Charles Fergus Binns

“ Herein lies the need and here is the mission of the individual worker.
In every age it is given to some to discern more than the multitude and it is theirs to teach. The people are anxious to learn, are eager to be led. What they demand will be manufactured and so by the irresistible lever of public opinion the man at the bench, if he be true to himself and to his craft, may move the millionaire manufacturer to make wares which, if not truly artistic, shall at least be inoffensive. ”

“ The artist critic takes note of these things. To handle his wares is a constant pleasure, for one is not continually [8] disappointed by unexpected violences. This correspondence or equilibrium is apart from the use of a piece of pottery. It is quite as legitimate to express one's ideas in clay in the presentation of simple beauty as it is to express them with paint upon canvas. At the same time there is always a satisfaction in a vase or flower pot that it can be used if required. Thus a vase which will not hold water is technically imperfect and the bête noire of the conscientious potter. ”

“ Kilns and burning form the pivot upon which the art of the potter turns. M. Doat has said, "A potter can no more express himself without his kiln than can a violinist without his violin," and yet there are some who try to make out by sending their work to some nearby pottery to be burned. Let it be at once understood that he who finds it impossible to procure and manage a kiln had best take to some other craft. ”

“ Crude and unprepared clays were used for the most part but the makers could scarcely have been conscious of the charming color-play produced by the burning of a red clay in a smoky fire. The pottery of the Indians is artistic in the sense of being an expression of an indigenous art and much of it is beautiful, though whether the makers possessed any real appreciation of beauty is open to doubt. ”

“ Too much emphasis cannot be laid on the necessity for showing the children fine examples of pottery, both ancient and modern. The more primitive types, where the form and the decoration are so perfectly adapted to each other and to the material, are full of inspiration for the child potter as well as for the adult. When one is fortunate enough to be near a museum, many illustrations will be found, but good photographs or drawings are available for almost everyone. ”

“ In commercial production the casting method is constantly used. It is a means of making light and delicate pieces with ease and, of course, all the pieces cast in the same mold are alike. This very fact, however, has led to the method being disregarded by the studio worker who does not wish to duplicate anything that he makes. If a single piece only is to be made the work involved in molding is a waste of time and it is better to strive for skill at the wheel, and yet there are occasions when a knowledge of casting is of great value. ”

“ Clay presents no such obstacles. The ten fingers are all the tools that are necessary at the beginning and, consequently, the personal equation in clay-working is remarkably high.
In the kindergarten the children take to clay work as little ducks to water and the interest is never lost. In this way, clay, instead of adding to the labors of a teacher already overburdened by a plethora of subjects, constitutes a real relief. The work is so interesting that it moves along of itself and all that is needed is intelligent direction. ”

“ To look upon a replica of the work of an artist is like reading a sermon or an oration from a printed page. One may gather much of the teaching but the personal note, the tone and gesture, must be lost. ”

“ Colors are prepared from refractory materials and upon clay or soft burned biscuit ware, scenes, in more or less conventional form, are painted, or else a design purely conventional in character is applied by the artist. The ware is then glazed and subjected to the severe fire which all porcelain undergoes. The result is that the porcelain and the painting are united in a sense that can never be the case with over-glaze treatment. The colors become part of a purely ceramic unit; the spirit of the artist is fixed by the fire. ”

“ But if the critic be correct why is the craftsman wrong? In this let it be presumed that there is nothing wrong with his craft as such; that he handles his tools skilfully and has perfect control over his material. More than this, however, is necessary. The first requirement is a sense of form, a term which includes outline, proportion and structure. Often and often it is found that a designer depends upon novelty alone for acceptance. ”

“ This single-color work is the true field of the ceramist. Anyone possessing the power of using a pencil, and with a large stock of patience, may produce over-glaze decoration, but to prepare glazes of many hues and to consign them unprotected to the fury of the furnace, requires skill, patience, courage and enthusiasm. ”

“ There is an absence of artificial coloring, nor is there any straining after effect, but instead there is shown a sober strength and a sane expression of values which would do credit to a modern designer.
America is fortunate in possessing abundant relics of primitive times but it cannot be doubted that in other lands similar work was done, making allowance, of course, for the characteristic variations in national traits. The potter's craft is of such a nature, using an omnipresent material and requiring the minimum of tools, that almost every nation on the globe has practiced it. ”

“ It sometimes happens that a clay will need the addition of a small quantity of flint or spar but this does not amount to a difficulty.
Stoneware does not present the same manufacturing difficulties as are found in porcelain. The clay is quite plastic and can be easily shaped on the wheel; casting is scarcely a suitable process for this ware. The essence of stoneware is strength and virility, just as that of porcelain is lightness and grace. Each ware has forms suited to itself and it is a mistake to depart from these essential characteristics. ”

“ Even one beautiful glowing pot out of twenty or more efforts is a stimulating achievement though it should not be thought that this is the usual proportion.
It is a continual source of astonishment that with a slight variation of glaze formula a positive green will swim into a vibrating blue. The addition or substitution of one substance or another in the glaze mix may be the key to an unexpected transformation and may give the potter a new palette of color.
The clay body has a very positive effect on alkaline glaze both in its composition and its color. ”

“ Furthermore, in the preparation of a fine porcelain it is necessary to grind the whole mix upon a mill. The mill used for glaze grinding will answer every purpose and care must be taken that the grinding, while carried far enough, be not too long continued. A certain amount of fine grit in the body mass is necessary but only by constant practice can the right point be reached. In making these experiments each step should be faithfully noted in a handy book. The amount of water to a given weight of clay and the duration of the grinding should be accurately observed and written down. ”

“ On the one hand there is the manufactory, teeming with "hands," riotous with wheels, turning out its wares by the thousand and supplying the demand of the many; on the other, there is the artist-artisan. He labors at his bench in sincere devotion to his [xv] chosen vocation. His work is laborious and exacting, he can make but a few things and for them he must ask a price relatively high. Both these conditions are necessary. The craftsman cannot supply the need of the people and the manufacturer has no time or thought for disinterested production. ”

“ The water of plasticity cannot escape and therefore the clay warps and cracks. The function of porosity is to prevent this. A porous clay permits the water to escape freely and the clay can be dried without damage. This condition is produced by the admixture of sand or by the presence of sand in a natural clay. A coarse sand is more effective than a fine sand but a sand that is too coarse will interfere with delicate working while a sand that is too fine approximates the action of the clay itself and produces a substance which is dense rather than porous. ”

“ In using one clay over another great care must be taken to insure that the fire shrinkage is the same. The white body already given, or indeed, any light colored clay, may be tinted by the addition of under-glaze colors. The dry color, if sifted very fine, may be added to the plastic clay by thorough kneading and wedging but it is better to work up the clay into a slip and to stir in the color. The tinted slip is then lawned two or three times and dried out on plaster or used in the slip state as the case may be. ”

“ The thickness of the clay walls is a matter of great importance. A small piece should not be so thick as to feel clumsy and heavy, nor should a large piece be so thin as to lose the sense of strength and solidity.
It may be found on drying the ware, that cracks, especially in the bottom, are developed. The cause of this may be in the clay. A clay which is too plastic or too fine in the grain will surely crack. Such a clay may be opened or meagered by the addition of ground flint or fine grog. ”

“ Unless the subsoil consists of sand it is easy to expose a clay by plowing or digging with a spade. It usually appears as a greenish or bluish substance of close and uniform structure. The texture is sometimes smooth but more often numerous small stones are found imbedded in the mass. Such clays as are commonly found can be used for the manufacture of some kind of pottery but in the great majority of cases the ware will be red when fired because the clay contains a proportion of oxide of iron. A pure clay does not contain this and therefore becomes white or nearly white in the kiln. ”

“ Novelty apart, form must possess proportion, balance and grace. A chair must invite the sitter, a vase must stand securely, a carpet must lie flat. The absence of these things may evidence an individuality on the part of the designer but it is art at the expense of truth. ”

“ The clay for building should be rather soft as it is apt to dry quickly on handling. The work may be done either with coils or pieces.
A plaster bat should be made with a low dome in the center. This bat may either fit the wheel or not, depending upon the plan adopted. The dome is to raise up the bottom of the vase and form a foot. The table may be covered with a piece of oil cloth or may be kept slightly damp. The first attempt should be to build a cylinder as this form is easy to construct and to keep true, so that the attention may be devoted to the manipulation of the clay. ”

“ Still more is this the case in the product of the manufactory of pottery. In commercial practice not only is a shape designed without regard to decoration but the same decoration is placed upon several forms, or a single form is made to suffer as the vehicle for many decorations. Some of the results may be pleasing, even beautiful, but it is more by luck than guidance and no piece produced in this way has any claim to be classed as a work of art. ”