RERAMIC STUDIO 
125 
the exact inside or outside outline of the model (fig. 4). 
The sharp edge of the steel removes the remaining excess of 
paste. This done the piece will be finished completely by 
polishing it with the angle of a horn leaf or with a wet syjonge. 
Pressing — Pressing is the mode of fabrication by which 
the soft, but well beaten and homogeneous paste, is vigorously 
pressed with the thumb inside of a plaster mould representing 
in hollow the shape which one wishes to make. It is important 
to put everywhere an even coat of paste, whether it is 
put in small flat pieces or rolls. One must also with a 
wooden chisel indent with light furrows the two parts which 
must be joined, and in order to obtain a perfect adhesion, the 
edges of all the joined pieces should be wet with slip. Without 
this precaution there would not be adhesion of all the parts of 
paste successiveh' applied in the mould, and cracks in firing 
would result. 
The pressing done, and after the paste has Ijecome firm, 
the piece is taken out of the mould. The drying shoidd be 
slow and even to avoid warping. 
Gres ret]uires more care in this 
operation than porcelain. Gres is 
placed on laths (fig. 5), made of 
wooden slats, so that the circula- 
tion of air will act on all sides. To 
do otherwise would be to take the risk of cracks and warping 
which would disastrously? increase in the firing. 
The pressing process makes possible the execution in gres 
and jiorcelain of large pieces, in which the carving in high and 
low relief constitutes the main decorative element. 
The drying and the firing of these large pieces are not with- 
out danger because of the shrinkage, this nightmare of the 
ceramist. To diminish this risk, it is well to mix with the paste, 
in the proportion of 20 to 25% a material, which, having already 
shrunken, will help reduce the total shrinkage. This material 
is a powder made of the same gres, fired and pulverised. 
(Called "grog" by potters. Ed.) With the help of this ad- 
mixture Chaplet has executed placques three feet in diameter, 
giving 2 feet 7 inches after firing. With the same process 
Bigot has successfullj- carried out a series of gres bath tubs 
made in one piece, and Jeanneney made in 1900 two enormous 
chimeras 3 feet li inches high. The high relief medallion 
which figured in the architectiiral fragment exhibited by 
Sevres in 1900 had 5 feet 3 inches diameter, was 25 inches 
in the thickest part of the relief and was made of this prepared 
clay. 
As a certain niunber of pieces cannot be made in one block, 
they are made in parts, and the joining and adjusting of these 
parts is called cementing. 
In order to make a good cementing, the constituent parts 
of the piece should be piit together dry, and when the adjusting 
has been well determined, furrows or hatchings are scratched 
on both surfaces to be joined, they are wetted with gum water 
and covered with a thin coat of slip, then it is cemented. Slip 
catches quickly and it is necessary to do the work promptly. 
To render the cementing easier, its drying should be 
slow. This result is obtained l^y mixing with the slip a little 
gum arable. 
I do not think it necessary to go into more details for this 
part of the fabrication, as the makers of faience and connuon 
pottery are familiar with all its phases and can be referred to. 
Processes are the same with the new materials, but will rcciuirc 
more care. 
THE SUMMER SCHOOL OF CLAY WORKING AT 
ALFRED, N. Y. 
A MORE ideal si)ot than Alfred for the student of pottery 
can hardl}' be imagined. The atmosphere, jjhysical and 
spiritual is most stimulating. The high hills, the bracing air, 
the peace and quiet, the large airy class rooms, every con- 
^-enience for work right at hand and always some one to 
consiUt in a difiiculty — what more could one want? The 
opportunity to do one's own work under the most favorable 
environments and a helping hand when necessary. The 
ceramic worker is immediate^ raised to a higher plane than 
the old familiar one of watching some one else do one's work, 
and the satisfaction of discovering one's own power of expres- 
sion is worth a thousand " pieces to take home. " 
BUILT W.\UE TN M.\TT GLAZES, ALFRED SCHOOL. 
That more students take advantage of this rare oppor- 
tunity every year goes without saying, the success of the school 
is assured. Many overglaze workers of reputation are here to 
add new lustre to their names. Several different bodies were 
supplied, both white and colored, for the various processes of 
casting, throwing and building by hand, and glazes both matt 
and clear; while the student was guided in the mixing of his 
own materials, every possible convenience was prox'idedl^oth 
in laboratory work and iii the mechanical processes, while Mr. 
Binns and his able assistants were always on hand to considt. 
In Mr. Binns' laboratory classes thorough technical in- 
struction was given in the composition of bodies, glazes and 
colors and the students worlced out not only the prol^lems 
given them but discovered many interesting mixtures whicli 
produced unique and original results. The forms designed this 
year show a steady artistic evolution. The Japanese influence 
produced many fine sha]K\s of tea jars in tin-own and cast 
