240 
KERAMIC STUDIO 
six drops, clove oil, one,) for washes, for the fine touches use turpentine alone. 
For a dark rich red use blood red dusted on, or if that is too bright use finish- 
ing brown first and dust with blood red for second fire. For a deep blue, dust 
first with a thin coat of purple, for second fire dust with banding blue. For a 
deep green use Royal green or Empire green dusted on. Lacroix colors are 
not as safe for grounds if used from the tubes, but the Lacroix powders are all 
right, any other make of powder colors advertised in our magazine is per- 
fectly reliable. The corresponding Lacroix colors would be carnation one or 
pompadour red and red brown or brown four, victoria blue and purple two, 
chrome green and dark green seven, or for a colder green, emeraldstone green 
with dark green seven. 
We prefer that a set of any kind should have the same design and color- 
ing throughout, a simple design in gold and enamels or gold and flat color 
would be suitable, any conventional design such as are given in KERAMIC 
STUDIO, we shiver to think of cupids or flowers buried in ice cream. 
MRS. C. T. S.— Your letter came too late for the February number. All 
inquiries must be here before the tenth of the month. Gold can not be made 
into bronzes. The green gold is the only modification an amateur can make, 
this is done by adding a small quantity of silver to gold. 
The plum blossoms on the dragon vase if used on a fifteen-inch vase are 
about five-eighths of an inch in diameter. It is very difficult to suggest an 
appropriate design for the vase of which you send a photograph. The entire 
surface seems to be modeled in relief and necessarily you will have to be 
guided by the design already on it. We would suggest using a simple color 
on the body of vase and following out the garlands in raised gold and enamel, 
the spout, handle and base of gold. For the lower part of vase you might use 
purple lustre for first fire, for neck, light green or yellow brown ; second fire 
wash dark green lustre over the purple ; or you could use a dusted color on 
base and the same tinted on neck. A plain piece of china is much easier 
to decorate artistically. 
MRS. E. F. M.— Please read the article at the beginning of this column. 
In painting the family crest on your cups and saucers, we would use the colors 
in which the crest was originally blazoned, if you do not know the colors and 
as your family is Scotch we would paint the thistle on one side in natural 
colors, purple, green and yellow and your crest in purple, green and gold. If 
you have the original colors of the crest, use the same colors for the thistle, 
conventionalizing it if necessary for unity in decoration. 
F. E. S.— Write to any of our advertisers for catalogues of white china, 
they keep the best in the market. We will be glad to accommodate you with 
a crab-apple design for cider pitcher as soon as possible, but it may be a few 
months before we can publish one as we have three months planned ahead. 
We have a very fine design of blackberries on a punch bowl by Miss Jeanne 
M. Stewart in the December number of KERAMIC STUDIO. 
MRS. M. L. F.— We have never heard before of Empire green coming out 
with dull iridescent spots when dusted on. This happens occasionally to 
Ruby when not dusted evenly, or too thick, you might try a harder fire and if 
that does not improve the glaze, we would suggest covering the ground with 
a fine pattern in white enamel or gold according to balance of design, use 
Aufsetzweis in tubes with a scant one-eighth of flux. 
F. J. V. — To make a delicate pink which will not turn purplish in a 
second firing is a very difficult thing to do. Mr. Fry paints first with pompa- 
dour and in the last fire with rose, Miss Mason has a rose which is considered 
good and Miss Osgood swears by her standard pink and our other adver- 
tisers also have what they consider a reliable pink, the truth of the matter is 
that almost any rose will come out well if fired just right and every pink will 
turn purplish if over fired. We would advise doing all the painting ;md shad- 
ing possible with other colors, putting on the rose for last fire and firing mod- 
erately. 
H. E. B. — If your gasoline kiln burns in the mixing pipe at one time and 
at another burns all right, we would say that in the first case not enough gas 
was generated or turned on before lighting so that the air does not combine 
perfectly and makes a roaring noise, simply turn out and light again, allow- 
ing enough gas to light well. Great care should be taken to avoid explosion, 
the tank and all joints should be examined well before firing and the kilns 
should be constantly watched. We will have a general article on firing soon, 
it was crowded out of this number. 
"Crackle ware" is found both in china and glass, some potters still 
make a crackle glaze on china, but we understand that crackle glass has not 
been made for some time. The piece your friend bought is probably intended 
lo be crackled, we could tell better if we knew the mark. 
When Dresden Aufsetzweis in tubes seems too oily, squeeze out the oil 
and throw it away, mix the drier part with lavender oil and if still too oily 
breath on it once or twice and it will thicken up. Theie ought to be at least 
a part of the tube that would fire all right. Use lavender instead of turpentine. 
G. A. N. — If your enamels on a gold ground refuse to glaze, give them a 
wash of flux, possibly by adding a very small quantity of flux to the enamel 
before firing you could overcome the difficulty, or you might use Aufsetzweis 
in tubes, colored and one-eighth flux added. Mr. Cobden advertises an 
enamel to be used over gold specially, you might write to him for a sample. 
Other teachers doubtless have the same and would be glad to send sample to 
you on application stating color desired. 
MRS. L. M. — We do not know the first study you describe, the other 
" Cupid Thirsty " you can procure in photograph from E. P. Dutton & Co., 
West Twenty-third street, in two sizes. Price 15 to 30 cents. Please men- 
tion Keramic Studio. 
N. G. K. — We have not the study of Prof. Sturm's " Kakada," or would 
be pleased to suggest treatment for you, but would advise trying the bird in 
flat color or lustre and outlining and shading in black, some dark color or 
gold, you would not then find it difficult. We very rarely publish Rococo 
designs only the very simplest and best as it is a mode of decoration too easily 
over done, wrongly done and cheapened. We prefer any other style of deco- 
ration to it. For a luminous back ground we would suggest Meissen brown, 
or yellow brown and brown four. Only kilns with iron pots need white-wash- 
ing. We have fired lustres at the same time with other colors and have 
never had any difficulty, but to be on the safe side, you can fire them sepa- 
rately, nothing; that is fired, ever can affect the next firing, the kiln is thoroughly- 
purged of all gases, oxides, everything by the fire itself. 
We will try to give you soon an article on the color of cast shadows in 
painting from nature. For reeling figures in Delft colors we would suggest 
Delft blue, deep yellow, light brown for faces, a very little reddish brown and 
olive green, a little violet of iron with a touch of the blue added and black 
outlines. For the Boutet tie Monvel children, light brown for faces, white 
stockings and kerchief on heads, black shoes and outlines, kerchiefs on 
shoulders lavender pink, light brown aprons, dull blue in dresses, yellow 
brown hair, the boy has a pink suit and feather, pale yellow sash. You can 
diaper pattern on gold in any dark color. 
Persian design No. 3, November. Upper ground light pinkish ochre, 
lower ground dull dark blue. Dark design bright green, vine pale green, 
flowers red, gold outlines. No. 4, white ground, green vine, small flowers 
dull blue, large flowers dull blue, greyish violet, black and white, dull blue or 
black outlines. No. 6 is similar to No. 3. 
We are not acquainted with the ruby you mention as chipping off, but if you 
find another make that does not chip, you should use that one. Peach blos- 
som and rose if used at all thickly will chip, but if dusted in carefully will be 
all right, but will not stand a second fire. A wash of color strengthened in 
second fire is better than one heavy painting in first firing, and less liable to 
chip. The trouble is rather lack of flux than too much. 
If your Easter lily band is to cover any large space wiih enamel, the gold 
should be cleaned out underneath sufficiently to give the enamel a hold 
directly on the china. Small dots etc. can be applied over gold. 
If your paste work is blackish after burnishing, the gold or brush was 
not clean, or the paste poor or not sufficiently fired or gold too thin or oily. 
Bronzes are chemical mixtures on a gold basis which we do not under- 
stand how to make. 
H. R. — Please always sign full name. Ribbon gold can be procured from 
any dealer in dental supplies, ask your dentist. Coin gold can be used in 
place of ribbon gold, in which case the alloy is left in, the only difference is a 
slight one of color. 
W. K. B.— Please sign full name and address. You can procure nitrate 
Bismuth from any large wholesale druggist, the sub-nitrate is slightly differ- 
ent but can be used in place of the nitrate. The flux for gold will not do for 
colors. 
Turquoise green is a Dresden color. White Rose a Bischoff color. 
The best instruction in figure painting is given in New York. 
We can not give you an address for importing china direct. Write to our 
advertisers of white china and they may order for you so that the china will 
be shipped direct from France or England. Too late for February number. 
J. E. M. — You can use color over lustre before firing but not lustre over 
color, however it is better to fire first. Lustre over fired color gives a bronze 
effect, a dull semi-lustre. 
In your answer to H. H. (February number,) the statement is made that 
"teaching by. correspondence is very unsatisfactory in that the teacher can- 
not see whether the pupil sees correctly." Will you kindly state that this 
disadvantage is entirely overcome by a very simple method which I teach, 
whereby the pupil can tell infallibly whether drawing is correctly done or not 
so far as lines and proportion are concerned. Light and shade and color 
values the trained teacher can at once tell whether correctly observed or not, 
as the ensemble or " hang together " of the study will be disturbed if they are 
out. Actual tints of color are perceived by no two eyes just alike. Practice 
develops the color sense which in its artistic development is mainly a matter 
of correct values and harmonious synthesis. A. G. MARSHALL. 
