RERAMIC STUDIO 
191 
stamping surfaces. A narrow chisel or a flat gouge, Nos. 
2, 3, 4 in Illustration No. 2, are all that are necessary. A 
variety of gouges will facilitate the work. The difficulty 
in using a knife is shown when cutting under a space to be 
taken out. It presses over on to the pattern and dents the 
wood, giving an irregular edge. 
A chisel 1-16 inch wide, another 1-4 inch wide, and a 
flat gouge 5-16 inch wide will get out the ground work easily. 
The "flat gouge" has a slightly curved cutting edge. 
The depth of the cutting need not be more than an 
eighth of an inch, and in very narrow places it can be less. 
However, the East Indian stamps are cut from hard wood 
E A B 
to a depth greater than a quarter inch. In Illustra- 
tion No. 3 the space at B is very narrow and the depth is 
less than that of the wide space C. These represent the 
background, and the elevated parts are the printing sur- 
faces. Space C, being wide, it is cut lower at the middle, 
so that when printing, the cloth will not touch any part of 
it. When the ground work has been taken out and the 
pattern stands in relief, as shown in Illustrations No. 4 and 
No. 5, cut away the wood all around the outside, following 
the pattern edge as at E and F in Illustration No. 3. Then 
trim off the back edges of the block, as G and H, to avoid 
hurting the hands, under pressure of printing. 
Small blocks can be f inch thick and those over 3 
inches in diameter ought to be an inch thick to prevent 
warping. 
To finish the block take a piece of fine sand paper and 
lay it face upward upon glass, or upon any perfectly flat 
surface, and grind the surface of the block upon this till 
all the paper is removed. It will then be perfectly level. 
Never remove the pattern by wetting, for it will injure the 
grain and make the surface rough. Last of all, oil the block 
with linseed oil. 
For printing, mix oil colors with turpentine to the con- 
sistency of cream. Paint on with a brush, spreading evenly, 
but do not let the color drag over the edges. Keep these 
clean. If several colors are used, paint them on their re- 
spective parts of the stamping surface, and stamp firmly 
upon the cloth on an ironing board. Press all parts of the 
block so that the cloth will take the color thoroughly. 
Some strike the block with a small mallet instead of using 
the palm, but there is danger of splitting the wood. Should 
a spot of paint cling to an edge and show on the cloth, scrape 
it with a palette knife toward^the center of the color mass 
This will help to blend it. For practice cheese cloth is good ; 
and unbleached linen, silk, and even burlap will afford 
many problems of interest. The coarser the material, the 
more color is required on the stamp. The tone and texture 
of the cloth will affect the colors used, and the colors dry 
darker than when applied. 
The placing of the pattern upon the material is a problem 
in spacing. Trials can be made upon paper the size of the 
cloth, and, when satisfactory spacing is shown, it can be 
duplicated on the cloth. Trials upon small pieces of cloth 
will determine the texture and color effects. 
In printing several colors, some have used a separate 
block for each color. This requires care in cutting and in 
stamping, for a slight move in any direction will affect all 
