The boy who makes his mud pie, baking it in the sun, and the Indian
who, ages ago, coiled clay in a basket which he burned away, are but
two widely separated links in a continuous chain; for men of all time
have found a fascination in the wet clay that is so easily moulded
and fashioned into all manner of things of beauty and of use. And,
beside the joy of exercising the creative faculty, there has also
been the spur of a common need to inspire men of different races,
independently of each other, to develop the primitive household arts,
like pottery and rug making, by the use of methods no less remarkable
for their similarity than for their cleverness. The impressions
that the primitive man received from his natural surroundings were
easily expressed in the plastic mud, and it was probably not long
before he discovered that fire made them permanent and practically
indestructible. Improvement was bound to come in due time. By
washing the grosser impurities from the clay mud through a process in
which the heavier particles settled, leaving the silt or finer clay to
be poured off, some artist of a very early time found a material that
became one of his most valuable helps in adding to the furnishings of
his tribal household. First it was simply burned clay; but in due time
enamel or glazed work found its use in tiles for building purposes, in
grain jars, in wine jugs, in many kinds of table ware; for the uses of
ancient terra cotta and porcelain were numerous.
[Illustration: Girls at Work on Pottery. Plate XI]
The primitive arts, however, were not confined to objects of necessary
use. We find, buried with the ruins of ancient cities, many evidences
of the potter's craft, and among them articles for decorating the
home, for personal adornment, and for religious use, like the rings
and scarabs of Egypt. And in modern decorative art, as applied in the
household, the one final touch which gives that indescribable charm,
which it is the aim of all art to give, is perhaps to be found in a
few--a very few--choice bits of pottery.
All of this use of clay, from the rude art of prehistoric times to the
finest product of modern skill, is based on a plain scientific fact,
_viz._, that a small quantity of water in the clay, not removable by
any ordinary means of drying, can be driven out by intense heat so as
to cause a permanent change in the character of the clay. This water is
called the water of combination. If the clay is not heated more than
enough to dry it, a later mixing with water restores it to its former
plastic state; but clay once burned has lost its water of combination
and never can return to its original condition.
Most beginners in clay modelling will expect, perhaps in the early
stages of their work, to be made acquainted with the potter's wheel;
for who has not heard of this interesting device? It is of interest
chiefly because of its practical utility in the manufacture of pottery;
and yet no one can forget the potter's song with which Longfellow
begins his beautiful poem Keramos, making it a text for a sermon on the
philosophy of life:
"Turn, turn, my wheel! Turn round and round
Without a pause, without a sound;
So spins the flying world away!
This clay, well mixed with marl and sand,
Follows the motion of my hand;
For some must follow, and some command,
Though all are made of clay!"
_Potter's Wheel Unnecessary._--The potter's wheel was used in
comparatively early times and has been intimately associated with the
art ever since. But it requires much physical strength and considerable
skill to use it effectively; and its use has been by no means
universal. We find the Indians of our own time and people of other
races, expert in building pottery by hand, using the method of coiling.
It seems best, therefore, to advise beginners to adopt the simpler
method and to forego the use of the potter's wheel. The comparative
inexpensiveness of the hand method of building is another point in its
favour. The tools required are few and simple. Inexpensive and easy
methods are favourable to the experimental stage; and it is well for
the amateur to have every encouragement to experiment freely both with
methods for building and with designs for his ware, keeping in mind
always that the beautiful is generally the simple and strong, not the
fantastic and complicated.
_The Method of Coiling._--It will be understood, therefore, that in
general the process to be followed consists in building up the bowl or
jar or whatever the design may be by using coils of clay of the right
consistency, welding and shaping them together, and scraping them down,
if necessary, until they are ready to receive the first firing. After
this they may receive a coating of glaze and be fired again. At first
the beginner will find his chief interest simply in experimenting with
the building up process.