204 
RERAMIC STUDIO 
^ ENAMELING BY DOROTHEA WARREN O'HARA 
AMONG the ceramic decorators who are coming rapidly 
to the front is Dorothea Warren O'Hara of New York, 
who is known mostly by her successful work in enamels. We 
are glad to be able to show our readers the accompanying 
photographs of her work and studio and quote a few lines from 
her "Art of Enameling" which has just come from the pub- 
lisher. The photgraphs of her work are also from this book. 
"The secret of good enamel work is to choose an enamel 
which suits your glaze. Soft enamels belong to soft glaze 
wares such as Satsuma, Belleek, English and Soft German 
china, etc., and may be raised in relief as high as desired with 
the feeling of true appropriateness if used on ware with which 
they agree. 
"They may be floated in high relief in one fire if the 
technique has been mastered, otherwise a second application 
will be better, this is especially true of large backgi-ounds and 
big flower designs. Sometimes as many as four applications 
are made. 
"As soft enamels on soft glazes may be fired a number of 
times there is no reason for turning out a bad piece of work — 
if untidy it can be cleaned up and brought out by re-outlining. 
"If your color harmony has been lost or your design does 
not hold together, an envelope of color will serve to fix up the 
w^ork. Some lovely effects are produced in this way. 
"Warm grey, Satsuma tint, yellow grey, grey green or 
any neutral color is good for this purpose. Soft enamels may 
be shaded with color. It should however, be done sparingly. 
Fine effects are obtained by floating one color over another 
and firing hard enough to bring the under color up. 
"Soft enamels on soft glazes are le^s difficult to handle 
than hard enamels on hard glazes such as the French and 
German china. The latter should be applied thinly to pro- 
duce a liquid transparent effect. This is especially more 
appropriate for tableware. Enamels on hard glazes will not 
always stand repeated firings." 
Mrs. O'Hara's book is full of information and designs 
with treatment and should be of great value in the studio. 
STUDIO OF DOROTHEA WARREN OHARA, NEW YORK 
STUDIO BUILDING 
