Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1897-06-10
TERRA

TERRA GOTTA.
The Material Grows In Usefulness In she
BuiIden' Hands.
Terra Gotta has been described as
the great and only lasting triumph
of man over, natural productions,
for it will last longer than iron,
stone, wood and all other materials
that will succumb to fire and other
destroying influences. Because ID
predominates in that respect and be.
cause it can be used for the protec-
ton of iron and steel, and the en-
richment of patchwork and stone
work OF various designs, 1t is used
extensively in these days of lofty
buildings and artistic and elaborate
ornamentation.
Taking into consideration only
architectural terra Gotta, the prod
uct is immense, and, as. the process
Of production is interesting, it may
be worth while to describe some
partso IF the industry that has in
creased so rapidly. Decorative and
artistic qualities are employed in
the productions, and good results
cannot be obtained without careful
attention, technical skill and ex.
haustive experiments. The compost.
ton Of clay and the effect Of heat
must be known. and the combina.
tions of certain colors must be de-
termined before the plastic mass
can be nodded and fired. The colors
Of clays in the pits do not determine
the colors of the finished product.
A very dark clay may be white aft
er 1t has been in a kiln, and a red
clay may be redder. Some clays can
not be used alone for terra Gotta.
They require q mixture with other
clays, and the requisite quantities
Of clays for proper production are
kept secret in the business because
the proportions have been ascer-
tanned after many failures. The
combinations of clays and the re-
suits Of firing having been deter
mined, architects and builders take
the product. and employ it to the
best advantage for interior or ex-
terror work.
Sample blocks of terra Gotta are
furnished by the makers to the
architects, and after the selection Of
any particular tint tonso of the ma
terial with the same tint can be
produced. From an architect sdraw-
ings the craftsmen at the terra cot
ia works copy the parts that are in
dictated for the use Of terra Gotta
and develop working drawings for
the modelers and moldmakers.
Some architects furnish their own
working drawing. with each detail
indicated. Others suggest what they
want, permit the artists and drafts
men to elaborate the ideas and ap.
prove the results after photographs
and blue prints of the models and
drawings have been submitted. II
10 very often the case that the mod.
elers have more talent than the ar.
chitects for producing a decorative
effect in terra Gotta, because certain
limitations must be considered. The
craftsmen also understand by ex.
perience how to place the support.
ing partitions of the hollow pieces.
In a few instances architects have
indicated large pieces Of the mate.
rial that could not be produced by
the present process. tits difficult tc
make and handle a very large piece
from a single design, but almostany
design can be reproduced by max.
ing the piece in parts and joining
them together. The weight Of the
clay in q large piece is often toe
great for its tenacity. During the
drying the tenacity of the clay
should enable the piece to move OF
travel, as the workmen say, in pro.
portion to, the shrinkaga-New
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