Chapter V.), and fired again.

_Candlestick, Thumb Design_

=Materials required=:

About 1¼ pounds of clay,

The boxwood modelling tools,

The pointed steel tool,

A plaster slab,

A small sponge.

This sturdy little candlestick shows that it is hand moulded by the marks of the potter’s thumb on base, handle and candle cup. The square base is moulded from a single large piece of clay. This is patted flat and even with the thick part of the hand, and then cut square and the sides turned up for about an inch, making the base about five inches square and three-eighths of an inch thick. It is then placed on a plaster slab, and the corners are pressed in with a firmly held thumb. The sides of the square base are moulded into a gradual inward curve, and the corners are slightly depressed (see plate). A cup for the candle (see Fig. 26) is made by rolling a piece of clay into cylindrical form, about an inch and three-quarters in diameter and two inches and a quarter long. At the top of this roll, the finger makes a hollow for the candle. It should be remembered that the clay shrinks both in drying and firing, so this hole should be a trifle large and deep for the candle. The sides of the cup, at about an inch from the top, are squared and pressed in so that the four corners will stand out like columns. The hollowed sides between the corners show the mark of the thumb (see Fig. 26). The centre of the base is now wet with thick slip and the candle cup pressed firmly on to it, while the edges are moulded closely on to the base.

A piece of clay is then rolled and flattened into a handle an inch in diameter and five inches long. This is put on at one corner of the base, and is not attached at any other point. Before moulding it on to the base, touch the corner lightly with thick slip, to insure its holding. Where the handle joins the base it is made thick and substantial by adding a little extra clay. The print of the thumb is made where the handle joins the corner, another is pressed on the top, and another still on the end of the handle (see plate and Fig. 27). To support the handle until it dries, roll a ball of soft paper under it. After the candlestick has stood for a few hours out-of-doors or indoors overnight, it is carefully trimmed with one of the wooden tools or the sharp-pointed metal one, taking care to leave sufficient thickness to give it a sturdy, substantial character, yet not enough to make it clumsy. It is then rubbed over with a damp sponge and polished with the thumb and finger, which will smooth away any lumps and give the piece a hand-moulded look. Should there be any very deep hollows to make it uneven, they should be wet with slip very slightly and filled in with clay as nearly the consistency of that in the candlestick as possible. When it is bone dry, it will be ready for the glaze (see Chapter V.).

_Bowl for a Lamp_

=Materials required=:

About 3½ pounds of clay,

A plaster mould for a bowl,

The wooden modelling tools,

The oval sheet steel tools,

The pointed steel tool,

A rolling-pin,

A flint bag,

A small sponge.

Having chosen a good mould for your bowl, brush it inside with ground flint tied in a cotton cloth, so that the clay will not stick to it. Now beat out a piece of well-worked clay on a board, with the flat of the hand, until it is perhaps two inches more in diameter than the bottom of the mould, and half an inch thick. It should be rolled smooth with the rolling-pin. Lay it in the mould, pressing it firmly against the bottom and sides. It may not be out of place here to say that no tool but a wooden one should be used in working in moulds, as metal tools are liable to injure the plaster. The edge of the bottom piece is next cut even with a wooden modelling tool, and a lump of clay is formed into a rude cube shape between the hands and then rolled out on a table or board with the flat of the hand till about three-quarters of an inch in diameter. This roll of clay is flattened evenly for its whole length. The top edge of the bottom piece is marked with criss-cross lines and wet with slip. The roll of clay is then started on edge, along the top of the bottom piece, pressed firmly down upon it and against the sides of the mould. It is joined to the bottom with firm, even strokes of the thumb or forefinger nail. When the circuit has been made, the two ends, each cut in a long, flat point, so that they will unite perfectly, are joined. Another roll is now made, the upper edge of the previous coil is wet with slip, and the coil is attached in the same way, being careful to start at a different place from where the previous coil was joined. Thus the whole bowl is built up. Where there are any decided hollows made by joining the coils, they should be filled in with clay of the consistency of the piece, and the bottom and sides smoothed with dampened finger or modelling tool. If a moderately deep mould has been chosen, after the sides are covered with layers of clay, four or more coils may be added above the mould to make a deeper bowl, continuing the sides in a graceful line. To do this, when the first coil above the mould has been attached, the bowl is set away, out of doors for fifteen or twenty minutes if it is in summer or indoors for a longer time if one is working in the winter. Whenever two coils have been built up, the piece is set away to harden. These coils, being free from the mould, can be joined on the outside as well as within. They are brought gradually in (see plate) until there is a space five and a half inches in diameter at the top. If a central-draught lamp is to be used in this bowl, a pierced design will be practical, as it does away with the necessity for a hole at the bottom of the bowl. There is much to be done, however, before the piece is ready for the design. When it has stood for four or five hours or overnight, the bowl can be lifted from the mould, the cracks on the outside where it was impossible to join the coils are wet with slip and filled in with clay of the consistency of the bowl, using the finger or a wooden tool. When the bowl is quite dry, it is smoothed inside and out, first with the oval tool with saw teeth, and then with the smooth-edged one, as described on page 19. The strokes with these tools should be short and firm, in every direction. The piece is then turned bottom up, a circle is drawn half an inch in from the edge of the bottom, and the clay within it scraped out, so as to leave a flat surface slightly lower than the outer rim. This is where the potter cuts his mark—a simple, quickly made initial in lieu of a signature.

The top edge, after it has been cut as true as possible by eye, is made absolutely even by the method described on page 70. The whole piece is then rubbed with a damp sponge and smoothed and polished with the fingers. It is now ready for the design (see Fig. 28).

The top edge of the bowl is marked off into fifths, and at three-quarters of an inch from the top the design is drawn with pencil, so that each time it is repeated the centre shall be directly below a mark on the edge. It is first incised with a metal tool, in firm, sure lines. Again the outline is traced, this time more deeply. Then the clay within the lines is cut out as deep as it has been incised, and finally the sharp edge of the tool cuts through the wall, close to the line. The left hand should support the inner wall of the bowl during this process. When the whole design has been made, dip the finger in water and soften the edges of the cut portion. The bowl is now ready for glazing. If possible, it will be better to fire such a large piece as this in the biscuit before glazing. It will look well if glazed with gray blue or dark green (see Chapter V.).

_Wall Jar for Plants or Flowers_

=Materials required=:

About 4½ pounds of well-mixed clay,

A plaster slab about 10 by 12 inches,

The oval tools of sheet steel,

The pointed steel tool,

A rolling-pin,

Ultramarine blue water-colour paint,

A medium-sized paint-brush with fine point,

A saucerful of ground, baked clay, mixed with water.

An Indian water-jar of basketry, smeared with pinon gum, pointed at the bottom so that it could be set upright in the ground or hung by leather thongs to a tree, suggested the form of this jar. One side is made flat, so that it can hang against the wall of library or piazza holding some long trailing plant that grows in water, ivy, or wandering Jew, or wild flowers gathered on a walk through woods and lanes. What more appropriate way to make it than the Indian process described in Chapter II.? We shall need about four and a half pounds of clay, well mixed. A large lump, almost two pounds, is flattened out on a table, with the thick part of the hand and then made even with the rolling-pin. The sheet of clay should be ten by twelve inches, and not less than three-eighths of an inch thick. Upon it the jar form shown in Fig. 29 is outlined with a pencil, making it as large as possible to allow for shrinkage. It is then cut out with the pointed steel tool and transferred very carefully to a large plaster slab, where it remains while the walls are being built upon it. A coil of clay is rolled out, as described in Chapter II., and beginning at the left side of the jar shape, at the top, it is attached to the edge (which has previously been criss-crossed with a steel tool and wet with slip), all the way around to the opposite side of the top.

The jar is then put in the air until quite hard, when the next coil is added in the same way. The third coil is brought in a little toward the centre, and subsequent coils come in still more, so as to make the form that of a jar cut exactly in half. After each coil is attached, it should be left in the air to stiffen, or the clay beneath will not support the coil in progress, so great is the strain in forming such a shape. Each time a coil is added the wall below should be criss-crossed with the steel tool (an extra precaution) and wet with slip. Care should be taken not to make the walls too thick, and to join the coils and finish the inside as it is made; for, when the jar is completed, it is impossible to get the hand and tool in far enough to smooth and finish it well.

When the jar is made, except for a diamond-shaped gap in the middle of the front wall, the piece to fill it is cut and fitted in. It will lie almost parallel with the back wall. Take care to make it full large for the opening, and join it to the inner edges most carefully, for here, if anywhere, is the jar liable to crack. The top is now made even by eye, using the pointed steel tool.

When the jar is somewhat dry, two handles (see plate) are formed of rolls of clay (the consistency of that used in making the jar), five and a half inches long by an inch wide and half an inch thick. These are firmly attached to the back wall of the jar at the top (see plate), according to the method described on pages 39 and 40. The decoration (see Fig. 30) is drawn on the rounded front wall of the jar with ultramarine water-colour, and then built up with powdered burnt clay and water (see directions in Chapter IV.). If possible, this piece should be first fired in the biscuit. A glaze of dark gray green (see