FOREWORD (continued 2)

A THIRD METHOD is to take a flat surface and slip-paint a design onto it in relief. After the color has set for a short time it can be trimmed carefully with a knife so that the sides are nearly vertical. This will give the slip-painting a decidedly different appearance and it may be left this way or other color may be added so that it comes nearly up to these trimmed sides.

AVOID LEAVING ANY PART OF THE SURFACE DRYING or setting when painting on the surface; or the tile hardening in the water too long before being painted upon, as it will prevent it from becoming durable. Surfaces can be covered smoothly when slip-painted if the color is used very thin. First cover the surface with a coating of the color to be used, immediately adding more of the color and it will flow and settle evenly.

A slip-painted color will dry dull if placed upon a tile shortly after it has come out of the mold. To secure a glaze to a color the tile should remain in the water for two days before the color is placed onto it.

FOR LARGE SURFACES on which color is to be slip-painted, the surface on which the color is to go should be roughened, so that the color will become anchored.

THREE DEGREES OF SURFACE can be secured by different treatment. These finishes are, first, Dull Surface; second, Mat Surface; third, Glazed Surface.

DULL FINISH is secured by putting the color into the mold. The mold absorbing the water from the surface causes it to dry dull.

MAT FINISH is secured by placing the color onto the tile or vase surface after the surface has come out of the mold and moistened in water for a few minutes.

GLAZED SURFACE is secured by letting the tile or other object harden in water for several days and then draining off the surplus water, after which the color is slip-painted onto the desired surfaces.

TILE SHOULD NOT BE PERMITTED TO DRY at any time before color is added, as the color will not become attached to the surface.

DO NOT FORGET to roughen the surfaces of the spaces and to add neat cement also before dripping the color onto either the mat finish or glaze finish tiles as described in chapter five in the paragraph on The Glazed Color Finish.

The Majolica Tile

Slip-Painted Tiles

Slip-Painted Tile Methods

CHAPTER 8 Sgraffito Color Cement Work

SGRAFFITO is the name applied to the incised ware of the Italians, and used by them from a very early period dating as far back as the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The ware was made by covering the clay body with a layer of slip of another color, and this was then scratched through with a tool showing the color of the ware beneath against the superimposed surface, after which it was fired. This process has been used from the most primitive times, but it remained for the Italians of the fifteenth century to dignify it as an art.

COLOR CEMENT SGRAFFITO is produced with a layer of cement and color being used instead of colored clay and the cement is hardened without firing, water only being used to finish the surface to a durable quality.

THERE ARE TWO WAYS to produce a sgraffito surface on a tile and these are, the glazed surface and the dull surface tile. No mold is needed for the design as a sgraffito design must necessarily be a freehand production, though molds may be used for duplicating the sgraffito effect after the original one has been made, if no undercut edges are left.

TO PRODUCE A SGRAFFITO TILE, the retaining bars are set to give the desired shape and dimensions, after which the space is filled with a half inch layer of concrete, either of sand and cement mixture or of gravel and cement. When this layer has dried so that the top section is moist but firm in surface, a thin layer of color and cement should be poured onto the cement so that it forms a thin layer not more than an eighth of an inch thick.

TO SMOOTH THE LAYERS after the color has been poured in, shake the glass or table or whatever surface the mold is resting upon and if this is done gently it will cause the color to become level and even in surface finish.

TO CAUSE TILES TO BE EQUAL IN THICKNESS the surface of the glass or table upon which the mold rests should be level when the cement is poured in. Otherwise the tile when finished will be found to be thicker on one side than on the other. A glass or pan of water or a spirit level will quickly show whether or not the surface is level.

AFTER THE FIRST COLOR LAYER IS POURED into the mold it is permitted to stand just long enough to settle firmly and then a second layer of another color is poured over the first layer so that it also forms a thin layer of even color. This second layer should be even thinner than the first. A layer one-sixteenth of an inch is a good dimension to plan on, though these dimensions need not be accurately adhered to. If the first layer is permitted to dry too long before the second layer is added the result will be that as the finished sgraffito tile is drying it will split in layers, the split coming between the layers of colors that were permitted to dry too long.

A THIRD LAYER OF COLOR may be added over the second layer if the design being planned calls for three divisions of colors. These layers are to respond to the next step in the process, which is to expose portions of each layer by tooling the surfaces so as to produce different colors at the same time that the different depths are produced.

THE TOP LAYER WILL DRY WITH A SMOOTH SURFACE which will produce a sgraffito tile with a glazed or partly polished surface while the other layers will have a surface with dull texture.

TO PRODUCE A TILE WITH A DULL SURFACE throughout, the pouring stages should be reversed in their steps. That is, the color that is to be the top surface should be poured first and the other colors in their proper relation, the last layer being the cement and sand or other concrete mixture. This will result in the layer first poured in coming next to the glass, having a dull finish when it is released from the mold.

TO PRODUCE THE SGRAFFITO DESIGN on the sgraffito tile, the tile should be permitted to dry for about ten to twelve hours or if it remains overnight the surface will be about right to work upon. The paper with the design is then placed and retained in the correct position on the cement tile and a dull pencil is used to trace the pattern, without the use of carbon paper or other transfer medium. This will result in an indented or embossed guide line on the cement surface of the tile which can be used in scratching away through the first layer to the under color.

THE TOP LAYER OF COLOR should be used to tell the main part of the design story. If the subject is to be that of a bird or a ship, the top layer design should be the bird or ship or other motif and the motif should be so designed as to reach the boundaries of the tile surface so as to produce a strengthening border arrangement all around the edge.

THE SECOND COLOR LAYER can then play a secondary part in both the color scheme and the design arrangement, giving with its color placing a contrast to the upper main layer used for the design.

THE BACKGROUND COLOR should be brilliant or dull depending upon the surface color. If the surface color is brilliant, the bottom color should be duller. If the upper color is dull, the background color can then be the bright intenser color.

WHERE THREE LAYERS OF COLOR ARE USED the middle layer can be a color harmonizing with both the background layer and the top layer and can be used either for a pattern part to the design or it may be used simply as a blending strata or layer appearing in the cut sides of the sgraffito work.

COLOR HARMONY is essential in producing sgraffito color cement and a color sketch will be a good safe preliminary in doing sgraffito work as false steps or errors cannot be remedied in sgraffito and each step should be carefully thought out before the tooling commences.

TO DO THE TOOLING, a scratch point should be used for incising or scraping down along the line of the portion to be scraped out. The portion within this boundary should then be scraped out down to the next layer of color, care being taken not to gouge or cut deeply into the under color. If the design is one of three layers, the center layer can be included in the scraping out if the bottom color or layer is to appear in that portion of the design. Do not attempt in the scraping to take out large portions at a time as it will result in the breaking out of sections that are wanted as part of the remaining design. It will be found that the layers of color as scratched into retain their separate layers and that the thin layer of the upper color separates easily from the layer on which it rests. If a slight portion of the upper color is inclined to remain attached to the background color or under layer let it remain as it will give an interesting color quality and harmonize the two colors.

THE SIDES OF THE SGRAFFITO LAYERS should gradually slope outward, and after the layers have been tooled clear the sides of the layers should be gone over and evened up in slant as well as in general finish. If the corners are to be sharp or rounded in finish, see that the treatment is carried out similarly in all parts so that a general unity of finish will remain.

THE LAST STEP IN FINISH is to place the sgraffito tile in water so that it is entirely immersed, and it is left in the water for several days after which it is dried by being placed flat in a cool but not draughty place to dry.

TO PRODUCE SGRAFFITO SURFACE on bowls or other round surfaces the layers are produced by rotating the bowl in colors or spraying the colors on with a sprayer such as is described in the chapter on coloring of bowls and vases. The color can also be placed on with a brush if it is mixed to the right consistency and the successive layers put on at the right intervals.

SGRAFFITO FOR ARCHITECTURAL WORK holds great possibilities, and is being gradually recognized by those builders who desire the charm of hand wrought enrichment that graces so many of the Old World buildings. Sgraffito decorative pillars and panels for buildings, homes and courts is an assured possibility by the use of color cement and can be produced with less cost than by the fired clay method as well as in larger, more unified sections in that there are no kiln limitations to be considered in doing the color cement. A plate is shown illustrating the use of sgraffito in the making of an entrance to a college building designed in the Italian Renaissance style and the sgraffito and ornamentation being of Italian source, both combined in perfect harmony with the building as a whole.

SGRAFFITO CAN BE APPLIED TO MANY FORMS such as book ends, fern boxes, garden bowls, the requirement for success being mainly the placing of the successive layers of color on each other when neither too dry or too wet, and the scraping away of those parts desired when the cement is in the proper condition.

Sgraffito Tile and Sgraffito in Architecture

CHAPTER 9 Modeled and Carved Color Cement

FROM A STANDPOINT OF GOOD DESIGN modeling, when applied to a flat surface or any other surface, should not be high in relief.

Any time that a modeled design appears to have been added onto or is in such relation to the surface that it appears to be an independent, detachable ornament to that surface, then it is not truly decorating the surface, but detracting from the object decorated.

At all times keep the principles of unity and subordination in mind when producing modeling so that the design will be a related development to the material and the surface used.

CEMENT TILES WITH A MODELED SURFACE are produced as follows: Take a flat, smooth piece of clay or modeling wax, cut to the size of the tile to be produced. Such a surface may be made by rolling clay or wax with a rolling pin or other rounded surface. Having drawn the design to be modeled on a piece of thin paper, place this over the clay and trace lightly. This will produce a slight indication on the surface sufficient to guide the modeling. If there are sections that are to be low, these parts are outlined with an incision in the surface and scraped out to the desired level.

Do this over the entire surface, bearing in mind that the edges of the tile should generally have a border or other parts retained of the original surface. Too much elimination on the tile edge will thin the tile and weaken its construction and design.

Having scraped out all the low parts, then clay or wax may be added to such parts that are to be higher than the first surface. With the modeling tool shape the parts, finishing them so that there are no overhanging edges.

When this is completed surround with the plaster bars and produce a mold in plaster which in turn is oiled in the usual way and a cement tile cast from it. Neat cement should be poured first, and after a few minutes setting, a concrete mixture is poured in until the desired thickness is secured. In this way a cement tile is secured, duplicating in form the original clay or plaster hand-made modeled tile. The color of the surface can be any color according to the color added to the neat cement mixture.

DIFFERENT COLORS on different parts of the surface can be produced as follows: Mix cement colors with equal parts of cement. Grind these colors with the putty knife or pestle and place each color in a small saucer or pan. Oil the surface of the mold with a brush, dabbing it on in short strokes. The colors are next dripped from a brush onto their right location. This layer of color should be about a quarter of an inch thick and left to stand until firm on the surface. It is then covered with a layer of concrete and smoothed off to a level.

TEA TILES OR LARGE TILES for inserts into garden furniture or for architectural use can be strengthened by a reinforcement. A reinforcement may be made from the ordinary window screening or any wire fence mesh or so-called hardware cloths used in building construction.

This wire should be cut a little smaller than the tile and sunk into the concrete layer while soft. It should be pressed down with the fingers until the concrete closes over it. This will add a considerable strength to the tile.

After the tile has set for several days, it is removed by inserting the knife between the edges and carefully prying it apart, or steaming apart by placing over a low flame for a few seconds. If part of the color remains sticking to the plaster mold it is because there was not enough oil on that particular spot. Therefore remember that a mold surface should be well oiled before placing the color into it, and care being taken that there is not so much oil that it settles in the hollows and grooves.

The tile after drying thoroughly may be polished with wax and used.

FOR MODELING LARGER OBJECTS such as flower pots, urns or similar forms, it is best to form some means of reinforcement to approximate fairly closely the final form of the object. Close meshed wire can be used successfully for this purpose. It should be tied and braced firmly so that the concrete or cement weight will not destroy its shape. The concrete mixture should be made with one part cement and two parts clean sand.

TO HASTEN THE SETTING OF CEMENT add a very small quantity of common washing soda to the water used in mixing the cement. This will cause the cement to set up rapidly so that the work can be done more quickly.

AFTER THE MIXTURE HAS BEEN APPLIED over the wire reinforcement and shaped and modeled until completed, it should be put in some covered place or in a moist location for the first two or three days so that the moisture in it will not evaporate.

TO HARDEN THE CEMENT OBJECT immerse it well in the water for four or five days. If it stays longer in the water it will not hurt the object. The water will harden or complete the action of hydration necessary to make cement durable.

TO SECURE BISYMMETRIC SHAPES to forms or to secure true circular shapes, a templet of sheet metal can be cut and rotated from a centrally located axis. This is used while the mortar or concrete is in plastic condition so that the templet will cut or model the right contour.

CARVED CEMENT is made possible by scraping or carving out the cement when it is in the right condition. This condition can be determined by scraping the cement to see whether it is hard enough to carve. If it is too hard, it cannot be carved successfully. About sixteen to twenty hours setting will produce about the right condition but this will vary according to the mixture and climatic conditions, as temperature will be an important thing to consider in all color cement work. Very hot weather is not a good time to do color cement, the winter days or gray cool days are best to work with cement for perfect hardening results. Avoid freezing weather.

TO CARVE CEMENT, the tools may be of metal or nails shaped with cutting points and the work done similarly to the carving of the sgraffito tile described in the previous chapter. No adding or building of parts is possible, the whole subject being a process of taking out parts and shaping the parts that are left. Backgrounds and portions can be varied in texture and different results will be secured with a little experimenting.

DIFFERENT TEXTURES are possible in the carved tile. A glazed surface to the carved tile is secured by carving on the upper side of the tile; while the dull under surface, the side molded against the glass or under surface, will be used if a dull surface for the carved tile is desired.

A GLAZED OR MAT FINISH BACKGROUND in the carved tile can be secured by immersing the tile in water for a day or two for glazed finish or an hour for a mat finish and then applying neat cement, plain or with color as described in the chapter on Color Work for Tiles.

CARVING ON BOWLS AND VASES and other forms can be done, care being taken that the carving does not go so deep as to weaken the surfaces. Motifs or spaces can be carved out of cement bowls and vases and bits of stained glass or mosaics, or color cement can be put into the spaces and neat color cement used to bind the additions into the spaces.

SLIP-PAINTED PORTIONS MAY BE ADDED to the carved tile. After the tile is carved and properly moistened in preparation for the cement to be added, the color cement is mixed to a thin slip and a background pattern or decorations can be added to the surfaces of the carved tile. The tile is then placed in shallow water without permitting the water to reach the surface of the tile, and permitted to remain for four to six days before removing. It should then be placed in a cool location until completely dried.

THE UNIT TILE or the small tiles made to be assembled in patterns, may have modeled or carved cement surfaces combined with the units to complete the pattern. For instance a number of tiles representing leaf forms may be combined with others representing flower motifs. These may be imbedded into a panel of cement or concrete, the units grouped in some form of design growth, the stems and other related portions being modeled in the cement, or carved in the surface after the cement is somewhat hardened. The units can be in color or mat finish, the background remaining in dull finish.

MODELED CEMENT TILES differ from the cement tile with a modeled surface. In the first the modeling is done on wax or clay and the cement tile is made by duplicating the effect by the use of plaster molds. The modeled cement tile is a modeling of the cement by hand while it is still in a plastic stage.

TO PREPARE CEMENT FOR MODELING, pour a concrete mixture into the mold so as to allow for a second added layer of about one quarter inch of neat cement. This last layer of neat cement is the part which is to be modeled and can be made into a color by the addition of color to it. This color should be added in the dry form to the dry cement, mulled or ground well into the cement and then mixed with water until it becomes a thick cement paste that will pour slowly onto the concrete mixture first placed in the mold, until it covers the entire surface. A gentle jarring of the mold will settle the color evenly and it should then be permitted to stand until of a good modeling consistency.

A GOOD MODELING CONSISTENCY for cement is determined by testing it with a tool or small pointed stick making a small incision or trying a small section to see if the mixture holds its form. If the cement as laid up on edge stays in position and does not have the tendency to fall or settle, it is then ready to model, as it will hold its form when built in relief.

PROMPT ACTION IS NECESSARY when the mixture is at this point and the tool should be promptly used scraping or sketching the subject by incised lines in the surface. Then parts of the cement are scraped from the low portions and placed on the parts to be in higher relief until the general rough forms are massed in. The smaller parts are then detailed in and the different parts finished just as one would in working with clay or modeling wax. If it is found that parts do not hold up, it is because under sections of the cement have not dried sufficiently and it will be necessary to wait until it hardens a little more.

THE FINISHED RESULT may be complete with the strokes of the tool or the modeling instrument showing over the entire surface.

If the technique is shown in this way, care should be taken that the strokes are pleasing in direction and not carelessly left. As the tile hardens it will be found that the surfaces or edges can be shaped, and even when the surface is almost hard, it can be slightly indented or carved to produce different textures and varying qualities.

GOOD MODELING TOOLS are those that are made from pear wood for sculptors use. Metal modeling tools also can be used. Good home-made modeling tools can be made from manicure sticks, pencils, dowel sticks or ordinary small hardwood pieces shaped with a knife. These pieces should be smoothed down very evenly with fine sandpaper and then rubbed with beeswax or paraffin to avoid any rough surfaces. Rough surfaces will cause the cement to stick to the tool. Experience will be a good guide to the worker in color cement for determining the best shape to make the modeling tool, as individual needs and ways of working will determine the best form for each person.

Modeled and Carved Cement Tile Methods

CHAPTER 10 Color Cement for Bowls and Vases

THE COLOR FOR BOWLS AND VASES is mixed the same as for the tiles and it will be found that the use of the muller to grind the color is necessary to secure a good mixture. The color should be of the right consistency for rotating inside of the molds, which can be best determined by a trial. It will fall off the sides if too thin and if it is too heavy it will fail to roll evenly.

TO PREPARE A VASE OR BOWL MOLD for color, the parts to come in contact with the color should be oiled after they have been immersed in water. The parts are then assembled and tied together. Corresponding marks or figures can be placed on the molds so that there can be no mistake in combining the correct sections. Such marks will avoid confusion, particularly where the mold may be composed of a number of sections. Molds for vases are not shellaced.

THE FIRST ROTATION is then made by taking a quantity of the color cement or slip, mixed only with neat cement of thick quality, and pouring it into the mouth of the mold into the bottom. A spoon may be used to place the color if the mouth of the mold is large enough. The color is then rotated by turning the mold gradually until the color covers all the inside of the walls and the surplus is poured out into a pan. If the color at first refuses to attach to the inside, a few slow revolutions of the mold will generally overcome the trouble as the oil is causing the separation and is overcome by a few turnings of the color.

THE SECOND ROTATION is accomplished in the same way that the first rotation was but not until the first layer has fairly set. The surplus from the first mixture may be used. It is placed or poured carefully in and the rotating done and the surplus again poured out, excepting that it is poured out from the opposite side so as to equalize the thickness of the neck section of the vase or bowl.

A THIRD ROTATION may be necessary if the bowl is a large surface or if the slip used has been very thin. After each rotation the mold with its layer of inside color should be covered over with a damp cloth to prevent too rapid drying of the color. The second and third mixtures should be thinner than the first.

THE WALL MIXTURE is then rotated over the color stratas and is made of one part of cement and two parts sand. This mixture is necessary to give the bowl or vase strength and to make it waterproof. If neat cement alone is used the vase will check and crack in time, particularly if water is ever poured into it.

FOR SMALL VASES only one rotation of color is necessary and the second and third may be of cement and sand with a fourth finishing layer in color. This finish layer may be of any color desired within the range of color cements or of neat gray cement only.

THE FINISH ROTATION is the layer that will appear as the inside lining. This is made of color and neat cement and is rotated so as to cover the cement and sand mixture. This mixture may be placed in the mold after the vase or bowl has been removed from the mold, and this permits the possibility of carrying the inside color over the edge of the mouth and partly down the side as a decoration.

AFTER THE ROTATED COLORS HAVE DRIED, which generally takes from two to five days, the mold is carefully opened and the vase removed. Flaws or bubbles on the surface, if any, are corrected by scraping with a moistened knife parts of the neck that are not to remain and others filled in. The false neck or that portion that extends above the actual vase is now carefully trimmed away, leaving only the actual bowl or vase.

CARVING AND SCRAPING of the surface can be done while the surface is slightly soft which is soon after the bowl or vase has been removed from the mold. Glazed color may be placed into the spaces carved or scraped from the surface if the surface is moistened well with water, then adding neat cement over which the color is dripped following the instructions as given for the tiles.

TO HARDEN THE OBJECT molded it is immersed in a bucket of water and left for several days. If the surface has had color added to it after it has come from the mold, it cannot be immersed in water as the color would be floated off. It should have water poured on the inside and left to dry in a cool place.

TONING WASHES can be made of thin color and brushed onto the surface after the bowl has been well dampened. This will permeate the fine pores of the cement as well as gather into the crevices particularly of a carved or relief surface and if a contrasting color is used, it gives pleasing effects.

GLAZING BOWLS AND VASES is much more difficult than coloring tiles. The curved surface requires careful application. Prepare a quantity of desired color to be applied. Then spread it out in a pan or dish (a platter will do very well), revolve the bowl on the fingers so that the surface comes in contact with the color. The color will adhere and the bowl should be kept slowly revolving until the color sets. The bowl can then be filled with water and left to dry. If the bowl is kept in one position before the color is set, the moisture will cause it to run and mar the surface. After the first color has set an additional color can be dripped on at the top or other colors added into or onto this surface. Different effects will be possible, depending upon how soon the color is added to the first coating.

Dry color can be sprinkled onto the wet color and permitted to become absorbed, giving an interesting effect. The color may be applied with a brush or palette knife, and other ways of producing variations on the surface may be produced by experimenting.

A VASE FORM WITH MAJOLICA SURFACE will need to have the surface turned as it is worked upon. This can be done by revolving with the hand inside of it, or if too small turned on a right angle support, padded so that it will not injure the neck of the vase. The vase may have one end supported on something to keep the worked part from coming in contact with the surface. After a part has been filled in, it should be left to set for a minute before turning the surface, otherwise the color will drop out.

After the color is all in position, stand the vase upright and with a funnel fill with water and let it harden for several days. The water will supply the color surface with moisture preventing it from drying too rapidly.

Any cement surface (tile or vase) before it is very hard can have motifs scraped into it so that the design is a series of shallow openings in the surface. The color cement can then be dripped into these openings similar to majolica work and completed in the same way.

A vase with a plain surface can be made exceedingly attractive by adding a few simple motifs well chosen and placed on the surface in this way.

FOR SLIP PAINTING tile or pottery surface, various colors to be used should be mixed and ground on glass or marble with palette or putty knife until thoroughly smooth. The colors should be placed in order on a glass or enamel palette. Other hues may be produced by the mixture of these colors or lightened by adding a white cement. A small brush is used to apply the color. The surface to which they are being applied should always be damp and the complete surface to be colored should be done at one sitting. The tile or vase is then placed in water as previously explained.

It is best that the color be thin rather than thick, and avoid going over a surface a second time. A second stroke will destroy the lustre which will otherwise remain on the surface.

A VASE OR BOWL FORM to be used for slip-painted color will have to set a few minutes to prevent the color running when the bowl is turned for new working surface. The bowl or vase is carefully filled with water and left to set for several days, care being taken that no water drops onto the slip painting. The object worked upon must be set in the shade to dry, where nothing will come in contact with it.

Color Cement Vases

Color Cement Vases

CHAPTER 11 Glass Mosaic Tiles

FRAGMENTS OF STAINED GLASS can be secured from almost any stained glass works without cost, as much of the odds and ends of glass are thrown away. These fragments can be used in making Glass Mosaic Tiles, and used correctly will produce charming and interesting results.

Mother-of-pearl or abalone flakes can also be used as small bits here and there in designs and will be found to give an additional rich effect.

Semi-precious stones or glass beads can be used in many ways such as handles and tops or as rests for tea tiles, etc. The beads can be sunk into the cement until the hole through the bead is concealed.

TO MAKE A GLASS MOSAIC TILE there are four steps as follows:

1st.Making and tracing the design.

2nd.Cutting the glass.

3rd.Pouring the cement backing.

4th.Releasing the tiles and finishing.

FIRST STEP: MAKING AND TRACING THE DESIGN. To make a design for glass mosaic, plan a very simple design for the first problem. A few squares joined by simple bars, composed in a simple pleasing arrangement will be hard enough. Objects such as flowers, birds, trees, etc., must be planned in simple forms. Remember that each piece is to be cut from glass and intricate outlines, etc., must be abbreviated. Decide what direction of line will tell the most in the shortest length. It will be found that designing for glass mosaics or for stained glass is one of the best influences for recording large masses, for producing the maximum amount of subject with the minimum means of line.

After the design has been drawn out on paper it should be colored to correspond with the stained glass fragments that have been secured. Right here it may be well to state that the glass mosaic need not be entirely covered with glass sections. Much of the background may be cement and the colored portions (stained glass and mother-of-pearl) may be only a certain portion or design running across the tile surface.

After the design has been colored, make a firm tracing from it and place the tracing upside down on the table and a glass over this large enough to cover it fully. The stained glass sections are assembled upon this glass as they are cut.

SECOND STEP: CUTTING THE GLASS. A small glass cutter with a wheel can be purchased at any hardware store and with a little practice glass can be easily cut. Once the wheel is placed upon the glass it should be pressed slightly so that it grips the surface. Then draw the cutter firmly toward you without changing the angle of the handle and without turning the handle to one side or another. A few taps with the tip of the handle on the under side of the glass and a “bending and pulling apart” motion of the glass with the fingers will cause it to come apart after the cutting. Some glass cuts much easier than others and a good cut with the cutter will cause it to come apart upon the slightest bending in the fingers. Do not run the cutter wheel over a cut line in the glass a second time, as it will injure the wheel. Practice cutting clear glass as well as stained glass. The glass cutter should be placed with the wheel in turpentine to preserve the cutting edge.

To cut the glass in the right shape use either of the following methods: Trace the design upon stiff paper and number each section of the design to correspond with numbers on the original sketch. Cut these sections apart and use them as patterns to lay on the glass. The glass cutter is then run around the edge of the pattern in cutting the glass. The second method is to trace the sections to be cut directly onto the glass. If carbon paper is used, the line will be definite enough to follow.

SMALL SECTIONS OF GLASS can be better separated after the glass cutter has been used if small pliers or dull nippers are used to grip the glass. Hold the largest piece of glass firmly between the fingers and with the nippers grip the glass close up to the line of division and with a quick downward turn of the nippers it will divide the glass along the line produced by the cutter.

The sections of glass when all cut may be trimmed to truer forms by using a corborundum stone or file.

AFTER THE GLASS HAS BEEN CUT, place a tracing upside down on the table and a glass over the tracing. The tracing on the underside of the paper should be visible through the glass, and of course is reverse in position. Take each piece of glass and touch the right side with glue and place it onto the glass over its location defined by the tracing. Assemble all the glass in this way, all the pieces being glued face downward onto the glass. Mother-of-pearl, metals, etc., can be assembled the same way, and the fact that they are thinner than the glass need make no difference as their surfaces all resting upon the glass will result in their being all the same level on the completed tile.

THIRD STEP: POURING THE CEMENT. After the glass has been glued and left remaining for several hours (to permit the glue to dry) the retaining bars are placed on the glass, at the proper distance from the cut sections and cement is then poured into and over the glass mosaics until the required thickness of tile is secured. This mixture may be color cement or the neat Portland cement, care being taken to pour it in slowly from the center to avoid formation of bubbles.

FOURTH STEP: FINISHING THE TILE. When the tile has set for several days it may be removed and an incised line made around the edge of each glass mosaic. Place the tile in water to harden for several days. Remove and let dry, then give the entire surface a gasoline wash of gray or other color. A slight polishing of the surface will finish the tile. It will be found that the moisture has softened the glue so that the whole tile releases from the glass surface. The cement should be rubbed off of any of the glass parts if it has encroached until the entire edges of the glass mosaics are visible. This should be done before the tile is placed in the water to harden.

Mosaic Tile Method

Mosaic Tiles

Mosaic Stone Tiles

CHAPTER 12 Flower Boxes and Other Straight Forms

THERE ARE THREE WAYS TO PRODUCE FLOWER BOXES in color cement and the methods equally apply to other straight-sided objects that are to be hollow or act as containers.

MOLDS MADE FOR STRAIGHT-SIDED OBJECTS have the advantage of permitting the joints of the molds to come on the corners or junctures of the straight sides; thereby making the entire elimination of any joints remaining on the object (from where the molds come together) an easy matter of removal.

ONE OF THE WAYS TO PROCEED IN THE MAKING OF A FLOWER BOX is as follows: Take any ordinary good proportioned small wooden box, or block of wood of the right shape, and place a thin layer of modeling wax over the surface until it is smooth and evenly coated. Model the design desired on the four sides, avoiding, as has been before cautioned, having undercut or overhanging portions.

THE DESIGN MAY BE SECURED WITHOUT MODELING by taking the box and covering the sides with cut cardboard designs, the cut sections producing the motifs or the spaces between the cut and applied portions being the motifs. In either case the cut sides of the portions applied should slant so that the widest portion of any opening formed where two applied pieces come together will be widest at the top. The reason for this is to prevent locking of the plaster which will be poured over the surfaces to produce the molds.

IF THE CARDBOARD IS USED FOR THE DESIGN after the glue is dry, the entire surfaces of the portions to come in contact with the plaster is given two coats of shellac, the second coat to be given after the first coat is dry. The shellac should be permitted to dry well.

TO MAKE THE MOLDS the box with the design is turned upside-down and a mold is made of the bottom first. This is done by surrounding the four sides with wooden retaining walls so that the sides extend at least an inch above the edges. Into the space formed by the four projecting walls, plaster is poured and permitted to dry. This will result in a slab of plaster to reproduce the bottom of the flower box in the final cement casting. If legs or irregular portions are on the bottom, the mold should include these portions.

As soon as this bottom section is hard, the keys are bored into it and one of the sides is next molded. When molding the sides, turn the model so that the plaster is poured onto the sides and not so that it is poured alongside the surface. This is done by turning each side to be molded so that it is horizontal or flat.

WHEN ALL THE MOLDS ARE MADE and dried they are ready for casting the cement box. They should be placed in water until all parts have absorbed moisture. Next they are oiled well and assembled. If more than one color is to be used, the molds for those sides to have color should have the color cement placed on the molds while the surfaces are flat. When this color has set sufficiently to permit the sides to be placed upright, without the color running, the sides should be assembled with the bottom mold and the whole set tied together ready for the pouring of the cement.

THE FIRST MIXTURE OF CEMENT should be a thick mixture, just as thick as will run easily when the mold is rotated. The first mixture of cement should be of neat cement and may have color mixed with it. It is poured into the mold or placed in with a spoon, and the mold is rotated slowly until the mixture has covered all the inside surfaces. The surplus, if any remains, is poured out from one of the corners.

THE SECOND MIXTURE OF CEMENT should be poured in after the first layer has set. This usually takes from an hour to half a day depending on climatic conditions. The second mixture should be of sand and cement and of a thinner mixture than the first. This is necessary as the first layer will absorb moisture very rapidly from the second layer and therefore it should be very thin.

THE LAST LAYER OR MIXTURE should have color in it also and is added in the same manner as the second mixture, after the previous layer has set. This is the finishing layer and the color should be arranged to be in harmony with the outside color. A harmonious color will be one that is a lighter value of the outside color or it may be color that is complementary to the outside color.

THERE ARE TWO IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER in making pottery or boxes where the molds are rotated. One is that the mold to be rotated should not be shellaced. The reason for this is that the plaster molds must absorb some water from the cement mixture to produce the thin lining or inside coating. The second thing to remember is to pour the surplus mixture in the second rotation from the side opposite that the first surplus mixture was poured. As the lining is inclined to be thicker where the pouring out occurs, using an opposite side for the second pouring out will equalize the lining of color.

THE SECOND METHOD TO PRODUCE A FLOWER BOX is by spreading the color in the mold with a knife, pressing it up against the sides with a palette knife or small trowel. This is possible because the opening is large enough to permit seeing the sides. Where the opening is small such as that in a vase or jar with tapering sides it cannot be done this way and the method of rotation must be relied upon.

WHEN SPREADING THE COLOR CEMENT or lining, the mold should be turned so that as the mixture is placed and spread a flat surface is being worked upon. This makes it easier to work and insures the cement adhering to the mold. After the sides are fully covered, a thin mixture may be poured into the bottom and this whole mixture (the bottom and walls) permitted to harden.

IF DRAIN HOLES ARE NEEDED in the bottom of the flower box, two cylinders of clay or modeling wax may be placed upright in the bottom of the mold. These cylinders should be long enough to protrude above the bottom layer of cement that is poured in, and after the cement layer has hardened, they may be removed. This is preferable to endeavoring to drill the holes out of the bottom after the box is removed from the mold which might result in breaking the entire box.

AFTER THE BOX IS ENTIRELY DRY it may be given a gasoline color wash or rubbed with a thin color cement wash and after the color has become partly dry, the surplus rubbed off with a cloth. A wax rub given with a soft cloth and floor wax afterwards will smoothen up the entire surface producing a velvety surface.

THE THIRD WAY TO PRODUCE A BOX in color cement is by pouring, and the method is as follows: When making the molds instead of making the parts as usual, make a mold part for the top instead of the bottom, as the pouring mold is made upside down.

When the four sides and top portion of mold are ready, they are assembled and the metal inside mold is placed inside of the plaster mold.

THE METAL INSIDE MOLD is a metal pattern which when folded together represents the inside space of the box. Within this metal pattern or box, strips of wood or plaster should be placed to keep the metal or tin form in shape when the pouring of the cement commences. A good way to secure a perfect fitting brace inside of the metal form is shown in the working plate accompanying this chapter.

When this metal box with enclosed bars is placed in the right position within the plaster mold, the cement mixture is then poured into the spaces between the outside mold and the metal box until the space is filled. Then the cement pouring is continued until the top of the metal box is covered adding enough more to form the bottom. It will be thus seen that the metal box must be planned low enough so as to permit of a bottom space.

TO FINISH THE BOX, it is turned over after the cement has sufficiently hardened and the plaster, or wooden bar, is removed. The sides of the metal box are folded inward and the entire box removed. This will leave the inside of the box free for the smoothing or scraping of faults or filling in of bubble holes which can easily be accomplished before the cement has entirely hardened. The outside portion of the plaster mold is then removed and the flower box appears complete except for the surface coloring or finishing as may be desired.

OTHER SQUARE-SIDED OBJECTS may be similarly treated, in some instances the shapes or proportions requiring different handling. For instance, a very long narrow box could not be easily produced by rotating and should be made by the spreading or pouring method. Large surfaces or very long surfaces should be reinforced by the placing of wire cloth in the walls when the cement is poured in.

TAMPING OR PRESSING OF CEMENT is done by using cement and sand of a consistency like wet sand. This is placed into the mold and pressed firmly with a blunt stick, and a mallet can be used to tap these wooden chisels so as to press the cement well into the apertures. This results in a very firm surface and is particularly good for large boxes and containers. Care should be taken that the molds are firmly fastened together and the molds should be watched occasionally while the tamping is taking place to see that they do not spread.

TILES, STAINED GLASS AND MOSAICS may be included in the decoration of flower boxes. They should be glued firmly into position on the molds or boards forming the mold for the box. After a day or two drying the molds are assembled and the cement is poured in the usual way. The moisture in the cement will be found to soften the glue so that on removal of the molds the tiles, glass or mosaics will remain with the cement.

TO INCLUDE HANGING CHAINS, RINGS OR HOOKS in a cement box, the mold should be arranged so as to accommodate the chain or metal through it. The part or opening through which the metal passes is filled with clay or wax to avoid the running out of the cement. The molds can be held up from the table surface by a few blocks of wood or worked upon after being placed on a trestle.

COVERS TO BOXES can be made in the same manner as boxes. A single flat lid may have fewer molded parts but should have enough to permit easy release of the cement.

Three Cement Box Methods

The Making of a Cement Box

CHAPTER 13 Color Cement for the Garden

ARTISTIC GARDEN WORK can be enhanced by the use of color cement. While ordinary cement and concrete construction has been much used, there are still greater possibilities with the use of color cement. The use of color in the open permits the use of bright colors, in key with the flowers and foliage; and with color cement the formal or Italian garden scheme or the informal or Japanese manner of garden arrangement is delightfully possible. Pottery, garden furniture, fountains, walls, chimneys, pools and walks are a few of the possibilities with color cement.

LARGE GARDEN POTTERY is produced by the same principles as vases and bowls, but as the proportions are much larger, the methods of working are different.

Where a large jardinière is to be made, the form should first be built up from clay and be formed upside down. Bricks or any other solid material may be used for the main body of this form, and the clay built over it as it will not then require so much clay. If a long nail or rod or strong stick is placed in the center of this mass, it can serve the purpose as an axis to a templet which will form the contour of the jardinière when moved around in a circular direction. The metal must be good and heavy and sometimes it is necessary to reinforce the templet with wood.

After the clay form is built, cases are made in several sections from the plaster the same as for small forms; and cement and concrete used in large quantities after the same method as for small forms.

Large dish-pans, pails, etc., may be used for securing the inside form for garden pottery. Oil the outside and bottom of the pail or pan used and place it upside down on a table. If only a certain part of the bottom is wanted, clay should be built up around it, so that only the part wanted is exposed. With a strip of tin or linoleum for a moulding case surround the inverted utensil and then pour the concrete around and over it.

TO FORM THE GARDEN POTTERY more accurately on the outside, take it out from the mold in two or three days and trim with a knife to the desired form (in winter let the form stay in the mold four or five days). If extensions or additions are wanted the vase, bowl or jardinière, should be soaked in water for an hour or two and the form made from tin or other material placed in position and the cement poured into the forms.

To secure smaller parts independent from the larger parts such as fishes or cup forms for fountains, etc., the smaller part should be made separate from the large form but a pin or extension should be arranged so that it will fit into a groove on the larger form. This can then be built together by the addition of a little cement.

GARDEN SEATS. The seat and ends can be made by using wooden forms which can be released easily. Openings in the ends can be arranged by either the use of wooden blocks or clay bars placed in the right location. These blocks or bars should be taken out after the cement has dried three or four days. A few nails in the blocks will make it easier to lift them out.

Tiles made as previously explained can be inserted into the ends by scraping an opening to accommodate them while the cement is still soft. A little cement poured into the back and around the edge will fasten the two together.

GARDEN FOUNTAINS. The bowl for fountains should be made independent of the base or pedestal, but arranged so that the two groove together. This can be planned by taking a clay impression or a plaster casting from the surface. For instance, in making a bowl to rest on a pedestal, the bottom of the bowl should have keys or projections planned. Now supposing the bowl is finished, a pedestal should have depressions in it to correspond with the projections on the bottom of the bowl. To secure these the bowl itself or an equivalent surface in clay or plaster must be made to combine with the other parts of the molding case when the pedestal is made. These keys or grooves can be scraped out of the pedestal top when soft if care is taken to secure the right location. By resting the bowl upon the top a slight indentation will be made so that the indentation can be increased to the proper depth to secure complete “register” between the two parts.

When making plaster mold cases for large pieces, burlap, coarse cloth, etc., should be dipped rapidly into the plaster and used to build up the molding case. This produces greater strength in the plaster case.

A DESIGN UNIT used on large pottery or as a border to any large surface can be planned and modeled in modeling wax. From this model a mold is made in plaster. The clay can be pressed into this mold, lifted out and placed upon the surface to receive it. A slight pressure and joining of the edges will make it conform to the surface.

TO REINFORCE LARGE PIECES, wire, iron rods, wire mesh, or any such material will serve the purpose. Any narrow junction point or narrow part connecting two large parts should be reinforced.

PIPE CONNECTIONS FOR WATER, GAS, OR ELECTRIC WIRES must be planned for often in garden furniture. A round wooden rod with a smooth surface and oiled, having a larger diameter than the pipe to be used should be used in the mold. This is then withdrawn to make room for the iron pipe. A pipe can be used in place of the wooden rod, but of course it is then held firmly in place, becoming part of the mass. All pipe should be threaded for proper connections, and it is very advisable that you confer with a plumber or electrician so that no mistakes will be made.

Straight-sided forms can be made from tiles as follows: Take four tiles, soaked in water, afterwards imbed them on edge upside down in a layer of clay. They should be placed vertical and at right angles to each other. It is also better that the corners do not meet. Within these four tiles a clay cube is placed leaving a certain space all around for the wall. The cube should also be lower than the height of the tile to allow for the bottom as the box is made upside down. With clay or cardboard stop the corners and then pour in cement to the top of the tiles. Let harden for a few days; then remove clay, smooth up corners, and set in water to harden. Fern dishes, plant holders, etc., can be made in this way with as many sides as desired. The accompanying chart further explains this problem.

GARDEN WALKS can be made with large irregular cement slabs or stones formed with concrete. This will produce all the beauty that comes from natural flagstones and enables anyone to secure the effect even when flagstones are not securable. Flat tile or irregular tile can be produced as a finish surface to the concrete base underneath, the whole being one solid mass, eliminating much of the breaking up and loosening that comes when separate tiles are placed in a surface.

COLOR CEMENT FLAGSTONES are made as follows: First prepare a solid earth under-foundation. To do this the surface is pressed with an iron roller or tamped with an iron tamper or heavy wooden block. If the surface has been previously walked upon for some time, it will be good and solid. On this surface indicate by scraping with a stick or trowel the shapes of the flagstones desired, and scrape the earth out of these areas to a depth of one to two inches. This surface is then sprayed with water until it remains damp and is ready for placing the concrete mixture.

THE CONCRETE PROPORTIONS should be one part cement to two parts or three parts gravel. These parts are mixed well together dry and then water is added while it is mixed again. The best way to add the water is to have one person spray the water from a hose while a second person uses a hoe to mix the wet portions and expose the dry sections.

A MIXING TRAY can be made from wood and should hold water fairly well as it is important that there be no leaks while the mixing is proceeding as the leaking water may carry off much of the cement. After a box has been used several times, the cracks and crevices will become filled and the mixing tray will become more waterproof.

WHEN THE CONCRETE IS THOROUGHLY MIXED a portion is then taken and placed in one of the scraped areas and shaped with a trowel. The sides should be left thick and preferably tapering slightly upward. This prevents breaking edges later when in use such as occurs if the edges overhang.

THE TOP LAYER should be of colored cement and may be a very thin layer, but in order to be durable it should be composed of one-half part of cement and one-half part of gravel or sand. This is mixed with color sufficiently to tint it, but the color should not be too great in quantity for it will weaken the strength of the mixture.

THE COLORS FOR THE CEMENT FLAGSTONES is dry color and may be Venetian red, yellow, ochre, Indian red, lamp black, burnt umber, or burnt sienna. This mineral color should be mixed in well with the dry concrete before water is added. Colors can be changed by mixing one color into another. For instance, the red can be made less intense by the addition of burnt umber or with the addition of a little lamp black. When adding another color to a cement mixture to which water has been combined, do not add the color dry but mix it with water first until it is a paste before mixing it into the first mixture.

TO FINISH THE FLAGSTONES the color mixture is spread over the first portion placed in the scraped area and spread with the trowel until it covers all the surface of the first pouring. When this strata has partly set, it can be surfaced with trowel marks or a few twigs or weeds can be held in the hand and whipped over the cement surface, producing a roughened texture. The stone should then be covered so as to protect it from being walked upon and after the second day it should be sprayed with water to help its hardening process while drying. Do not permit the sun to prematurely dry the stones as the slower a cement dries the more durable it will be.

BRIDGE WORK FOR THE GARDEN can be constructed with cement, and the use of color combined with cement will enhance the project if used reservedly and in good arrangement. Iron posts or supports can be used as under parts of the bridge or a temporary support of wood can be used. A wooden barrel has been used successfully to form the opening under a cement garden bridge, the staves being knocked in to remove the barrel after the bridge was completed.

Stones and tree limbs can be combined with the cement bridge toward creating informal effects. The Japanese garden is delightfully arranged with many surprise effects of stone work and pools, all of which can be duplicated with cement.

NATURAL EFFECTS can be secured with the proper use of cement and the possibilities are only limited by the time and interest of the worker. It must be remembered that cement and concrete is a process of creating stone and the stones can be formed in pleasing shapes and finishes and colors according to the wish of the worker. There is great opportunity for the worker with color cement to create garden ideas either for pleasure or for remuneration and any enthusiastic worker can plan and direct such work for neighboring needs or for those who are always anxious for the different but pleasing garden creation.

A TILE EFFECT for walks or courts in regular pattern can be made by pouring a color layer over a concrete solid layer. Previous to the pouring thin strips of wood are placed so as to divide the space into the tile shapes. These strips are afterwards taken out and the tile edges scraped round, and the spaces where the wood was placed is then filled with gray cement. This produces at considerable less expense the same result as the inlaid tile surface.

THE DECORATED GARDEN TILE is where the color cement is poured onto the square or rectangular concrete stones and while it is semi-moist other color is dripped on or stroked into the surface with a brush, forming a design motif. These motifs may appear at regular or irregular intervals depending upon the pattern arrangement of the stones, and can be of flowers, quaint birds or animals, preferably in abstract arrangements.

CHIMNEY STONES or flat stones for surfacing fireplaces or stone walls can be made by pouring out the concrete mixture to which color has been added. These should be poured onto a fairly hard ground surface which has been previously watered. The stones can be of varying shapes and sizes and with varying tints of colors. Gray cement alone will give a good color to which may be added those made of Venetian red, Indian red, and lamp black or yellow ochre.

When dry they should be immersed in water and then added to the brick undersurface of the chimney or mantel by using a mortar made of a mixture of lime and clean sand with water. To this add one-fourth to one-sixth part Portland cement. The lime should be prepared previously to combining with the sand by adding water to it, letting it remain for a half day to two days in order that it will become slackened. Lime gives adhesiveness to the plaster, and the brick surface to which the stones are placed should be moistened with water before adding the plaster layer into which the color cement stones are to be pressed.

Many other fascinating uses of color cement will develop into successful applications in the hands of the craftsman who is interested in beautifying the garden.

Helps in Cement Garden Pottery

Application of Cement Tiles to Architectural Use

Color Cement Flagstones Used for a Bridge, Garden Pathway, and Entrance.

Color Cement Used for Chimney Stones and Flagstones

CHAPTER 14 The Making of Candlesticks and Book Supports

TO MAKE A CANDLESTICK WITH STRAIGHT SIDES the molds should be made in sections, the divisions occurring where the corners come. This results in the object coming from the mold with the mold lines where they can be easily removed.

THE MOLD FOR A CIRCULAR CANDLESTICK or round base can be made in three divisions similar to the making of a mold for a round vase. The mold lines occurring on the surface can be obliterated as soon as the object is removed from the mold.

A MOLD FOR A CANDLESTICK DIFFERS FROM A VASE MOLD in that it is made upside down. As a candlestick is made solid instead of hollow like a vase, the mold is filled from the bottom, the open part to hold the candle being a projecting section into the space of the mold into which the cement is poured.

TO MAKE THE MOLD SECTIONS the small section to reproduce the hole for the candlestick is first made. The original model, made either from clay or modeling wax, is placed upright and a strip of oiled cardboard or metal fastened around the top and plaster poured into the candlestick hole and up above the top to the level of the cardboard or metal which should extend at least an inch above the top of the candlestick.

AFTER THE MOLD FOR THE TOP IS MADE each side should have a key space bored into it and then the mold is placed back into the model, the exposed portions of the plaster are oiled and the side section (round or straight section) is next made, leaving the bottom open. The completed parts of the mold are assembled and dried before using them for the cement cast.

TO POUR THE CANDLESTICK CAST, assemble the molds after they have been immersed in water and oiled and after tying them firmly together turn them upside down and pour the cement into the opening. If a color is to be used, the color should be poured in and the mold rotated until the color covers the inner surface. Surplus color should be mixed and kept to use later in completing the bottom. After the lining has set, a mixture of sand and coarse cement should be poured into it and permitted to settle. Jarring or tapping the mold will help the cement to settle. If it settles, more cement should be poured in. After it has settled, the color surplus similar to the surface lining is poured on to finish the bottom.

WHEN THE MOLD IS OPENED the sides are opened first and the small mold section forming the candlestick hole is carefully twisted out. If when making this part of the mold, a T shape wire has been inserted it will strengthen the mold.

TO MAKE THE BOOK SUPPORT, a model should first be designed and modeled in clay or modeling wax. This design must be considered from its practicability and the structural design therefore must be carefully planned. The base on the book support should be heavy enough to overbalance the upright portion so as to prevent the book support from falling over. The upright portion may be of any simple shape and enriched in any of the methods previously described for the decorating of tiles.

A WOODEN BASE OR BACK FOR THE MODEL may be used on which to place the modeling wax. A thin layer of the modeling wax may be placed over the entire surface, and variations to the shape also can be made with the modeling wax. A panel of plaster or a tile design can be incorporated into the model instead of modeling. This method has been often used and found to give good results.

GESSO OR RELIEFO MODELED PANELS CAN BE USED for book support designs by attaching them to the surface of the model. If the gesso or reliefo is first shellaced it will be found to be an excellent material with which to produce modeled designs for color cement handicraft.

AFTER THE MODEL IS COMPLETED the first part of the mold to be made should be the portion with the design. The triangular shape of the design and base portion should be placed in position and supported so that a single pouring of plaster will produce a mold of the design and the upper surface of the base. Different shaped bases or irregular shaped bases will require individual consideration when planning the molds. The main thing to consider is that the parts of the molds must be made so that the cast will release easily from the molds.

THE SIDES OF THE BOOK SUPPORT are next made, casting the sides while the first piece cast is kept in close position over the model and drilling keys in the sides to produce locking holds in the mold sections. The top of the model is also cast, the bottom being the only portion not made, as the book support like the candle is cast upside down.

PRECEDING THE POURING OF CEMENT the mold sections are soaked in water, taken out and oiled, assembled and put closely together, and tied firmly in position. The colored cement slip is then poured in, the mold is rotated and the concrete or cement filler is poured in and permitted to settle. The bottom or last layer is then poured on in the same color as that used for the lining.

TO INSURE QUICK ASSEMBLY OF MOLD PARTS when working, the molds should be marked with corresponding numbers so that the correct parts can be put together rapidly.

TO FINISH THE BOOK SUPPORT it is removed from the mold, trimmed as needed, placed in water to harden for several days, taken out and permitted to dry slowly and then brushed well and waxed. A thin coating of shellac may precede the wax. Two sets of molds for book supports will enable two book supports to be made at one time and in this way the color of both can be made to match each other.

Book Support and Candlestick Molds

CHAPTER 15 Color Cement for Interior Decoration

PRACTICAL USE FOR COLOR CEMENT inside the home is one of the greatest possibilities with color cement as a handicraft. It enables the home builder, the art student, or the busy housewife who has some idea of decoration, to plan and execute durable tiles or panels for the floor, walls or fireplaces, and to execute them with but little space and equipment.

TO MAKE TILES FOR THE FLOOR, the tiles should be made in flat surfaces and without relief parts that will project so as to become worn from being walked upon. For floor surfaces pressed tiles are better than poured tiles. Manufacturers of common cement tiles for architectural purposes produce them in presses with several tons pressure. The craftsman can secure very good pressed effects by using backing cement that has very little moisture in it and tapping it in well, using a block of wood and a mallet. The retaining sides of the mold should be of wood or of some durable material that will withstand the pressure, and hold together firmly.

POURED TILES FOR FLOOR USE made from a strong mixture of sand and cement and with a small proportion of color will be found to be durable. One or two coatings of shellac and a covering of floor wax will further increase the durability of the wearing surface.

PLAIN TILES FOR FLOOR USE can be used with decorated tile and various interesting patterns can be made (a few of which are shown) by interspersing the tile in different arrangements. A glazed tile can be made and used as a variation in combination with mat finish or dull finish tiles. Several small tiles may be used to fill a space and produce patterns in contrast to larger tiles. It will be found that with a little design arrangement many interesting floor arrangements can be made with tiles.

WHERE A LARGE NUMBER OF TILES ARE TO BE MADE several molds in plaster-of-Paris should be made and a large quantity of color mixed at once, and the first color placed in each tile consecutively and then the next color, until all the colors have been placed in the six, eight, ten or whatever number of molds is being made at the same operation. After the color has set, the backing mixture of concrete is made and poured into all the tiles.

A TEMPLET PATTERN MOLD for floor tiles is made by cutting templets from either cardboard or linoleum with slightly tapering sides and gluing these into position to produce the design. The templets should duplicate the portions of a design and the design should be the first step in the problem to be solved.

THE DESIGN FOR TEMPLET PATTERNS should be simple in form and division. Geometric patterns and straight line forms are the best for use. Good divisions of squares and rectangles and these divisions changed slightly to floral or leaf shapes should be as far as any elaboration should go.

AFTER THE TEMPLET PATTERN IS CUT it is assembled and glued into position on another card or glass surface and given two coats of shellac. It is then placed within the retaining bars and a cast is made in plaster. This cast in plaster is afterwards shellaced and becomes the mold for casting the cement tile.

TO CAST THE CEMENT TILE the colors selected from parts of the design are first mixed and placed into the mold. After the colors have been all placed and permitted to harden, they are backed with a mixture of neat cement and color which is next backed up with a concrete mixture and then permitted to dry for three days. After being hardened in water for several days after its removal from the mold, it is then ready to be cemented in position for floor use.

THE BACK FINISH OF WALL TILES should have countersunk spaces to permit a good grip or hold of the mortar that will be used to hold the tile in position. These grip holds can be made by cutting four small rectangular sections of cardboard and pressing them closely together into the back of the tile after the last layer of cement has been poured. After the cement has dried thoroughly and the tile is ready to be removed from its mold, these cards can be easily removed.

TO USE WALL TILES they should always be immersed in water before the mortar is applied. This prevents the moisture being absorbed out of the mortar by a dry tile and assures better sticking of the tile to a perpendicular surface.

TO MAKE GOOD MORTAR, building lime is placed in a mixing box or bucket and water poured over it. Next day it can be taken and mixed with sand until a rich, thick plaster results. To this add one-quarter or one-eighth part of Portland cement to make it strong.

TO APPLY TILES TO AN UPRIGHT SURFACE, spray the brick or rock surface with water. This can be done with a whisk broom or a large brush. A cloth immersed into water and dabbed onto the surface will serve very well. The tile which has been placed in a bucket of water to absorb moisture is then covered with mortar on the reverse side. The surface of the wall or fire mantel to receive the tile is also covered with a layer of mortar and the tile is pressed into the mortar, causing the two layers (the one on the tile and the one on the wall) to adhere to each other.

TO CONNECT TILES ONTO AN OLD CEMENT SURFACE the following method should be used: Clean the old cement surface well with a brush and water, removing the dirt and dust. Sprinkle a thin layer of neat cement onto this surface while the floor is still moist. Work this neat cement into the surface well, pressing it and working it with a flat trowel. Onto this add a layer of strong mixture cement into which the tiles are pressed.

TO FINISH A TILE FLOOR the spaces between the tiles are filled with cement; a small narrow cement trowel or strip of metal is passed over the strip to smooth the cement in between the tiles. After the first day the tiles and entire surface should be sprinkled with water to insure good hardening of the cement.

THE SPACES BETWEEN THE TILES can vary in width, depending upon the size of the tiles. A half-inch space of cement between six-inch tiles is a good average. A tile surface either upright or flat looks better with a liberal space between the tiles than where too close a connection is attempted. The tiles also look more interesting if the cement in between is left a little lower than the surface of the tile.

A color may be added to the cement used between the tiles, creating a pleasing contrast in color and values. This color may be a thin coating of color cement and need not be used throughout the entire cement section.

TO SECURE A LEVEL TILE FLOOR with the color cement tiles, the under layer of cement into which the tiles are placed should not be a wet mixture of cement but a mixture of cement and sand that is a little more moist than wet sand. The tiles are then pressed onto this layer, more of the moist cement being pressed under the tiles until the tiles are level with each other. To test the level surface a straight edged board is placed straight edge downward along the surface. If it rocks on any part of the surface, that part should be pressed downward or lowered by the removal of some of the cement. If parts are too low, they will show a light opening underneath the leveling edge and should be built up.

After the tiles are all level, the spaces between are filled with a soft mixture of cement and finished smooth.

TILES FOR INSERTS IN WALL PANELS can be made in the same way as described in the chapter on Tiles, excepting that they may be made thinner to conform with the thickness of the wood or other surface to which they will be added.

Where the wood or wall surface is grayed or toned with a paint wash or tint, the tint can be carried over the tile insert which will help the unity of the tile with the wall.

COLOR CEMENT TILES FOR FURNITURE INSERTS can be made in colors to harmonize with the wood background. The surface finish given the wood, whether wax or gray tone, can be also applied to the tile. The tiles may be applied to boxes, chairbacks, flower stands so that they become the bright spot of color motif to a design produced by the pattern of the wood, or a carved or relief enrichment on the surface.

UNIT TILES FOR WALL SURFACES can be made and planned so that various arrangements can be made by using the same motifs or elements. These elements can be combined into a group that may be inserted into an over mantel or into a wall or corridor space. Unit tiles admit of arranging a vertical or a horizontal border or of combining both borders each produced with the same motifs.

COLOR TILE BORDERS for plain cement floors will make an otherwise plain floor a thing of beauty. A series of tiles for the border can be made and special tiles for the corner arranged. The whole series can then be set at the same time that the center plain gray or tinted portion of cement is spread.

CEMENT FLOOR ABRASION CAN BE AVOIDED by dampening the cement as it hardens and spraying water onto it regularly once or twice a day after the first day for a period of five to seven days.

Abrasion or powdering of cement floors indoors often occurs because of prematurely drying when constructed. Where walks out-of-doors are benefited by the dew or moisture at night, inside floors do not receive this moisture and often dry too rapidly.

To remedy the abrasion, or powdering of cement floors, wash the floor thoroughly with clean water removing all dirt and particles with a stiff scrub brush. After the surface has dried, apply a solution of one part water-glass (sodium silicate) of 40 degrees Baumé and three to five parts water, the water depending upon the absorbing quality of the cement. This mixture is applied with a large brush and should be mixed well and used within an hour. When this has dried mop the surface with clean water and repeat the wash of water-glass three times, letting the floor dry after each operation.

The silicate penetrates the pores, comes in contact with the other alkalies in the concrete, forming an insoluble and very hard material, preventing dusting and makes a better wearing floor.

Color Cement Tiles for Interior Decoration

Color Cement Tiles for the Fireplace

Tile Patterns for Wall or Floor

The Unit Tile and Application

Cement Tiles and Woodwork

CHAPTER 16 Surface Finishes

COLOR CEMENT TILES ARE SURFACE FINISHED generally after they are dry. As the tiles or pottery dry a lime or white powder dries on the surface and the colors appear to become dull. To bring out the colors and remove this powder, a soft cloth or soft brush is used to brush or dust off the tile surface thoroughly.

AN OIL RUB can be given to the surface of the tile with raw linseed oil on a soft cloth, and a brisk rubbing of the cloth will give a soft dull polish. This should be done only on the cast and dull finish tiles and not on the slip-painted or glazed surfaces.

A THIN SHELLAC COATING may be given a color cement tile or pottery as a preliminary to a wax polish or a gasoline wash. White cement tiles or pottery are very porous and a thin coating of clear white shellac will prevent over absorption of surface coloring if the shellac is permitted to dry thoroughly. Shellac should be applied after the surface is thoroughly dried to prevent a sticky surface.

THE GASOLINE WASH is made by mixing white oil paint (flake white or zinc white) with black paint (ivory black or lamp black) until a gray tone is secured. This mixture should be made in a cup or bowl so that gasoline can then be added until the paint is almost as thin as water. To this mixture green or blue paint or other color should be added until the right hue is secured. This is then brushed onto the tile surface and brushed well into the crevices and countersunk sections as it is important that the low sections be well filled. After the wash has dried thoroughly, a soft cloth is used to rub off all the surplus. This will leave the gasoline wash remaining only in the bottom or lower portions giving a pleasing finish. After this has dried a wax rub may be placed over it.

A WAX RUB is produced by taking either wax tan shoe polish or floor wax and rubbing it onto the cement with a soft cloth. The cement should be thoroughly dry before the wax is placed upon the surface. After a few minutes a soft brush or woolen cloth should be used to polish the waxed surface.

A wax rub can be applied over a gasoline wash, but only after the wash has been given time to thoroughly dry. If the gasoline wash is not dry, the wax will remove it in parts and destroy the effect produced by the gasoline wash.

A COLOR CEMENT SURFACE FINISH is made by mixing a thin mixture of color and cement which is then brushed onto the tile. The tile or surface to be finished with cement should not be dry or be permitted to dry after it has been removed from the mold. Previous to the application of the cement color, the tile should be well moistened. After the color has dried for several hours upon the surface, a cloth balled or gathered so as to form a padded surface should be used to remove the color from the high parts.

A SLIP SURFACE FINISH is where the tile or surface has been completed in single or several colors and when hardened sufficiently in water, a thin slip of color cement is placed over the entire surface and permitted to settle into the hollows, leaving the higher portions to appear more clearly through the colored slip. If the surface is a tile, it should then be permitted to harden in shallow water placed in a tray with the tile placed carefully into it so that the water does not reach the color slip portions. If the object is a vase, it may be filled with water to harden the outer surface properly. If the color has been used as a layer on the inside, the bowl or vase should be placed in a pail and water poured into the pail so that the object is surrounded with water. A weight or board can be placed so as to prevent the object from floating if it commences to do so.

COLOR MAY BE SPRAYED by mixing a thin mixture of color and cement and spraying it onto the tile or pottery surface with a fixitive blower such as may be obtained at artists’ supply stores and which is used by artists for spraying a solution of shellac (termed fixitive) onto charcoal or pencil drawings.

The color should be repeatedly stirred to keep it well mixed and if the sprayer becomes clogged, it should be rinsed in water.

Too much color should not be sprayed at a time as it will fail to be absorbed and run on the surface, resulting in streaks.

SPATTERED COLOR FOR SURFACES is secured by dipping a short-haired bristle brush (the bristles are best when they are about one inch long) into color cement and causing the color to spatter onto the surface by rubbing a knife edge or straight edge of a stick along the brush. This will cause the bristles to release suddenly, throwing pigment in the opposite direction onto the object. A trial should first be made on paper surface before the actual surface is used to avoid too much color, such as would come from an overcharged brush or too vigorous rubbing. The surface of the object should be moist or dampened well previous to the spattering.

SPRINKLED DRY COLOR can be applied to surfaces. This will give a pleasing effect in certain places where an antique or scattering of dry color will enter into the nature of the design. The dry pigment can be sprinkled onto the surface only where the surface has been covered with a layer of other color that is still moist. This is necessary in order that the dry color will absorb sufficient moisture from the other color to amalgamate with the first color.

TEXTURE SURFACES are produced by working on the surfaces while they are still moist or soft enough to admit the use of a tool or edge to press or model the surface. Even when a surface might have become quite hard it may be tooled or chipped and a cement wash or gasoline wash used to give the tooled parts a unifying color.

REPEATED SURFACE COLORING may be done where the first coloring is not satisfactory. It will be found that a more pleasing effect is often produced by the second surface coloring being placed over the first. Care should be taken that so much rubbing does not occur that it wears parts of the tile or pottery surface that are soft.

SURFACE FINISHES PERMIT OF EXPERIMENTING and the craftsworker in color cement must test out different combinations in order to achieve the most desirable quality to respond to personal choice. A brilliant color wash will often bring out the pattern in pleasing contrast, and at other times it may be over absorbed and produce a mottled undesirable quality. The condition of the molds and the amount of sand in the mixture all influence the surface of the object and in turn influence the result of the surface finishes.

A Surface Finish for Cement Handicraft

CHAPTER 17 Decorations in the Open

COLOR AS OUTER ARCHITECTURAL DECORATION was much used on the buildings of Egypt and Assyria. The winged sphere in gold and amber against a background of dark blue was commonly used on the outer walls of Egyptian buildings and the processions of warriors and ancient kings decorated the walls of the Assyrian cities.

THE GRECIANS USED COLOR ALSO and the beautiful Parthenon was decorated with color and the restored model in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York shows their use of color architecturally. The great Acropolis was resplendent in bas-reliefs on the outer walls in color, gold and silver.

THE ROMANS USED COLOR OUT OF DOORS on their buildings and the Etruscans built in terra cotta coloring the outer walls with gorgeous decorations. They recognized that architecture could be dignified and noble with proper use of color decorations to enrich the building as a whole.

MURAL DECORATIONS IN THE OPEN were used by the Egyptians, examples of which remain in our museums today, and so permanent were their colors that the color schemes are apparent even at this day thousands of years after their artists applied them.

Pompeians with their house-tops massed against their blue skies were prompted to use orange-red largely in their decorations which were lavishly applied in their gardens and other surroundings.

THE CHINESE USED COLORS SIMILAR TO THE POMPEIANS and their decorations give brilliant notes to their buildings creating pleasing effects. The Chinese medium has been one largely of lacquer which has been used over their gold and painted color, producing transparent qualities making it difficult to know where the actual surface begins.

COLOR ON OUTSIDE BUILDING SURFACES exists on many of the Italian cathedrals and enriched color facades were used on many houses during the Gothic period of which there remains examples at Heldesheim and Nurenberg and other cities.

COLOR IN AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE IS POSSIBLE with the use of color cement and with careful analysis of the colors used and methods of hardening, the patient worker can accomplish much toward realizing this much sought possibility.

THE FIRST STEP TOWARD SUCCESSFUL USE OF COLOR CEMENT in the open is to realize that color used at all times must be protected from drying too rapidly. If it does so, it will disintegrate and chalk away gradually. The drying of color cement should be retarded as much as possible and kept moist as long as the hardening process has not completed. It is impossible, of course, to apply water to the face of a working surface without destroying the glaze of the color, or the surface setting layer once the surface commences to dry. Water applied at this time will cause the surface to float in sections and ruin the entire surface. Therefore the best way is to arrange for the water to be absorbed from the back and this can be done easily where the panel or mural decoration is a separate section to be applied to the building surface afterwards.

WHERE THE MURAL IS TO BE APPLIED TO THE WALL the surface must be first roughened, next thoroughly dampened with water, then a layer of wet neat cement placed upon it. The bed of cement or sand and cement is next applied and the subject then applied onto this surface all at one sitting. This is necessary to avoid any part drying, as it will be impossible to dampen the surface for postponed work.

BETTER RESULT ON WALL DECORATION is possible where the color cement can be applied before the wall mass has dried out. If the forms or board walls can be removed before the cement has thoroughly set, whatever color cement or cement underlayers necessary to the color surfacing are placed upon it, will stand greater chances of remaining as a permanent part of the whole structure.