The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, June 21, 1903, Page 8

he Midd which may be wn Wiilard to be placed before the audi hore than »se y. The jdleman foremost the hero, Staffordshire ma ruggl =hall cause a re b he Is rea He bas br almost starvation i for wh xistence. uce to the world a has been hoped esort mbers ¢ the furnaces to whacks—the same ntered e adaplable m. this s persistently at his building, with every ble cottage and the flowers, roses, wall flowers is in the | that tle garden m the gate to the door show bent of the solitary occupant, se who pass by the premises m chance to look up to the roof, see & signboard the words, “Roblin Art but there are not many pass- “Roblin Art. Pottery”—that 18 there are few passing that might be én- terested in the deft and beautiful crafts. manship of which A. W. Roberteon is a master The neighbors watch him and are inter- the sted in the man’s movements it is true, but, the potter's . nelghbors, . while worthy in - ever degree citl- zenshi even were they Cesirous, render that pat- ronage without which, as has been shown in the case of Henry Arthur Jones’ hero, even the rafters of the dwelling may have to be drageged asunder in order to be util- ized for kindling wood with which to start the furnace fire. of are not Potler Robertson as an expert speaks in the highest possible praise of the clays of the State. He has tested them. He has made of them with subtle hands speci- mens of the potter's fancy until his hum- ble exhibition room presents a variety of finished and deécorated wares that speak * in corroboration of his clatm for the in- dustry of pottery in this State. He shows that Amador Céunty 1s rich in great deposits of ‘fine fire clays, ball clay and yellow ware clays, while othe?® i/ POTTER TES TING T3 WaTeE counties in the State have banks of clay that would ‘make glad the heart of the most finicky_ potter of ‘those countries where the pottery-industry is a matter of great and- wonderful enterprise. The* keramic ‘workman neéd therefore £0 no further than California for his ma- terial. It is here in abundance. It is here also in its most adaptable form, only awaiting the manufacturer to supply all the needs not only of California, but of the whole of the American continent, Over one mfllion and & half dollars are expended in this State alone in-a year for wares which are brought mostly from England and Germany, Freight has to be paid. merchant has to foot extravagant bt for fretght on the pottery brought into California. The same, it is declared and shown, “can be turned out ‘here ex- peditiously and as good in composition and durability and as decoratively pleas- THE SUNDAY CALL. ing as any that is imported from foreign potteries. And, further, the enormous export busi- ness that is going on from these shores 10 the Philippine Islands and other local- ities in the Far East would enhance the value of a trade in local pottery, while the fostering of the industry would bring to these parts a vast number of useful and thrifty and a superior body of men 10 work In the potteries, added, of course, 1o those who are already here, and it would ajso be the means of glving hand- Eome employment to women who would be engaged in the decorative departments. There are many women in California— many in the city of 8an Franclsco—who are capable In the art of decorating and the Institution of an art pottery on a firm basis would undpubtedly be the means of stimulating native talent, besides giv- ing much needed ‘employment to women of artistic bent. There is no reason in the world why work of all the artistic Lranches should not be produced in this sunny land. California can boast of bril- liant painters and of men and women. able to stand in the front rank with the learned ones of the.world and thers is good ground to know that art and do- mestic pottery could be developed here and become a most valuable and far reaching Industr There would indeed be no limit to_the, production, for pottery takes In a wide field—teacups and saucers, pigtes'and all table ware and then the kitchen utensils, such as teapots, dinner services, beer mugs and a dozen other articles of use in the household. And besides, such an In- dustry would develop sanitary or plumb- irg. ware. ’ In uddition to domestic wares the Rob- lin art pottery shows very excellent spec- imens of what can be turned out here in vase form. The highest art made in the world 1s of the very same stock as is pos- sessed in this State, and, what is more, our clay deposits are remarkable for thelr variety. The process of the potter is interesting end the master of the Roblin Art Pot- tery adhering to many of the old customs of the handicraft.that is responsibla for erme of the greatest and most beautiful works manipulates and conjures his lumps of clay on the old string wheel, by which and with his magic fingers he creates an endless variety of unique shapes, The wheel, then, is the first operation S by which the crude no-shape formed into shapeful, beautiful and sym- metrical ornaments. The subtle construe- tion takes the thrower but a few mp- ments to develop. As the musician weaves a dainty composition, so does the thrower concelve and produce the shape end the harmony of his fancy. After making on the wheel the now formed ware is allowed to stand and hard- en slight! when it is put on a lathe and whatever surplus of clay there happens to be is shaven away and the “foot base is formed and the plece’ of ware is completely perfected. It is now taken to the decorator to re- celve before being fired the decorative treatment according to the original fancy of the artist. 1 These decorations are either carved, efi- graved or modeled in rellef or painted in slip. - After this process it is allowed to dry slowly until it becomes what the potter calls & *“chalk white. It is then ready for its first burning In the kiln, - 49 The kfilnman first places Ais model a & sagger, or retort, so that neither smoke or dirt-ash can p bly reach it during the precess of burhi The saggers are r up in “bungs’ otherwise 1 umns. When in this way ed the door gap is masoned and clamped up and the iron bands around the kiln are buck e fire is made and then it is t Il is ready fo the burning. Slowly and with ex T the fire s started and gil of tw four hours regu- nish. s to be t until the the kiln is allowed to cool for twenty ur hours before the door gap is pulled The p produc bisque, icceeded n d prod k as there is a desire to th i t event it fs dipped liquid glas: requires still an- ather process of hours n the burning kiln and d for co ing. The kilnman h own -tou vast responsibility resting upon him. He must keep a. con- stant watch that firg, shall burn slow- 1y and evenly, otherwise his ware may be LIS . . From rulned from being kiln ecracked The brightest hopes of the potter have often suffered disappointment by reason of & little carelessness on the part of some di Interested person who has been placed in charge of the kiln. poor kilnman can destroy the fondest hopes of the potter- artist. His disinterestednéss may cause many a sigh and hours of sadness in the pottery. But those who are engaged in developing the potter's art aye usually more than ordinarily careful. The re- sponsibility is recognized, for or defaced pottery through careless firing is tantamount to a crime in the potter's establishment. \