Rozane Royal Information.
Continued...
Why Rozane is an Art Pottery.
THE Roseville Potteries are located "where town and
country meet" on the outskirts of the pictur- esque city of Zanesville,
Ohio.
A glimpse into the studios reveals at once the artistic spirit that pervades the place. All is sunny, serene and strangely quiet, as the designers, intent upon their work, wield brush and tool or glance, for inspiration, into the blue sky or toward some well-chosen model.
In a corner stands the potter's wheel made famous by time and story. Here is greatest deftness, yet the potter works with independent deliberation, sometimes lingering tor days, even weeks, on one delicate piece.
The clay used for Rozane comes from neighboring hills and is of a quality very desirable for fine work.
After the vase, or whatever the piece may be, has been
moulded, it is ready for the decorator. Rozane designs are hand work and the
motive of Rozane, to preserve with natural effect original works in oils and.
water colors, has attracted to the Rozane studios artists of talent and even
genius. Many of these decorators are graduates of the great European schools;
others from the foremost American institutions, while the presence of a very
tal- ented Japanese student has also resulted in some unique and altogether new
effects.
When background and decoration are complete, the next step is "the test by fire." Encased in protecting moulds, the pieces are placed in immense kilns where, hermetically sealed, they are subjected to fierce heat, finally amounting to 1800 degrees Farenheit.
When glaze is to give a final gloss, as in Rozane Royal, the pieces are dipped in the glaze mixture after the firing, and are then fired again. It is often in this firing that many unexpected and odd effects are produced, never to be duplicated, so capricious is the action of the fire.
The worth of each piece can therefore only be
estimated after the final firing. This is done by competent judges, each piece
being valued according to its own peculiar features. The prices vary,
therefore, even on pieces of similar size and shape, but every piece of Rozane
is a work of art, and has an individuality peculiarly its own. No two pieces
can be exactly alike.
This, in itself, stamps Rozane as a true art ware.