Vol. I, No. 2 
NEW YORK AND SYRACUSE 
June 1899 
HE china decorator may wonder why, in a 
magazine devoted strictly to the Keramic 
Arts, we give so much space to the reports 
of exhibitions of oil and water color work. 
Here is the reason : We have gotten too 
much into the way of considering decorative art as entirely 
apart from Art in general. It is the china decorator's loss. 
We must see our decorative work in the same big way as the 
painter in oils before we can do big work, and work that will be 
art as long as the world lasts, and longer than any canvas. 
If a great artist can look at his work from a decorative stand- 
point, we should be able to judge our decorative work on its 
purely artistic merits, apart from decorative technique. In 
all our criticisms on pictures, you will find a meaning to apply 
to your own work, if you will only read closely and thinkingly. 
If men like Boutet de Monvel and Robert Reid, Puvis de 
Chauvannes and Sargent, do not feel it out of their line to 
decorate, neither should we feel that we are wasting our time 
in learning how good painting can teach us larger art truths, 
to apply to our own work. 
Mr. Aulich's halftone study of pansies for the July num- 
ber is particularly graceful and can be used most charmingly 
in monochrome, also in dull blues. Arranged simply in blue 
on rims of plates, it would make an attractive breakfast service. 
The Persian plate design must be carefully executed and 
should resemble the inlaying of jewels. If neatly done, there 
will be a refined elegance about it, but if coarsely executed it 
will look over-decorated. The proper environment for such 
a plate is upon a perfectly appointed dinner table. It requires 
the rich accessories of plate and glass. 
A, 
The Exhibition of the National League of Mineral 
Painters will be fully written up in our next number, and the 
comparison of work from different sections of the country. 
One can see the advantages of these League Exhibitions. 
The series of articles upon historic ornament are particu- 
la.ly valuable to students, not only as inspiration for new 
decorative ideas, but as a study of ancient pottery, making 
us compare the primitive efforts to the results of our modern 
methods. 
All students will be charmed with the practical rose study 
by Marshall Fry, Jr. It is full of valuable suggestions and 
can well be adapted to any keramic form. It can be used as 
a whole or in part, and it will be most useful in a class-room. 
Mr. Fry's work is always noticeable for its exquisite refine- 
ment, even when he is most lavish in color. Its fascination 
grows upon one. 
4= 
There is a booklet on Rookwood Pottery, by Rose G. 
Kingsley, that is extremely interesting to keramists, as well 
as to those who know nothing of the subject. The one for- 
eign artist, Shirayamadani, who has been at Rookwood for 
eight years, is an individual member of the National League 
of Mineral Painters. Miss Kingsley says : "The same generous 
spirit which has prevailed in Rookwood from its inception, has 
given these decorators every encouragement for wider oppor- 
tunities of study. Several have been sent to Europe for a 
summer, and Shirayamadani was sent back to Japan for some 
months, pour se retremper in his native art, and took with him 
some magnificent specimens of Rookwood to present to his 
Emperor. Not only talent is needed in such work, but a very 
thorough training and education in drawing is necessary 
before coming to the pottery. And when there, a fresh edu- 
cation has to begin; for as Mrs. Storer [founder of the pottery] 
truly says, "The greatest artist living would only make daubs. 
of Rookwood decoration unless he took time and infinite 
pains to learn the methods. Not only each color has to be 
studied, but every dilution and every mixture of color, making 
an endless multiplication of effects and possibilities. Therein 
lies the secret of the attraction of keramic work. It is eter- 
nally new, the ever-changing; it is like the search for the 
philosopher's stone. Anyone who has tried to study it scien- 
tifically, or even dipped into its chemical possibilities, is drawn 
on by its elusive fascinations." 
It is most gratifying to receive the great number of con- 
gratulatory letters upon the appearance and general tone of 
KERAMIC STUDIO. We shall try to improve with each num- 
ber, giving a magazine that is helpful and instructive. 
4> 
The letters of inquiry from our friends and subscribers 
came too late to be answered in this number, but will be 
answered fully in the July number. 
4= 
The designs by Miss Huger suggest underglaze treatment 
in blue and white. But the Pond Lily design would decorate 
a salad bowl or fish set charmingly in overglaze, by using 
either a ground of gold or dusted color, and outlining design 
in black without any shading. The Japonica design would 
make an effective decoration on a vase in underglaze, with 
green or rich brown and white. 
4, 
In visiting an exhibition — any exhibition —oil, water 
color, china — try to see things in two ways. First, as a 
seeker after the beautiful in general. Find what you admire, 
then think ik,hy you admire. When you have found that out, 
look again at the picture or other work of art as a seeker after 
the beautiful in particular, as applied to your line of work. If 
it is the color you admire, think how you can manage to use 
that color effect in your work. If the design, make notes of 
it for future reference. If it is the background of a portrait, 
think how you can utilize it in your miniature painting on 
ivory or porcelain. In this way everything will be fish that 
comes to your net. 
