occasionally it will come 
out twisted in corkscrew shape. But this one was drawn 
from the kiln perfect. 
The wistaria vase supported by modelled snails is 
given on the second page enlarged as a suggestion for 
overglaze decoration. 
It is a curious fact that when the editor had misfortune 
with one design she continued to have misfortune with it, 
or if she had luck the luck repeated itself. The vase carved 
in relief with crabs and seaweed, and which has an open 
work ring of the same motif to prevent tipping, is the fourth 
of this design, and the first two were broken. The tall rose 
vase is the second of this design and both have been injured 
in firing. Naturally these vases with duplicated designs 
were not identical in size, form or color, but were as similar 
as one piece may be to another when made by hand. 
It seems natural for a potter to run to certain forms and 
curves, so that one has to keep oneself well in hand to pre- 
vent continual repetition. It is the editor's aim to con- 
stantly improve her shapes, and as much as possible to 
have variety both in form and decoration. But this can 
be done only at the cost of a greater percentage of loss in 
the kiln, and a great deal of time spent in experiments. In 
pottery, more perhaps than in any other craft, the more one 
strives for artistic and varied work, the quicker profits go 
to smoke in the kiln. 
VASE— MATT GLAZE 
f i> 
You don't know what persistent effort is! Think of the 
violin student in the Paris Conservatoire, who was more 
than a year trying to bend his thumb as he had not been 
taught to do in the provinces ! — W. D. Hunt. 
