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“He wrought a work upon the wheels, and the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hands of the Potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the Potter to make it.”—(Jeremiah.)

POTTERY,
FOR ARTISTS
CRAFTSMEN
& TEACHERS

BY
GEORGE J COX, ARCA.
INSTRUCTOR in POTTERY & MODELLING AT
TEACHERS COLLEGE—COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
ILLUSTRATED by the AUTHOR

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
COPYRIGHT, 1914,
By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
Set up and electrotyped. Published November, 1914.
Norwood Press
J. S. Cushing Co.—Berwick & Smith Co.
Norwood, Mass., U. S. A.

“O Master, pardon me, if yet in vain
Thou art my Master, and I fail to bring
Before men’s eyes the image of the thing
My heart is filled with.”

—William Morris.

EXPLANATION

In such a spacious craft as Pottery it is difficult to steer a fair course between the empirical and the scientific. With that in mind this book sets out to tell in simple terms some of the processes of Potting, practicable to the student and to the more finished craftsman.

It is an intricate task to combine successfully the view-points of the artist and the scientist; but it seems that, without neglecting the many benefits bestowed by the advance of science, the Potter should stand with the former. The best in his craft has been produced by men that were artists rather than chemists. And what has been accomplished by loving, patient craftsmanship may surely be done again only in such ways.

To the artist craftsman, for whom chiefly this book is intended, a little scientific knowledge is a dangerous thing; for that reason no great stress is laid on formulas and analysis. Unless thoroughly understood they are a hindrance rather than an aid.

Although many schools teach elementary pottery, the expense of equipment possibly delays its introduction on a larger scale. For that reason I have preferred to err on the side of over-exactness of description and profuseness of illustration.

The slight historical review and introductory remarks are to be excused on the ground that they are intended to help to a study of the best work of the best periods, and so to foster a taste for the finest Ceramics. This is a vital matter when laying the foundations of a craft so fascinating and so full of alluring avenues to beckon the student from the true path.

To the scientific critic I would offer a hundred books with a thousand different compounds; amongst none of them will he find how to make a Sung bowl or a Rakka drug pot.

This book will achieve its purpose if it sets one or two sincere students to the making of some of the many beautiful objects of utility and art with which the craft abounds. Then it will have done something, if never so little, to accelerate the arrival of that time when the artist will come once more into his own in the most ancient and noble of Crafts.

Some of the many books consulted, to which I am indebted, are given at the end of the book. Among friends my thanks are especially due to Richard Lunn, Esq., of the Royal College of Art, London, and to Professor Arthur Wesley Dow of Teachers College, Columbia University, for my introduction to and opportunity of further study of the Craft to which I subscribe myself an humble devotee.

G. J. C.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

POTTERY FOR ARTISTS,
CRAFTSMEN, AND TEACHERS

CHAPTER I

Historical Summary

“After this he led them into his garden, where was great variety of Flowers. Then said he again, Behold, the Flowers are diverse in stature, in quality, and colour, and smell, and virtue, and some are better than some.”

—Bunyan.

Without attempting a history of pottery which, however brief, would be somewhat out of place in a Craft Book, a short summary of its evolution, emphasizing those periods in which it was most beautifully developed, seems essential to help the beginner in the selection and appreciation of good form, colour, and decoration. These are very vital matters and easily overlooked in the struggle to acquire a craft that is full of fascination from the first fumbled shape upon the wheel to the finished product of time and art and craft.

Too much stress cannot be laid upon the importance of close study of the best work, both ancient

and modern; for it is a truism that however handily a craftsman may work, his output will be worthless if he has not, with his increasing powers of technique, developed a sound judgement and refined taste. To-day, these alone can replace the lost traditions of the old masters.

The Potter’s Craft had a coeval birth in various parts of the earth, but the obscurity is such that no clear idea can be gained of its antiquity. It was, probably, the first form of handicraft, if we except the fashioning of flints and clubs. Accident or the funeral pyre may have suggested the extraordinary durability the clay shape obtained when burned, and doubtless siliceous glazes were first the result of chance. All early work was built up by hand and for that reason possesses wide mouths and simple forms. The introduction of the wheel is lost in a mist of time, but drawings from the tombs of Beni Hassan show the potter at his wheel substantially as he works in Asia to this day. The wheel-made or thrown shape is distinguished by far more grace and symmetry than the built shape, and by an infinitely greater variety of form.

In burial mounds from prehistoric Egypt are found many bowls and platters rudely scratched, and the earliest examples from mounds, lake dwellings, and tombs show the quick development of the pot, not only as an object of utility, but as a vehicle of art.

The first kinds of decoration were incised lines followed by strappings and bandings, painted stripes and scrolls and hieroglyphs, with later additions in slip and modelled clay. Primitive wares from their method of production exhibit an interesting similarity of shape and style in such widely divergent countries as China, Egypt, and Peru.

It was only when the craftsman had acquired considerable dexterity that we find his nationality influencing his shapes and producing the wonderful variety in form and decoration that characterizes and distinguishes the pottery of all nations. Once established, the prevalence of type is strong. This traditional style is particularly noticeable in Egypt, much modern work being identical with that of the early dynasties.

Before turning to more sophisticated work it would be well to learn the lesson of simplicity and fitness here taught by primitive folks. The simple beginning leads to the simple, strong, and satisfying end. Much of this primitive work is inspiring for its freshness or naïveté; its unspoiled innate taste allied to downright common sense. Properly approached, it should be a sure corrective to any desire for unsightly new shapes or extravagance in decoration. A few careful studies will do much to drive home this valuable lesson in fine, simple line and spacing.

In Egypt the thrown shape was not distinguished by any extraordinary beauty or variety. Nevertheless their small Ushabti, glazed gods and demons, show a very advanced knowledge of coloured enamels, and their fabrication of a hard sandy paste for glazing shows the first great step in the science of pottery. Their glaze was purely alkaline.

The Assyrians appear to have been the first to use coloured tin glazes, and although few pieces of pottery survive, the enamelled friezes from Korsobad and Sousa are striking evidence of their proficiency in tile-making.

From Egypt and Mesopotamia the craft spread east and west to Phœnicia, Attica, and Greece; through Persia and Arabia to India. Here it mingled with currents from China, then invading Korea, Japan, and Siam, the united floods rising until the potter was a power in every land.

Phœnician pottery forms, with Cretan and early Grecian, a beautiful sequence from the primitive work of early dynasties to the refinements of later Grecian wares.

It will prove an interesting and instructive study to trace the developments that led finally to the zenith of Greek pottery. The primitive Hissarlik ware leads through Mycenaean, Dipylon, Phalæron, Rhodian, and Corinthian right up to the wonderful figure vases of about 300 B.C. Although

limited in paste and colour, with a thin transparent glaze or lustre, these vases were exquisitely fashioned. Large and small shapes of wide diversity were decorated in black, red, and white, ornament and figures both drawn straight on to the body with a sureness of touch and refinement of line that excite the envy of a master. Many of their forms are strongly influenced by contemporary bronze work and for that reason are not the best guides for shapes. Their incomparable terra-cottas known as Tanagras form a link between Pottery and Sculpture.

Again, from Phœnician work one may see dimly by way of Samian, Rhodian and old Cairene wares the lineage of the royal wares of Persia, and recent investigations point to Old Cairo as the birthplace of lustre.

From Persia come some of the finest pottery, painted in colours and lustres, that the world can show. Their wares stand pre-eminent in that class wherein the chief beauty is the painted decoration. Their one-colour pieces, whilst not comparable with the Chinese, nevertheless reach a high standard. Their lustres have never been surpassed or rarely equalled. Their shapes are true potter’s shapes, and a delight to the eye. The finest pieces were painted in simple blues, greens, reds, and faint purples, with black pencilling. This appears to have been done

on an engobe of finely ground flint, and covered with an alkaline glaze giving a broken white ground. This would account in some measure for the extraordinary freshness of both drawing and colour. Later on raised ornament, finely conceived and used with restraint, is seen along with pierced decoration having translucent effects.

Rhodes and Damascus produced a somewhat coarser ware, but bold and free in brushwork and varied with a bright red. Syrian pottery abounds in virile individual shapes. Turkey also was not without a fine and vigorous style.

Much time can be most profitably spent studying the masterpieces of Persia. A representative collection like that at South Kensington will show vases, bottles, bowls, pots, and tiles in bewildering variety and of infinite freshness. They are directly painted, with free renderings of flowers within geometric forms and often with an inscription in rich Arabic characters. The exquisite Moore Collection in the Metropolitan Museum, New York City, is smaller but is remarkable for the unusually high standard of taste shown in its acquisition. At its purest period human or animal figures were rarely or never represented and those shapes or tiles with such decoration belong to a more decadent but still fine period.

Again we have the eternal lesson of simplicity and

fitness. Again it will be borne in upon the student that originality does not mean weirdness, but rather a fresh spontaneous treatment of simple, well-known natural forms, with, above all, a fine appreciation of good line and space. No sincere student can fail to develop here a respect and veneration of a craft and of craftsmen capable of producing such glorious works.

From this teeming home the craft spread to Arabia and west across the Mediterranean to Spain. Here in the twelfth century the Moors were producing their famous Hispano-Mooresque lustred wares. Their large plaques offer a wonderful variety of pure brushwork ornament with spirited heraldic additions. Sometimes the backs of these dishes are as beautifully lustred as the fronts.

For a proper appreciation of their purely geometric decoration and its possibilities in pottery we must turn to the Alcazzar at Madrid. Here the use of opaque tin glaze permitted the extensive use of a coarse body for tiles and bricks. The Moors, however, first introduced glazes with a lead base and from that time we begin to lose the fresh wet colour always associated with the alkaline glazes of the Persians. Analysis shows that they used lead, but only occasionally and in small quantities, to aid their lustres. The lustred wares of Spain declined late in the thirteenth century, but not before

its exportation to Italy by way of Majorca had stimulated the production of Italian Majolica. Della Robbia, about 1415, succeeded in colouring his tin glazes, and his finely modelled but somewhat crudely coloured reliefs usher in the era of Italian Faience. Patronized by the nobles the craft quickly took root and was blossoming profusely at Urbino, Gubbio, Pesaro, Faenza and other cities at the end of the fifteenth century.

Here we break ground and leave the chaste simplicity of the golden age to riot a blaze of exuberant decoration. Scraffito, slip, inlaid, applied, incised, raised, embossed and modelled and painted embellishments; all are here. This era is chiefly notable for its splendid ruby lustres and the remarkable power and freedom, amounting to absolute abandon, of the brushwork and drawing shown by its artists. They used their lustres to heighten the effects of their painting and the results are in keeping with that romantic age. Alongside of it our best modern work is apt to look spiritless and dull.

Much splendid work was produced in Italy at this period, but in such a wide field there are naturally some places that exhibit technique rather than art. The student must go into it with appreciative faculties alert lest mere splendour should sweep him off his feet.

The wares and the potters of Italy penetrated

north into Europe, to France, the Holy Roman Empire and Britain, starting or stimulating what was to prove an overwhelming flood of production. In Europe in pre-Roman times, a coarse, unglazed, built-up ware was general, it being of simple, somewhat clumsy but vigorous form, low-fired and friable. It was used chiefly for cinerary purposes, the Germanic peoples having a decided preference for vessels of horn, wood, or metal.

The Romans introduced the wheel and produced a far higher class of ware. Their importation of the fine red Samian pottery resulted in the fabrication of the vigorous Gallo-Roman and Romano-British pottery. This was good in shape and paste and characteristically decorated with slip, bosses, dots, and indentations. The later Gaulish work shows applied figures and highly finished scroll work. After the decline of Rome, Saxon and Germanic work shows a distinctly retrograde tendency. It is often built up, strapped, banded, and bossed in imitation of the Romano-British. Though coarse and lacking in finish, it is full of freshness and character.

In Mediæval England, when pottery making was at a low ebb, the monasteries and travelling guilds of potters produced splendid encaustic tiles. These were inlaid with simple yet striking geometric designs, or animal or bird forms, both heraldic and symbolic.

In Europe for many years the domestic pottery remained coarse and primitive, showing still the arresting hand of the barbarian conquerors of Rome. The first signs of the Italian Renaissance are to be found in the rare Henri Deux or Orion ware. Palissy’s desperate and romantic search for enamels was the prelude to the development of Rouen, Nevers, Lille, Moustiers, Sèvres, Marseilles, and other less important potteries. In France also early experiments led eventually to the fabrication of porcelain much on the lines of English porcelain, a frit being used instead of kaolin.

In Germany, as early as the fifteenth century, they produced fine stoneware highly decorated with relief patterns and colours. After long research Boettiger, by a lucky accident, discovered kaolin. Porcelain was made at Dresden in 1709, and many of the Dresden figures show a remarkably sympathetic alliance of potting, modelling and painting.

The success of the German ceramists led to a wide patronage of potters by kings and princes which quickly spread the knowledge of porcelain throughout Europe.

Long before this in the early part of the seventeenth century, potteries were established at Delft in Holland. Here was made the well-known ware painted in blue camaien on a fine white ground. This was for a time produced in great quantities,

and the process of painting directly on to an absorbent ground led to a surprisingly fresh and skilful style.

In the middle of the seventeenth century English wares commenced to rise from the stagnation in which they seemed sunk since Saxon times. Toft, with his tygs and platters, Dwight, and his bellarmines, and Elers, with turned shapes, started a movement which was eventually to send English wares into all parts of Europe, even into the far Russias, to be known everywhere for its excellent workmanship. And in this flood of production in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries was much that was technically unrivalled despite the fact that the Art of the potter is sometimes far to seek. Dwight is said to have produced a fritted porcelain in 1671, before the discovery of kaolin. This is doubtful, but his persistent research eventually led up to the fine pastes of Chelsea and Bow and the unrivalled “fine earthenwares” of Staffordshire.

This European revival gained tremendous impetus from the importation by the Portuguese of the wares of China. The wide scope of its decoration, both painted and modelled, pointed the way to most potters of the West during the heyday of European pottery. The magnificent single-colour pieces were not introduced until later when the break-up of the Empire rendered them accessible to Europeans. It is

to them that the student must turn to see the summit of the potter’s art, which, it is logically contended, commences on the wheel and ends at the glost oven with the potter, the only attendant from the pot’s inception to its finish. Painting or modelling is not essential to its perfection and unless applied by a true disciple detracts rather than adds to the beauty of the piece.

In China, where tradition holds that earthenware was first made in 2698 B.C., the art of the potter, in body, shape, glaze, and colour, through centuries reached perfection. Porcelain is said to have been first made about 200 B.C., but this date is conjectural. What we do know unmistakably, however, is that the best work of their best periods is unrivalled. Depending primarily on form and colour, with here and there a subtle decoration in raised or incised line, in crackle or simple brushwork, it stands alone, and despite the omnipotent chemistry of to-day, defies imitation. Their forms are strong, bold, and dignified, yet subtle and delicate, too. Then, added to a wonderful range of colours, was a perfection of body that was for so long the despair of western imitators. It is here at the altar of perfection amidst the chaste richness of Tang and Sung and Ming that the true disciple must worship. And to those who must eat bread as well as make pots it is to be pointed out that these pieces at the time of

their production fetched prices that compare favourably with the “fancy” prices given to-day.

To the Japanese also in great measure the same tribute is due. Although beginning later as disciples and scarcely getting so far as their masters, their more limited range of colour and form is set off by their restrained and even more tasteful decoration. The unique collection in the Boston Museum is an amplification of this bald statement. They were often more concerned with the touch and texture of the pot than the more obvious appeal of decoration. Esoteric as it is to most occidentals it is rich in a pure æstheticism and a deep and beautiful symbolism that is slowly but surely having an influence on western art, just when it seems in some danger of dying out in Japan. The hermit kingdom of Korea, despite its midway position, produced pottery that is strangely beautiful and distinctive and worth much more than a passing notice.

In China the art decadence of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, coupled with internal revolutions, has sadly dimmed her plots, dispersed her potters, and all but destroyed her priceless traditions.

For the further development of pottery in Europe and America and Asia the student has many excellent books to consult. From the seventeenth century the ramifications are rapid and all-embracing, giving, however, more joy to the collector than to the artist.

Modern work has made an enormous advance in the science of the craft. Since the “Eighties” it shows signs of a renaissance in æsthetics. Lustres of all shades, crystalline, star, and crackle glazes with safe methods of oxidizing and reducing in the fire, have been brought to perfection. Yet, with some few exceptions, commerce seems writ large upon them all and their very perfection of finish damns them in the eyes of an artist. Whichever way he looks, he must return again and again to refresh his eyes with the inspiring examples of the best that has survived from the near and far East.

Only an antiquarian humbug would wish to go back to ancient conditions even to produce old pots. But it is only by seeing in so far as we may in museums and books the works of these ancient yet ever modern potters; by tracing their development, appreciating their qualities and attempting to work as they worked, honestly and unaffectedly, that we shall begin to approach the excellence and originality of their art. This study should not of course obey the direction it all too frequently follows. The slavish measuring by module and fraction of classic styles, the stark geometric analysis of Moorish ornament or the laborious copying of Chinese pattern is at best only art in cold storage. It should be self-evident that where an alien style is consciously imitated the result is sterility for the imitator.

In others, it is apt to produce a powerful reaction that results in Futurism or some such self-conscious affectation. “The Greeks did not draw from casts nor did the Persians haunt museums,” says the harried student. No. But better than that, they were surrounded, if not by beauty, at least by nature naked and unashamed. They lived not easily maybe, but surely more gracefully, untrammelled by fashion, cult, or craze.

“The earth his sober Inn
And quiet pilgrimage.”

Their best work seems ever fresh, spontaneous, and untired. It must have been done with a spirit and real joy impossible to anyone but a true craftsman tremendously interested in his work, we might also add, his environment.

Naturally, present-day conditions must modify the struggle for existence. They may mar our best aim at times. Yet some few have worked wonders even in this age. To mention but two instances, W. De Morgan and the Martin brothers, is to tell of high endeavour and great achievement. But we must not expect to get rich that way.

Pottery is an exacting and difficult craft, abounding in as many trials and disappointments as excitements and rewards. Its true devotee must suffer. Yet the delightful tale of Palissy’s heroic battle

should hearten the more fortunate student of to-day. It is good to read of the spirit in which Wedgwood, scientist though he was, approached his work. In a trade catalogue he says, “A Competition for Cheapness, and not for Excellence of Workmanship, is the most frequent cause of rapid Decay and entire Destruction of Art and of Manufacture.” “Beautiful Forms are not to be made by Chance and they never were made nor can be made in any kind at small expense.” Such sentiments rarely emanate from the modern commercial pottery.

Tradition, except the traditions of flawless glazes, certain soulless results, and commercial cheese paring; seems dead perhaps, but it will surely come to life again. To see the potter “thumping his wet clay,” and seated at the wheel of ancient lineage, conjuring forth a wealth of gracious shapes, is to renew one’s faith in the ultimate survival of simple honest handicraft even in this machine-ridden age. Masterpieces were never conceived in factories, and when we make pots primarily for love of them, not to sell them, we shall begin to beat back the manufacturer of debauched “Art” pots into that domestic and hygienic realm wherein his efforts are particularly admirable and effective. A craft that teems with such an endless variety of beautiful objects for such countless uses can never remain for all time the hand-maiden of commerce.

Hollowing the Ball

CHAPTER II

Clays and Pastes

“It is the Art which gives the value, and not the material.”

—Dresser.

Clay being the chief material used by the potter, it demands a description which, without being too technical, will give from the start a clear idea of the nature of clays or pastes in general use.

It would be a needless complication to enter here into a discussion of the chemical analysis of bodies and materials. Whilst the chemist can and does determine with exactitude the relative quantities of each component, he cannot yet, let us perhaps be thankful, lay down with the same certainty the structural and molecular changes all these compounds will undergo in the fire. The old potters’ rule “of thumb” or, rather, common sense and experience, still count for something.

Clay is the word generally applied to the natural article when used without preparation, or after picking and washing. Paste is the term used for all composite bodies that have been through a complicated process of washing, grinding, mixing, and sieving,

or even fritting, according to the desired quality of the ware for which it is required. Natural clays range from the pure white and very infusible kaolin, containing only alumina and silica with a very small percentage of alkalies, to the impure grey, red, or brown clays, containing, along with alumina and silica, magnesia, potash, soda, iron, lime, and carbon. Kaolin is used with China stone (a combination of felspar and quartz) to make porcelain, the finest and hardest paste known to potters. It has a very hard white translucent body, only slightly vitreous at the highest fire (around 1700° Centigrade).

From this, the highest grade, we have almost insensible gradations to common earthenware. Old English and French porcelain were compounded of clay, sand, and alkalies ground together to make a frit, re-ground and mixed with a stiffening material (in English porcelain, bone-ash), to support the vitreous matter in the intense heat. The finest earthenware does not differ greatly in its formula from soft porcelain, but it is not so hard or transparent. From this the scale descends to where the presence of lime or iron in the body colour it and render it easily fusible, so that at any great heat it turns black and collapses to a slag.

Clay on being dug up is usually weathered in the open, and dried and broken up and the greater impurities picked out. It is then thoroughly mixed

with water in a blunger and passed through a succession of sieves until all foreign matter and impurities are left behind and it is the consistency of cream. This was formerly done by hand, the clay being raked into a thick “slub” and washed through a series of tanks until all impurities had settled, leaving only the fine clay in suspension. It is at this stage that any additions are made to form a paste. The modifying ingredients, ground and sieved to the requisite degree, are thoroughly incorporated with the slip, which is allowed to settle. The clear water on top is siphoned off and the paste dried sufficiently to handle. The modern method of preparation is to force the slip through a series of straining bags which remove most of the water and leave it stiff enough to work. Some of the hard pastes are so stiff or short that they require soap water to give plasticity, but usually after a thorough wedging it is now ready for the thrower.

Generally speaking, kaolin, China clay, ball clay, pipe clay, China stone, felspar, flint, quartz, sand, lime, chalk, and calcined bone are the ingredients of most modern pastes. These supply the alumina, silica, lime, potash, and soda, with traces of iron and magnesia, that are found in all clays when analyzed. Carbon is only present in impure bodies fired at a low heat.

Of these materials the clays rich in alumina and

silica, such as kaolin or China clay, form the body-giving substance. The felspar or China stone furnish the fluxing ingredients for fusing and binding. The flint or bone supplies the stiffening matter for supporting and retaining the shape of the object in the fire.

Porcelain, though differing so widely in appearance and texture from the coarse mediæval earthenware or the pottery of the ancients, is found to have a distinct relationship when all these bodies are submitted to analysis. Much of the difference in bodies, apart from the impurities, lies in the temperature of the fire to which it has been submitted. At a low temperature such constituents as lime and iron are not much affected, but at a greater heat they act as fluxing agents.

To generalize upon a complex and difficult subject one might say that porcelain, both hard and soft (pâte dure and pâte tendre), is characterized by its pure white colour and by extreme hardness of body and glaze with transparency; fine stoneware by a very hard, opaque, and heavy body which may be white, buff, or grey, and salt-glazed or with a fine hard transparent glaze. Earthenware is softer and mostly opaque. It may range from something a little softer than soft porcelain to the coarse “Majolica” with a tin glaze, differing widely in colour of body and hardness of glaze.

With porcelain and the finest high-fired wares a purity of materials and uniformity of mass is absolutely necessary. It is here that one may well call in the aid of the chemist and manufacturer. In any case it is advisable to call in the chemist and the manufacturer when working on a large scale. With a small output, as with all good craftsmen, the fabrication of a good, reliable stoneware or earthenware paste is only a matter of patience and hard work. Before commencing to produce finished work on any scale, repeated experiments with different clays should be carried out. Notes of all trials, with and without glaze, are invaluable to the potter.

Rich clays can be stiffened, short clays enriched, and colour modified without a mass of expensive machinery. Rich, easily fusible clays tend to stunt or buckle at a high fire. Hard refractory clays often remain porous and are a fruitful source of crazing and breaking. The addition of flint or fine washed sand, finely powdered grog, or pitchers, or even refractory China clays, in quantities varying from about 5 per cent to 20 per cent, but settled only by repeated trials, will stiffen up or open out rich clays inclined to warp or burst. Rich fusible clays added to hard clays may stop the crazing, or the fusing point may be lowered by the addition of spar. Stiff gravelly clay will require finer sieving or repeated washing to rid it of some of the grit or sand. Rich

greasy clays are better when not too finely sieved, but this point is of course dependent on the class of work to be undertaken. Slip can be settled in tubs, the water siphoned off, and then put to dry on plaster bats, or dry clay, powdered and sieved, may be stirred in until the mass is stiff enough to wedge thoroughly by hand.

In mixing or modifying without machinery it is sometimes advisable to do it in the dry state, otherwise some of the heavier materials are likely to sink and are thus not thoroughly incorporated with the body. The dry mass when well mixed is wetted enough to be wedged. When the body is coloured and a white ground is indispensable, an “engobe,” or dip, of white clay slip must be resorted to.

These processes are certainly tedious, but that will not deter a craftsman searching for the right clay in which best to shape his ideas. To the craftsman working alone it is the only way by which he can accommodate his clays to the various necessities of throwing, casting, or modelling. Each process will require a slightly different nature in the clay if the finest results are to be obtained.

Although in this craft book we shall not approach porcelain, a good, hard, true-ringing body with a tough well-fitting glaze should be a sine qua non with all craftsmen; and it is only in the fire that any true idea can be gained of the important influences clays

and pastes have on the finished work. Here we have tried to indicate the chief characteristics of clays and to make clear the inevitable tendency of all potters who seek an imperishable medium for their craft towards a purer body and a higher fire.

CHAPTER III

Built Shapes

“Every moment think steadily: to do what thou hast in hand with perfect and simple dignity.”

—M. Antoninus.

With good plastic clay and with the aid of a few simple tools, the fingers can fashion shapes of considerable diversity and some refinement. In elementary schools this is by far the best method of teaching the beginner. In any case the student who has no knowledge of clay work would do well to start by building a few shapes in the manner still used by primitive peoples.

The clay, which must be in good condition and not short, is rolled out on a wet plaster slab or some non-sticky surface, into ropes of something less than half an inch in diameter for small shapes. (Fig. 1.) The best way to commence is to knead up a double handful of soft clay until thoroughly mixed, ball it, and then form a stumpy cylinder, gradually elongating by rolling out on the bat. Too much pressure will flatten the rope and there should be a distinct pull

or stretch on it in addition to the downward pressure, varying as necessary to insure even thickness. As the rope becomes thinner the fingers should be held diagonally to avoid ridges. This rope should be fairly firm and yet bend easily without cracking. With a little practice, long pliable rolls can be easily and rapidly produced and then a start is made with the base. This is coiled as in Fig. 2, pressed flat, and welded together. It is finished both sides before commencing the walls of the shape. These are coiled round and up, each ring being pressed firmly on the one below, care being taken to avoid air cavities which may blow out on firing. The top is levelled off and the sides welded together and smoothed with the fingers. (Fig. 3.)

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

Fig. 3

At first, simple and almost straight-sided shapes

should be attempted; each ring may be added separately, while the finishing should not be unduly prolonged. As the technique improves, curves with slight returns may be attained. Where the size is so great as to prevent finishing at one sitting, it can be very carefully reversed; this will allow the base to harden and still keep the top moist for further

coiling. With big pieces much attention must be paid to the correct shaping when coiling, otherwise the finishing will be laborious and quite possibly useless. Large shapes with difficult curves are best built in two sections or parts and then carefully welded together. To keep the parts damp during prolonged operations, use water blown from a spray diffuser.

Ash trays, bulb bowls, flower pots, salt cellars, and ink wells are a few of the things that are suitable to be made by this method. They may be decorated with incised lines, raised-ornament handles, and feet. Additional interest is obtained by slight banding, or the incised lines filled in with a coloured clay pressed firmly in when the shape is tough. Although built forms may be quite highly finished, it is obvious that any elaborate decoration is out of place on shapes that by their origin must be simple and somewhat heavy. Enough has been said to indicate the process. For its logical development and suitable enrichment we must study the work of primitive peoples. For its possibilities we must turn to the vast jars made even to this day in Spain.

Fig. 4

With great care and much taste pieces can be pinched and welded together into delightful forms, best shown in the refinements of the Cha Noya pottery of Japan. This pinching must be done carefully and above all sympathetically. To those that know or feel the possibilities of the clay it will respond readily. Much more taste and judgement is required in the making of a really satisfactory pinched shape, than is needed in forming one with coils. Square, polyhedral, or irregular shapes other than circular may be stuck up or pieced together in the following manner: Upon a table nail two strips of wood one quarter of an inch thick, ten or twelve

inches apart. Sprinkle between the strips with flint or fine sand and batter out some soft clay thereon. Scrape the surplus clay off with a straight-edge and then roll the clay between the strips flat with a rolling pin. Upon this thin slab mark out the sides, base, top, etc., of the shape to be built. Run a thin knife round each shape, but do not cut quite down to the table. Cut along the inside edge of each strip to allow the whole slab to contract evenly and allow it to toughen slightly. Carefully remove and reverse the slab and separate the pieces, being careful not to distort the shapes in the process.

The shape must be stuck up before the pieces become brittle or too stiff to bend. Roughen each opposing edge and moisten with slip, that is, clay mixed with water to the consistency of thick cream.

Press the edges firmly together and weld well each joint with soft clay. (Fig. 5.) This operation should be most thorough, as any weak joint will inevitably open when fired. Lids should be cut slightly larger

than the shapes they have to fit and sandpapered true when dry. Sharp edges and angles should be smoothed with the fingers before the shape gets hard.

Fig. 5

The chief pitfall to avoid in this process is a hard wooden look. The ductile plastic qualities of the clay should be remembered and such additions as feet or handles should emphasize this important point.

Finally, the careful sympathetic craftsman, with infinite patience, by utilizing all three methods, can build vessels of almost any shape,—square, round, elliptical, banded, strapped, bossed, fluted, and embellished with handles, spouts, and feet. Ancient and mediæval pottery is rich in such forms.

CHAPTER IV

Moulding, Casting, and Pressing

“Our soundes is good, Our shapes is neat,
Its Davis cast us so compleat.”

—From an old bell at Stoke Rivers.

The casting process, employed so extensively in commercial work, is in its essence mechanical and therefore can never have the spontaneity or character of thrown work. To-day when the thrower and turner with hand and eye trained for good shapes is rare indeed, it is often the only method by which the student can obtain large shapes of high finish for painting or glazing in transparent colours.

In the process the shape is first designed and

carefully drawn on paper, allowance being made for the shrinkage of the finished pot which may be as much as 1 in 6 with some kinds of slip. It should be refined in profile with no returns that may bind or hold in the mould when drying, yet it is obvious that simple shapes that can be built or thrown by the beginner are not suitable for casting.

Fig. 6

Fig. 7

The shape correctly drawn, a mandrel, a steel tapering to a point, the butt wormed to screw on a lathe, and long enough to give some play at either end, is rolled in stout paper, gummed at the edges, as in Fig. 6. This is removed and allowed to set, thus giving a paper shell just fitting the mandrel. Trim this square at the base and stick it upright

by means of a piece of clay on a well-oiled portion of a table. Around this as a centre is fitted a roll of linoleum, oiled inside and secured with string, with all its joints caulked with clay. The inside diameter of this cylinder should be about ¹⁄₂” larger than the greatest diameter of the drawn shape. Enough superfine plaster to fill this is now mixed. To do this shake plaster by handfuls into a bowl of water until it appears to refuse more, pour off any surplus water, and stir with a wooden ladle or the hand, avoiding air bubbles.

Fig. 8

Fig. 9

A little practice in casting plaster bats will give the experience necessary for mixing plaster. When well mixed and a slight thickening is perceptible, it is poured very carefully into the cylinder, the paper shell being kept upright in the centre. (Fig. 9.) In about 20 minutes the surface of the plaster will feel warm. It is now set and the linoleum is removed. The plaster cylinder, when dry, is fitted on the mandrel, and this screwed to the lathe head. Two or three chisels are now required. (Fig. 10.) The rest on the lathe is clamped in a convenient position and a cutting chisel held as shown (Fig. 11), cutting edge up. The cylinder is revolved briskly as indicated by arrow, and the shape is roughly hollowed out. Proceed gradually until the shape begins to emerge, taking care not to cut too deeply. (Fig. 12.) Towards the finish use the calipers frequently to check the measurements.

At top and bottom about ¹⁄₂” waste is left (Fig. 13 A), turned straight, the actual line of top and base being slightly grooved in the plaster. The form may be pretty accurately finished with the chisels and then nicely smoothed with sandpaper. For this process the rotary movement is reversed.

Fig. 10

Fig. 11

The shape is now removed from the lathe and is ready for moulding.

With a kick wheel having a removable head the mandrel can be screwed on and the block turned

down in an upright position. The difficulty of steadying the tool renders this method somewhat unsuitable for this process, where perfect symmetry and a high finish are required. The plaster should not be so dense for turning on the wheel or the kicking is apt to become very arduous and this tends to dislocate the set of the spindle. One of the best of ways is to draw a quantity of shapes, cast their blocks, and turn them on a hired lathe, preferably run by power.

Fig. 12

The finished shape is now well lathered with parting or stopping. This is made by boiling 1 lb. soft soap, ¹⁄₄ lb. Russian tallow, and a small piece of soda. Another stopping is made by dissolving 1 lb. soft soap in 1 qt. water and stirring in ¹⁄₄ pt. paraffin oil. Several coatings may be necessary to impart

a waxy surface. When no longer absorbent, it is dried and slightly polished with a bit of cotton waste. At the finish the form should be clean, smooth, glossy, and non-absorbent.

With simple shapes, as in Figs. 7 and 8, a one-piece or a two-piece mould can be made, and here the bottom waste is not necessary, but with any return or foot a three-piece mould will be required. The waxed shape is now divided perpendicularly exactly in half, by a pencil line. (A, Fig. 13.) It is then laid on its side and bedded in clay up to the pencil lines, the clay being sloped slightly down from the marks. (F, Fig. 13.) Box in now with well-soaped boards tight against top and bottom but allowing about 1¹⁄₂” at sides. Wipe the shape over with waste dipped in olive oil but leave no surplus oil on the surface. Plaster well mixed as before is poured in until about 1¹⁄₂” to 2” above the greatest projection of the shape, great care being taken to avoid or dislodge air bubbles. (B, Fig. 13.)

When the plaster is set but still warm, the shape is removed and the side of the plaster that rested on the clay trimmed flat and several joggles or natches are made. (C, Fig. 13.) The shape is now replaced exactly as cast and the new surfaces treated with parting and the whole slightly filmed with oil as before. Great care must be used, for any oil on the actual surface of the mould spoils the suction of the

plaster at that spot. Box in and then cast just as before. This gives two halves with waste top and bottom.

Fig. 13

The shape is now placed on the lathe and the bottom waste turned off, the base of the shape being slightly hollowed. The creator having arrived so far successfully may now unbend and scratch his mark on this new surface before well waxing it.

Dowels are cut in the waste of the two halves as shown, the fresh parts soaped, all fitted together and slightly oiled, then boxed in as in D and E, Fig. 13. Plaster about 2” thick at the thinnest part is poured on and the mould is complete. When set, the shape is removed and the three parts trimmed on all the outside edges. (Fig. 14.) The three pieces are assembled, firmly tied up to prevent warping, and thoroughly dried.

If preferred, the mould can be made cylindrical instead of square. This will give a more even suction to the slip and may be worth the extra trouble. For casting purposes a refractory clay containing a good percentage of China clay, maturing at about 03-01 but remaining perfectly white and porous, will be required.

Slip for casting is made thus: Clay, picked or broken into small pieces, is thrown into a bucket of warm water well slubbed up by hand and passed through a fine sieve (No. 80) with the aid of a stout

brush and thinned to the consistency of thick cream. This should be matured for some days, frequently stirred, and again sieved before using. For very small or fragile shapes, a finer sieve (120) is advisable. The mould, quite dry and clean, is now slightly moistened with a scrupulously clean sponge and water, the parts assembled, corded, and firmly wedged, leaving the top free as in Fig. 15. The slip, thoroughly stirred, is poured in very gently to avoid bubbles. With awkward moulds, a tube or funnel should be used to prevent splashing. If the mould be placed on a whirler and turned to and fro, it will prevent the heavier matter in the slip settling too quickly.

Fig. 14

As the slip sinks in the mould, the subsidence being due to the absorption of the water by the plaster, the mould should be continually filled up. After a few minutes the mouth is scraped free to test the deposit. When this is thick enough, varying, of course, with the size of the shape, the slip is poured out into another bucket. An unorthodox but often useful trick for strengthening long necks is to slide a piece of glass over the mouth and reverse the mould for a minute or so. The neck full of slip thus allows a slight extra deposit on the part that most needs it when we come to finishing off the lip.

Fig. 15

Fig. 16

Let the mould drain a little over the slip bucket and then reverse to dry

slowly. When the wet look has disappeared from the surface of the slip, scrape the top free and run a knife around to prevent sticking as the shape contracts. (Fig. 16.) In a few hours it will be dry enough to permit of the sides being eased off and the shape left to dry on the base. (Fig. 17.) When tough enough to handle with safety, the waste and cast lines are trimmed and finished off, any air bubbles or holes broken down and filled with clay scraped from the waste or base. If this finishing is left until the shape be dry, it is impossible to hide such defects. The greatest care must be exercised in handling cast shapes, as they are exceptionally fragile.

Fig. 17

When quite dry, the whole form should be carefully gone over with a very fine sandpaper. A superfine surface should be imparted by rubbing with the hands. When using transparent glazes, as with under-glaze painting, it is essential that all scratches

be removed, and especially must all sharp edges be eliminated on neck or shoulder, for the glaze running away from these places imparts a hideously cheap look to what otherwise may be a fine shape. All these points having received attention, the date is scratched on the bottom of the shape and it is now ready to biscuit.

Generally speaking, it will be found that slip the consistency of cream is right for casting, possibly thicker for big open shapes, and after the right proportion is settled it is as well to test what it weighs to the pint.

As will be readily seen, this process, whilst open to many objections, lends itself to shapes that are refined and delicate and to those that have flutings or raised ornament. Such decorations, or the spouts of jugs, may be modelled in wax on the plaster shape before casting and appear in reverse on the mould. Designs may be scratched on the mould or shape and show as a delicate tracery beneath the glaze. All these things, however, add to the difficulty of casting and should be approached by degrees and with restraint. For in unskilled hands the process lends itself to soulless and mechanical repetition.

Pressing

Moulds having moderately wide mouths enable the potter to press his shapes instead of cast them.

This method in expert hands is even quicker than casting and has the advantage of imparting a sturdier look to large shapes. Pressing is also resorted to for those shapes to which it would be difficult for the slip to obtain free access.

Fig. 18

For the ordinary three-piece mould the procedure would be thus: The clay, well wedged and quite plastic, is rolled out as described in Jigger and Jolley work, to a suitable thickness. (Fig. 18.) Butter cloth or fine linen will do instead of leather to roll the clay on. The insides of the three parts of the mould are sponged and pieces of the thin rolled clay roughly cut to fit them. These pieces are now fitted and well applied to the three parts by dabbing with the damp sponge. A soft close-textured sponge, or a soft felt dabber, is best for this operation. When

closely setting, the edges are trimmed and given a slight bevel. The top is cut straight. Then the mould is assembled and firmly tied. Some of the waste clay is rolled into thin ropes. With the bevelled edges slightly moistened, these ropes are firmly wedged into the two side junctions and round the base. Where the mouth is large enough for the insertion of the hand this is not a difficult operation. If it be narrow, the two halves of the mould may be tied up and the joints welded together before they are assembled on the base. A coil of clay can then be placed on the edge of the base just clear of the two sides which are now fitted over and tied up. Then a stick sponge is used to join up the base to the sides. (Fig. 19.) After a little while the shape is fit to be removed and is finished in the usual way.

Nothing can rival large thrown shapes for vigour or variety, but unfortunately they are not always within reach of even the good craftsman. Then this method offers the least objectionable substitute for them and in clever hands is capable of many fine results.

The following method is used to mould handles or simple applied ornament. Handles, feet, masks, etc., are usually pressed and stuck on the dry shape with slip. To mould them some skill is necessary if the press is to be quite accurate and free from twist or ugly seams.

Fig. 19

One way, when the handle or foot is symmetrical, is to cut the model exactly in half. This must be done when the model is tough enough to handle without bending or distorting it. One half is laid cut side down upon a sheet of glass, and surrounded at a convenient distance with clay walls. Plaster

is now poured on to form one half of the mould, and allowed to set. It is then removed and the smooth surface joggled and claywashed (brushed over with claywater). The other half is then very carefully applied to the half still embedded in the mould, the walls built round and the other part of the mould cast. Then all is trimmed up and a groove run round the form as shown. (Fig. 20.) For pressing, the form is well filled with clay and the two halves of the mould strongly pressed together. Any surplus clay will squeeze into the groove and when tough enough to remove the whole is “fettled” and finished before drying and sticking up.

Fig. 20

With care and practice this method is possible: Build walls and pour in enough plaster to form one half of the mould. Before it stiffens, very carefully press in the handle or ornament just up to the halfway line and allow to set. Joggle, claywash, and cast the second half. Finally, when the object is of any size, clay walls may be used as described in the chapter on Figurines.

CHAPTER V

Jigger and Jolley Work

“Earth I am, et is most trwe, desdan me not, for so ar you.”

—From an old platter.

Dishes, platters, and to some extent bowls, are usually made on a Jigger and Jolley. The jigger has a revolving head, fitted to receive moulds. The jolley has a pivoted arm to which different profiles may be clamped. In factories these things are complicated and go by power, but in a studio where the output of platters and dishes is likely to be limited something simple will do. Where the wheel is strong, well-hung, and fitted with a removable head, a contrivance as shown at Fig. 21 can be fitted by any carpenter, that should serve all purposes.

The vertical supports of the jolley arm should be quite rigid. The arm itself must so pivot that the face of any profile screwed onto it will cross the head of the jigger, or wheel if one be used, through the centre. In other words, the cutting profile must form a diagonal of the circular head. Then, too, it must be hung at a height sufficient to allow a fairly thick block of plaster being used for a mould.

Fig. 21

When making these moulds, the slotted wheel

head or the jigger head is removed and soaped or oiled. Then a circular block of plaster is cast to fit. This may be done with the aid of a roll of linoleum, much in the way described in casting. The paper cone will, of course, be replaced by the wheel head, bedded face up in clay. This plaster block has to be moulded to the exact size of the dish or plaque required. To do this a profile of zinc is necessary. The true section of the dish is drawn full size, and profiles giving one half of the back and front are traced on a stout sheet of zinc. The zinc is roughly cut to shape with shears and then finished with a file to a chisel edge (see cut). The two profiles are then firmly backed with shaped wooden forms, slotted to screw onto the arm of the jolley. The

profile giving the face of the plaque is securely adjusted in a horizontal position, the inner point, giving the centre of the platter, being exactly over the centre of the jigger head. The plaster block, which should be turned down before it sets hard, is shipped back into position, the jigger revolved and the profile gradually pressed down until the true section is obtained, i.e. when the profile is exactly horizontal again. The mould is now removed, trimmed at the sides if necessary, and set apart to dry. It is then ready to use. The mould is slipped into position and revolved to insure even rotation. Then the profile giving the back of the platter screwed onto the arm and both adjusted until the stop allows the profile to rest at just that distance from the mould required by the thickness of the platter. (Fig. 22.)

Fig. 22

The arm is then swung clear of the mould, which is well sponged with water to receive the clay. This is carefully wedged and then rolled out or batted flat on a piece of leather until it is a little thicker than the thickest part of the platter (see Fig. 23). The slab so made is smoothed with a palette knife, taken up, leather and all, slapped onto the mould, clay side down, and the leather removed. The clay is now well dabbed down with a wet sponge or dabber, to take out all wrinkles, pressed firmly onto the mould and the waste cut off.

Fig. 23

Now the jigger or head is set spinning, the jolley pulled over it, and the profile gently pressed into the clay. Water is used freely to prevent the profile sticking, and as it becomes clogged the clay is removed. The turning is continued until the profile comes to a stop on the rest. Holes that may appear should be filled up before the finish, at which time the surface should present a smooth unscratched appearance. The shape is allowed to dry on the mould until tough enough to be slipped face down onto a perfectly flat slab dusted with fine sand or flint to prevent

sticking. In this position it is left to dry, when the edges are nicely trimmed with fine sandpaper.

For bowls the process is similar, but the mould here gives the outside and the profile the inside as in cut. (Fig. 24.) If made on the outside, they split before they can be removed. With small bowls the clay is wedged and a lump pressed into the mould by hand. With large bowls requiring a deep foot this must be turned separately and stuck on after the bowl is removed from the mould.

Fig. 24

Where a jigger and jolley is not available, plates and bowls may be duplicated as follows: Place the plate bottom up on a well-soaped surface or a piece of glass. Should the plate not lie quite flat, caulk the apertures with clay, then all round and distant one and one half inches from the rim, build clay walls, or fix a containing band of linoleum, of sufficient height to allow plaster being poured in an inch and a half above the base or foot of the model. Mix fairly stiff plaster and pour in. Let it set, and then remove walls and the model. This gives a mould of the reverse of the plate or bowl. The mould is

thoroughly dried before using and then sponged with clean water. Clay of the desired thickness is then rolled out as described and applied to the mould and dabbed flat with a sponge or dabber. The finish is imparted with the fingers and the surplus at edges trimmed with a knife. When tough, the press is slipped out and reversed to dry on a piece of sanded glass. Where there is a rim to the plate or bowl, this should be filled in cleanly with clay before the whole is pressed. It is of course impossible to mould thus bowls that possess a deep or under-cut foot.

Fig. 25

Fig. 26

Egypt. B.C. 2000

CHAPTER VI

Thrown Shapes

“The lyf so short, the craft so longe to learne.”

—Chaucer.

The wheel is the true fountain head of all beautiful shapes, and the student who would become a potter cannot get “on the wheel” too soon. Throwing, sometimes spinning, is the term applied to the making of shapes on the wheel. Interesting and really fine pots may be built or cast, but the ultimate appeal rests with the thrown shape.

Unfortunately, a complete mastery of throwing is not to be gained by a few spasmodic wrestles with the wheel. It comes only with long hours of concentrated effort. Having watched an accomplished

thrower and seen the full round shapes rise so easily between his dexterous fingers, it is with a severe shock that one realizes at the first attempt the skill and practice that will be required before such a desirable proficiency is attained.

The best kind of wheel is the kick wheel shown in the illustration. With this the feet, hands, and head work in harmony, accelerating or retarding the motions as required. It is a not distant relation of the earliest wheel, which was a heavy head on a short shaft, pivoted in a stone socket. Set spinning by hand, it was kept revolving some time by its own momentum. This form of wheel is used even to this day in the near and far East.

Its first development was a secondary wheel and driving band turned by hand. This led to the wheel shown in the frontispiece and to the kick wheel and again on to the factory wheel. This in its turn is being superseded by the steam wheel, which gears onto a running band, the foot being used to start, stop, and regulate the speed. The two last named were introduced with the idea of accelerating the production rather than the improvement of the shapes. No doubt the now primitive kick wheel, much as used by the potters of the Renaissance, will be found good enough for us.

The tools required for throwing, after the wheel itself is secured, are as follows: a thin copper wire

twisted between two bits of wood, a pricker, a fine soft sponge, another bit of sponge tied to a stick, one or two modelling tools and a rib (see Fig. 27).

Fig. 27—1, “Rib”; 2, Modelling Tools; 3, Pricker; 4, Sponge; 5, Wire; 6, 7, and 8, Shaving Tools; 9, Leather.

The clay is first knocked up into shape ready for the throwing. To do this it is wedged, a fair-sized piece being taken in both hands and thrown violently down on the bench, cut across, and smashed together again. This process is repeated until all air bubbles are expelled. This is ascertained by cutting with a wire. The finger is then passed across the surface to tell if it is well together, and

not hard and soft in streaks. If, as must happen in a small pottery, the clay is out of condition, it is best remedied by cutting it with the wire into thin slabs, piling them criss-cross and then wedging the mass. If still streaky, it can be quickly tempered, piece by piece. A double handful is torn across, wedged together at a different angle between the hands, re-torn, and re-wedged, until hard and soft are welded indistinguishably together.

This thorough wedging is essential, as with beginners a small lump or bubble will usually be sufficient to bring about the collapse of the shape.

The clay being thoroughly wedged is rolled into balls of a convenient size. For first practice they should be on the small side and moderately tough, as this allows a little more play before the ball becomes too soft. The wheel is now started revolving from right to left (see cut). The head being clean, the ball is thrown smartly onto its centre. The hands are now wetted in a bowl of water, which is put, together with the tools, on the shelf to the right. Then gently but firmly, with hands placed as shown in Fig. 28, the ball is centred. At this stage, perhaps the most critical of all, the wheel should revolve quite briskly. The hands should be moistened if inclined to stick and the left hand held steady, the elbow pressed into the side, the forearm hard on the rest. The right hand has more

freedom and coaxes the ball into a half sphere. This when dead centred is elongated, pressed down again, and re-formed into a truncated cone. The left hand still steadying, the thumb of the right is pressed firmly into the centre of the top, down and out, to hollow the ball (see page [18]), but stopping short of the lathe head. At this stage the most convenient shape to form is a cylinder, its walls gradually diminishing upwards with a little fatness at the rim. To do this the wheel is slowed down a little and the fingers of the left hand inserted. The sides are felt and gently pulled up, between the left index finger and the two first fingers of the right hand, gradually higher and thinner, always endeavouring

to keep the walls at an even but slightly tapering thickness. (Fig. 29.)

Fig. 28

Fig. 29

At first two fingers only will be inserted, but as the shapes grow in size the whole of the left hand will gain admittance. Then the perfect cylinder may be modified to almost any required form. With narrow-mouthed shapes the opening must be kept as small as possible, for the clay once pulled out it is difficult if not impossible to compress it again. The centring and hollowing once mastered, the chief difficulties to avoid are getting the bottom of the walls too thin before the top is pulled up, and making the top wavy and irregular. If the latter happens, it should be at once cut back with the

pricker, which is also used to test the thickness of the sides and base.

When the shape has been pulled up to the required form and is sufficiently thin, the top is smoothed and fattened between the fingers. This not only imparts a look of substance to the vase and takes away any cast look, but gives strength where it is most needed. The inside, if wet, can be cleaned out with the stick sponge and the outside lightly smoothed with the other sponge. For the insides of bowls or wide-mouthed shapes, a rib of slate or zinc (see Fig. 30) will be useful for obliterating ridges. The last operation is to pass the wire, held firmly to the wheel head, beneath the pot and lift it off and place it on one of the pot boards or plaster discs. (Fig. 32.)

Fig. 30

The first primitive forms are far better left frankly for what they are. Afterwards when bigger and more finished shapes are attempted, they can be thinned and refined with the aid of the rib and a modelling tool, a considerable finish being put on

before they are removed from the wheel. With bowls or large shapes it will be found impossible to lift them off without destroying the shape in some degree. For these wood or plaster discs will be required. The plaster bats need soaking in water before use and the wood must be three-ply to prevent warping. These discs are centred on and firmly stuck to a layer of clay run out on the wheel head, and when the pot is finished they are removed with it.

Fig. 31

Fig. 32

All this sounds very simple, but the beginner will do well first to practise and master centring

the ball. Until this be done, the rest of the work is worthless. After this must be practised the pulling up, the pressing down, and the forming of truncated cones, then hollowing the ball and pulling up into a cylinder. A true cylinder accomplished, it is easy to branch out into simple wide-mouthed vase forms. As the skill increases, shapes with double curves and long or narrow necks may eventually be achieved. Throwing to a set copy induces a necessary concentration at this stage, but once a mastery is attained, shapes seem to suggest themselves.

A small mirror placed so as to reflect the true form will be found of great service. When pairs or several duplicates are required, a drawing of the exact profile must be made and a “rib,” of zinc or slate, filed to fit. Without such a guide the matching up is well-nigh impossible.

Fig. 33

When watching a clever thrower in a factory making some difficult and probably horrible vase, it is

intensely interesting to see the fine forms evolved in the process. To the artist the impulse to stop him is almost irresistible. It was there that the old masters showed their wisdom and restraint. They stopped at the right moment and none of their shapes descend to the merely clever.

There is a nobility about a large vase lacking in a small one. Once the appetite be whetted for big pots the desire for size seems insatiable. The only way out, except for the born thrower, is the two- or three-piece vase.

The Chinese were masters of this as of every other process and we find that they frequently made vases of quite moderate size in two or three parts, sticking the pieces together with consummate skill. This process, however, should never be attempted until considerable proficiency has been gained in throwing to a drawing, for in any but expert hands it is doomed to failure. The shape must be carefully drawn out on paper and the sections marked off and then thrown exactly to size. Any deviation means endless trouble, with eventual disappointment.

For this difficult work the student unable to devote a lifetime to throwing will find a removable wheel head a necessity. Then a slotted one can be screwed on which will allow a plaster disc to be shipped back into exactly the same position, thus saving the difficult task of re-centring. For prolonged

operations these plaster discs require to be shellacked to prevent the work leaving.

Fig. 34

To start with a shape as shown in the illustration might be attempted. (Fig. 34.) The drawing made full size is hung in full view. Then the gauge is set to

the exact width of the joint. The bottom half is first made, being cut square and true with the pricker. The drawing is reversed and the upper half thrown, the neck being at the bottom with a fair amount of waste beneath. When each part is trimmed accurately to measure, they are put aside to toughen.