Los Angeles herald., 1906-09-27
OFFERS CITY A
NEW INDUSTRY
MASTER OF HIS ART AWAITS
OPPORTUNITY
Man Capable Of Turning Out Beautiful
Poreelalns In Distinctive caIlfor-
MIA Designs Would Remain
In Los Angeles

no be or not to nc. Just SIX silai'
words. yet they mean world for one
man I'm Los Augeles-the satisfaction OF
1ife's ambition and the making OF
california. especially Los Angeles,
famous i'm a line hitherto unattempted.
Alexander william Robertson, under
whose hands clay takes its shape in
many useful and ornamental patterns
is stil experimenting with the Cali-
fornia clays In his little workshop at
the Los Angeles Pressed Brick COM
pany's yards, Date and AlhanDra
streets. over four months ago MT
Robertson came to Los Angeles, soon
after the northern disaster, and all
these weary days he has experimental
lie has prepared the clay, straining IL
through "A seive--always by hand. Then
he has dried this clay, and after FASH
ioning 1t has baked it-all under the
greatest of difficulties. For the kilns
that are at his disposal are for BRICKS
which are kept heated from one to three
weeks. while for his fine pottery thirty
hours are sufficient.
MIR Robertson has taken an entirely
new view of the clay deposits near this
city, and would, but for the lack of the
necessary funds, establish pottery
wherein California clays would be
utilized. adorned with California de-
signs, for California homes.
Distinctly California Ware
All the flower pots, jardiners. fancy
vases and the countless things for
which clay can be utilized are all now
imported or made of imported clay-al-
ways that which cannot be used IN It's
native country.
Japanese clay is made up in this
country with Japanese dragons, all for
eign and all borrowed. But this worker
of the art of the ancient Egyptians
would alter all this. He would take
California clay, use California designs,
flowers, animals and what not, and
make California souvenirs. He would
utilize local material and labor, both
skilled and unskilled, and would make
of Los Angeles a place wherein the
finest pottery could be found.
Not only pottery, for he has found a
clay adapted to finer uses, and porcle-
lain wares could be manufactured.
The clay around Santa Monica is
truly wonderful, in that after burning
it will hold acids, and withal makes
beautiful terra Gotta coloring varying
with the degree of heat used in the
burning. The lighter clay from Elsi-
more is well adapted to glazing, and
MIR. Robertson has several truly fine
examples of this In his rude workshop.
When one but stops to think Of the
amount of such wares used here in our
own city, aside from the great number
of products that could easily and
cheaply be manufa ctured for the tourist
trade it seems tri " wonderful that a
man of MIR. Robertsons fame should
have stayed in such progressive city
over four months and no one to put up
the paltry sum that would be necessary
to start an establishment that would
become a paying concern as surely as
the night follows the day.
Is a TireI less Worker
Putting aside the artistic phase of
this, one of the most interesting indus
tries that the world has ever produced,
it is one of the most necessary, for even
the most unlearned must have dishes,
pitchers and various household articles.
Those who love the beautiful-and who
does not?-crave beautiful designs for
their flower pots and the urns that hold
Towering plants in the yards. And here
in California, under the ever sunny
skies. these towering plants on porches
and in gardens have become almost q
feature of the climate. And these could
be manufactured right at our very
gates, with chara cteristic designs that
would endear them alike to those who
claim the state as a foster mother and
those who but tarry within it's confines.
And in the hopes of establishing such
a concern. Mr.. Robertson has toiled all
the long days since the great disaster,
when all the work, the accumulation of
twenty years labor, was consumed by
the greedy flames, with the exception of
few beautiful specimens. From early
morning until the deepening shadows
make work impossible in his improvised
workshop has NJ. Robertson toied over
this problem, now Sitting the rude clay,
now mixing and then completing the
first stage of the work on the throwing
wheel. Then the wares all of different
shapes and DESIGNS for commercialism
has not entered into the work, are
placed in the kilns. and from one to
three weeks the artist maker is COM
PEELED to wait to see the finished
products of his labor. And even this,
hard as it may seem, would be i'm
possible for this man of talent had not
the brick company placed the Workshop
and kilns at the disposal of Mr.. Robert
son and aided him in many ways.
Arts and crafts are occuyiug the at
tention of artists and workmen alike.
and are finding their way into almost
every branch Of work.
II is always one of the first arts prac-
ticed by savage races, and this same
idea Is carried out in the rude mud pies
ana various images concocted by the
children of today. The idea Of creating.
of holding an unshapely mass of mere
mud and in shaping it into beautiful
designs is something that but ;ew peo-
pie in this world would not enjoy and
still less admire.
So much so is~this coming to be felt
that in five states of this Union is CLAW
and pottery work being introduced I'm
the schools There the young are taught
the value of designing and creating.
and in the years to come this art will
necessarily find more admirers for it.
self rather than for It's utility.
Yet here, this borderland Of western
civilization, stands confronted with the
chance Of creating an Industry that
VIII make it wCrld famous. using IFS
aoil placed for use by the create, Of all
mankind and which is now tossed a bout
uncared for and unappreeiated bv every
passing wind and employing the sons
and daughters of the soil as well as
bringing I'm 6ucats into the country
which is one of the strongest thinss
that can be put to the average Ameri-
can mind
Opportunity. that goddess VINO once
refused turns her haals fa..-.---