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KERAMIC STUDIO 
MISS MAUD M. MASON 
MISS Maud M. Mason's training as an artist commenced 
at the early age of eleven years. She received the 
usual academic training in drawing, and painting — in oil, 
water color, etc., and also prepared herself in a normal school 
as a teacher of design. All this transpired before she ever 
began to paint china, ("how she loathes the term now") and 
has formed an invaluable background for that and all her work. 
The opportunity for making money as well as a love of 
beautiful things turned her attention in this direction. Then 
followed a steady grind for many years, when she worked like 
a slave but gained for herself great success in a financial way, 
still always seizing every opportunity of special study. 
The work she was doing on porcelain fell so far short of 
her ideals, that for the sake of her own self respect and of 
course not being devoid of ambition, she determined that she 
could and would do something fine and something that would 
make her craft command the artist's attention. She has 
been credited with being the first decorator to join Mr. Dow's 
class and to come under his influence. She was fortunate in 
being a pupil of^Mr. Dow for several years and always speaks 
with warm^appreciation of the valuable training she had from 
him. She has worked beside with Mr. Wm. M. Chase, Mr. 
Henry B. Snell and Mr. Frank Brangwyn. 
Realizing that constant teaching is not conducive to 
healthful growth either mentally or physically, for the past 
eight or ten years she has given all her summers to painting 
out of doors and also endeavors even during her busiest winters 
to paint in the studio. When she gets back into the swing 
of ceramic work after this interval, she finds it more absorbing 
than ever and works with renewed and refreshed interest and 
feels that she does better for the change of work and thought. 
She is interested and active in many phases of art endeavor, 
being a member of the National Arts Club, (life member) an 
active member of the Mac-Dowell Club, Barnard Club, Muni- 
cipal Art Society, The Pen & Brush Club, the Art Workers 
Club, National Society of Craftsmen, Boston Arts & Crafts 
and the Association of Women Painters and Sculptors of which 
organization she has the honor of having been the president 
for the past five years. She has been active for years in the 
work of the Craftsmen and Ceramic Societies, and although 
she has been obliged to drop some of this work in favor of 
Association work, her interest is always with the Craftsmen. 
She was happy in receiving the Panama-Pacific Gold Medal 
for her small group of decorated porcelains, and she is con- 
stantly studying and working to develop her favorite craft. 
Her greatest interest is in disseminating knowledge of design 
and art principles and she has done real missionary work for 
the advancement of the cause of Ceramics. 
One of her greatest pleasures and sources of satisfaction is 
the work she has been for some years doing in the Fawcett 
School of Industrial Art of Newark, N. J. The class there 
was the first attempt ever made to teach the principles of 
design and the practical decoration of porcelain hand in hand, 
in a large class and the results have surely justified the effort 
it has entailed. Another source of gratification is the fact 
that the pupils who used to come to study with her, or rather 
have her paint articles for them, now come to study design 
and make their own designs for the articles they decorate. 
Although she designs many articles for pupils, she encourages 
the former method of study and is meeting with great success 
in that direction. — Adelaide Alsop Robineau. 
NOTE BY MISS MASON. 
"My sister Elizabeth has always been my right hand and 
my greatest help and inspiration. I could never have accom- 
plished anything nor could I do the work I am accomplishing 
to-day but for her assistance; her unusually discriminating 
good taste and criticism is always at my command and she 
is always at hand to help me in my studio." 
