i 7 4 
KERAMC STUDIO 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS 
swered by this department must be s 
the month preceding issue. 
• by the 10th i 
F- L.— Your communication should have been received two weeks earlier 
in order to be answered properly in the December number, as per request. 
We rather object to the use of "fad" in connection with china painting. 
About twenty-five years ago the work was done by a few amateurs in this 
country, and we recall a conversation with Mrs. H. D. Leonard, one of the 
pioneers in this beautiful art, who says that at that time she sent abroad for 
colors, and has paid as high as a dollar a tube for colors. She was also one of 
the original members of the old Cincinnati Pottery Club, when the club had its 
meetings at the Rookwood Pottery. Just about that time Miss McLaughlin 
was making wonderful discoveries in glazes, and it was through her discov- 
eries that the Rookwood has reached its wonderful success. Then we have 
heard Mrs. R. E. Goodell of Colorado tell of her earlier experiences in keramics 
in this country, after several years study and work in Germany. 
There have been a number of kilns made by amateurs, but we believe 
that Mrs. Fitch had the first ones for sale. It might help make your paper 
interesting to write to our advertisers of kilns. It is too late to look this up 
more carefully, for this number. 
Better throw away your tray than to try to use the acid for removing the 
design. We have known a number of decorators who have nearly lost their 
fingers. It is a bad thing to have around. Your enamel dots can be removed 
by the same process, but the acid mnst be used again and again. It will 
destroy anything excepting rubber. But at the same time it removes the 
design, it destroys the glaze. The acid is sometimes convenient to remove 
small blemishes, but it is too dangerous to have about a studio. 
Monograms — We have received several requests for monograms and have 
a sheet in preparation for the January issue. Unfortunately in moving our 
office the requests were mislaid, so we would be obliged to those who wrote 
for monograms to send the initials again. 
Miss E. Mel.— We have noted your request for designs and will try and 
give them in the January issue. We are giving some simple cup and saucer 
designs in this and the next issue. You did not mention the shape of your 
salt cellars, but we would suggest a narrow tinted edge of apple green with 
ferns forming a dainty line below. 
Student— The ivory glaze, in powder form, is sometimes rubbed into the 
half dry painting before firing. It is also used freely, mixed with medium, 
in the painting itself, dipping the brush into the glaze before dipping into the 
color to be used. Copenhagen blue is like no other blue. It is a fine color to 
be used in backgrounds, but would not take the place of LaCroix azure, as it 
is too grey. It can be used for grey blue eyes, but for bright blue eyes a 
touch of blue green must be added. 
J. C— As far as our experience goes, white lustre is of no value what- 
ever, but we will experiment farther, and if we obtain any good results, will 
publish them in the magazine. We have given information in regard to ivory 
glaze in another answer. 
Mrs. A. D. W. — Lustres are padded only when a perfectly even tint is 
required. In that case, to obtain depth of color, the process must be repeated 
until the desired color is produced, otherwise they are painted on with a full 
brush, using the largest square shader, and spreading it as far as possible, 
avoiding going over the color when once on, as that will cause the brush marks 
to show. 
H. E. L. — You can modify the intensity of your Coalport green by cover- 
ing the color with tiny dots of Dresden aufsetzweis. This has been done with 
a very dainty and satisfactory effect. It would be best to make a test on a 
broken bit of china before putting a tracery of liquid bright gold over the 
green. If not too heavy a color, it would be all right, but the unfluxed or hard 
gold would be better. 
A. H. S. D. — Mr. Fry, though a valued contributor, is not one of the 
editors of the KERAMIC STUDIO. The editors' names are on the first page 
of the magazine. The Ceramic Supply Co. of Indianapolis, Ind., advertise a 
fine blue for an underglaze effect. It is in powder form, to be dusted on in 
two coats. A very rich underglaze effect can also be obtained by dusting on 
Purple 3, of the La Croix colors, and for second fire dust the Victoria blue 
over it. The La Croix colors can be obtained in powder form of Favor, Ruhl 
& Co. In painting the color on, it is rather difficult to get an even tint, but a 
mixture of La Croix tube Purple 2, one part, to three of Victoria Blue, will 
make the desired shade. In this case, put out your color on your ground glass 
slab in the proper proportions, add one-third flux, mix and add as much fat 
oil as color and flux combined, thin with lavender till it will flow on evenly 
from your large brush, with a large stippler touch lightly the uneven places 
In the second fire another coat of paint will make your color more even. Give 
the color a hard tire. 
Mrs. M. C. A.— We hope at the end of the first year to have two port- 
folios for the magazine: one in board covers and one in leather. We will 
give the prices later. 
1. We do not use the Delft blue to which you refer, but should think any 
blue of that description would work all right if properly prepared. Grind 
your color carefully on a ground glass slab, until it no longer looks grainy, 
using as a medium a mixture of six drops of copaiba to one of clove oil, then 
use spirits of turpentine in your brush for painting. We find Fry's Copen- 
hagen blue a fine color for Delft effect. 
2. If by "grounding" you mean powder colors, they can all be used for 
painting by rubbing down with the medium given above and used with tur- 
pentine. The "grounding" colors, so called, are prepared especially for 
grounds and are not always satisfactory for painting, though occasionally 
they are used successfully. Certainly a powder color can be re-applied in 
another fire if not satisfactory, always understanding that the second applica- 
tion will darken the color. If the powder color looks spotty after tiring, it is 
either because it was not evenly applied, or there was dust in it. 
3. Ruby Purple and Pompadour :— If it was spotty and of different 
hues and scaled off in places, it was unevenly applied and not well mixed. 
The best way to obtain the desired effect is to use the powder color. Dust 
on pompadour for the first fire, and rubv purple over it for the second 
fire. To dust on a deep rich color: With a large flat brush cover the surface 
to be dusted with a coat of English grounding oil, make a pad of surgeon's 
wool covered with an old piece of soft white silk, and go lightly over the sur- 
face until the oil is even and sounds "tacky." Put your powder color on a 
plate and spread a good sized piece of paper under it to catch the powder. 
With your palette knife lift all the powder and drop it on the oily surface, then 
take a large brush and brush it along until all the oil is covered. If the color 
gives out, take up what has fallen off and use again. Keep the color between 
the brush and the china, otherwise it will get sticky and spoil the tint. When 
all the surface is covered, take the remaining powder and brush it over once 
more, so that the surface is dry and dusty looking. Then brush off any- 
superfluous color, clean off the china around it, and fire. It is best to get all 
dusting done before putting on the design, as you might get the powder into 
the painting or other decoration. 
4. Your lustre was too thick if it showed the brush marks, unless you 
went over it again when dry or partly dry. If too thick, thin with oil of lav- 
ender and rely on repeated fires to make it deep enough. We should hardly 
advise padding lustre on handles. Lustre can be dried artificially, if you are 
careful not to dry so hard that it turns dark and rubs off. Powder grounds 
can be dried safely in this manner. You can safely use turpentine in gold or 
paste or painting over thoroughly dried lustre. As nearly as we can judge 
from your description, the shining or sheen of the fine gold outlines on the 
peacock feathers gave an iridescent effect to the vase. It is what is called 
a "neutralizing bloom holding the entire design together in a transparent veil 
of gold." 
C. D. E.— If rose color is underfired it should be retired at a higher tem- 
perature, whether color is added or not, as rose is a test color, and if it does not 
develop properly, everything else is underfired. French china requires the 
hardest fire, German next, English china and BtJeek need the lightest fire 
and pottery about the same. The fact that a ware has a high glaze does not 
necessarily mean that it needs a hard or light fire. 
Miss L.— The acorn design in this issue by Miss Wright could be easily 
adapted to a biscuit jar. In the January number we will give several flower 
designs which can be used as you wish. 
H. R.— The pure ribbon gold or gold leaf is the same as used by dentists. 
Ask yours where you can obtain it. The same recipe applies to coin gold, in 
which case the alloy is not removed. 
Miss A. M. E. -For dark red roses in La Croix colors, use ruby purple 
with a light wash of blue over high lights and a touch of brown 4 or 17 in 
deep shadows. 
