The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-01-31
CREATED A PAYING INDUSTRY
WOMAN POTTER OF NEW YORK HAS EVOLVED A BEAUTIFUL
NEW CERAMIC WARE FROM HER AMATEUR
DABBLINGs

lens OF glazing have yet to be faced. There
must be a certain similarity Of substance
between the clay body and the vitreous
coating, in order to prevent the cracking
or running of the latter.
The new pottery seeks individuality
above all things. Very few Of the pieces
are exactly alike, and many of them will
never be duplicated.
The idea of utility is predominant. None
Of the pieces is merely decorative. The
best Of then? are garden ware: window
ledge flower boxes, jardinieres, tree tubs,
flower pots. hanging fern bowls and quaint
wall pockets for flowers to hang fiat
against veranda walls. A very original
form Of window ledge flower pots was used
by the originators of the Block Beauti-
fur in Brooklyn year ago. These are in
two shapes, one large at the top and small
at the bottom. and the other large at the
bottom and small at the top. Placed al
ternately. they give the effect of window
box. Since there is a law against flower
pots on window lodges, the designer has
devised n woven basket frame which holds
the pots firmly in place and adds to their
effectiveness as a decoration.
Copper and brass have also been COM
bined with the porcelain in lamps and
electroliers, and in shades for lamps and
candles.
A breakfast service is of a design which
could have been imagined only by a wo-
man who has had the painful experience
of trying to carry a loaded tray upstairs
The foundation Is oblong copper tray,
in the center of which is secured a small
alcohol lamp; on this rests securely a.
little coffee or tea pot. delightfully."- squat.
Four curved ribbons of copper surround
the lamp and terminate above it in
wooden or ivory handle. The cups. plates,
sugar bowl cream pitcher. ETC.. in any
desired glaze, fit in their places on the
tray, which requires only one hand to
carry. It is a charming piece, and as in
genous as it is beautiful.
The feminine touch Is discernible in
other pieces. The jardinieres and tree
tubs, for example, are made with earthen
pots which exactly At. Every one has
observed how often the effect Of good
jardiniere is impaired by an ugly red rim
Of pot too large to slip inside the OPEN
ing.
For her ideas the woman potter has
gone into all manner Of out Of the way
places, finding some good old American
pitchers and bowls, and many quaint bits
Of foreign manufacture which have served
as suggestions for designs One of the
best Of her tea cups was modelled after
a very old silver cup, picked up in Europe,
and a favorite pitcher was first shaped in
an old mold found in a long disused pot
terry in Connecticut. These ideas, crudely
expressed, are turned over to an artist,
who formulates them for pra ctfcal use.
The woman potter and her son, whom
she has taken into partnership. do all
the mixing and combining Of the clay and
the colors. Clad in a short skirt and an
artisans blouse, the owner Of the pot
terry spends hours in great room filed
with sacks of clay, tubs, mixing watts,
and crucibles. She oversees all the i'm
portant details of the work. but, with
rare apprehension Of essentials, leaves the
routine Of factory management to others.
Her home and social life are thereby pre-
served.
II cannot see that making pottery has
relieved me Of any of my duties" she
declares Except that I send the
mending out to some one who does it
much better than I did, and who needs the
money