The Potter's Craft

The Potter's Craft, A Practical Guide for the Studio and Workshop, is by Charles Fergus Binns, listed as Director of the New York State School of Clay-Working and Ceramics. An epigraph says that a book is written, not to multiply the voice merely, not to carry it merely, but to perpetuate it. The text says that in the field of applied art there are certain principles to be observed, which are frequently lost sight of because of the lamentable separation of the functions of the artist and artificer.

The text asks whether a wall paper, designed with skill, is a work of art or a product of the factory, and answers that it is both. A fundamental principle in craft work is said to be that the mechanical difficulties in manipulation should be met and overcome at the first. A small cylinder is described as a suitable beginning exercise for several reasons: the form is definite and the result may therefore be easily criticized by the children themselves.