DIRECTOR'S REPORT To TIlE PRESIDENT OF ALFRED UNIVERSITY,

Sir:-- I have the honor to submit to you the third annual re- port of the New York State School of Clay-Working and Ceramics.

In presenting from year to year the report of the work of such an institution as tbis, there l11ust of necessity be a degree of rep- etition. Class instruction, experimental work, examination of

1112,-

terials go on witb but little variation, as indeed it must be upon the steady prosecution of these that the success of the school depends.

At tbe close of the school year

I90I-02,

Miss Tourtellotte resigned her position as instructor in the art department and the Managing Board, after due deliberatlon, appointed Miss Adel;;ide M. Blanchard of Boston to the position. Miss Blanchard is a graduate of the High School of Uxbridge, Mass., of the State Nor- mal School at \VOI'cester, Mass., and of the Massachusetts Normal Art School at Boston. She has also studied water eolor with teachers in New York and design under Mr. Arthur Dow at Ipswich. She has taken a post graduate course in Artistic anato- my at the

Mas~;achusetts

Normal Art School and has studied in the life class at the Boston Art Club and in the Denman Ross School of Design in Boston. Miss Blanchard has had considerable experience in teaching, having filled positions in Boston, ·Worcester and Barre, Mass., New York City and Los Angeles. Her work here is proving quite suceessful. The students are making good progress under her instruction and she herself is developing a keen interest in the special prohlems of clay-working which fall under her notice. I may perhaps remind you that an intelligent grasp of the principles of <.lpplied design can only be acquired when the possibilities and limitations of the material to be used are fully understood. From the day of opening, this school, while encour- aging the development of coarse wares for construction purposes, has devoted considerable attention to the production of artistic pottery and already important results are being realized,

An exhibit of wares. many of them made from the shale

deposits of the surrounding hills hitherto used only for brick and

tile, has been sent to Albany. and may now be inspected in the

Capitol.

94

ALFRED YEAR-BoOK, 1902 -03

A further collection was lent to the New York Society of Keramic Arts in the faU of the year and awakened much interest;

while exhibitions to be opened at Worcester. Mass., Syracuse.

N.

y"

and Ithaca. N. Y., have made application for a display.

The important point to be considered in these exhibitions is this, that whereas collections of pottery made in the Manufactory are produced under secret processes, those made by students of this School are sent out as educational exhibits, and the knowledge of how they can be manufactured is at the disposal of anyone who will enter the school and perform the required work.

A request has also been made by the State Normal School at Buffalo for a collection 01 wares to be used in connection with the instruction in Art, and these are in COljrSe of production.

The register of students for the year numbers 26, of this num- ber

18

are residents of the State and 7 are from other states and

I

from Japan. The last named gentleman is a graduate of the Tokio Technical School and he has entered the State School with the view of studying American clays. He is doing excellent work.

Of the remaining students one is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, one is in his Junior year, four are Sophomores. nine are Freshmen and the remaining nine have entered for special work and short courses. Five of the students are young women who are studying in the Art department.

The work in Technology consists in the examination of materials from all parts of the country. This is carried on by the students under my own supervision and comprises tests of piasticity. density and color, andfusifJility. For the last named a small furnace of German make has been purchased. This is burned by natural gas and is capable of developing very high te'1lpel"atures. Among the other problems in course of investiga- tion by the students may be mentioned the nature and com- position of artistic, dull surface glazes. the coloring of clays for Terra Cotta; the losses involved in the manufacture of stoneware;

the proper composition of Hotel China; the construction of hard porcelain; and the composition and structure of certain ancient wares. The last named problem offers a fruitful field for the energies of art students, since many of the beautiful wares of an- cient times have been neglected, and are in danger of being for- gotten.

During the year 33 samples of clays, shales and other materi-

ApPENDIX D 95 als have been received for examinatIOn and I may mention that had these been handed to a private analytical chemist the cost to the owners of the material would have amounted to many hun- dreds of dollars and even then nothing more than a chemist's re- port would have been secured

The experience of clay workers shows that the technical and physical problems are at lea8t as important as the chemical. and in this school the endeavor is made to give both the chemical, and the physical tests. From within the state these samples came from Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chemung. Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Onondaga and Steuben Counties; and outside, samples from the States of New Jersey, Illinois, Kentucky, ,Missouri ",nd Pennsyl- vania. This amount of experimental work carried out on a large scale, taxes the resources of the school and it seems likely to speedily outgrow Ollr present facilities. It is obvious that with a full schedule of study students cannot give a great amount of time daily to this work, and, in the available time, it is not possible to complete a practical test in a shorter period than two weeks. It will therefore be seen that in the school year, of forty weeks only about twenty could be run without unduly high pressure. It is even now becoming evident that, if the school is to be effective as an experiment station for the State, paid assistance mu::t be provided in the near future.

The increase in the student body of men who have already had practical experience in factories is most encouraging. These students look keenly to the reputation of a school and its faculty and present themselves where they can secun: the most practical results.

I wish to acknowledge the obligation of the School to the legis- lature of

I902,

for the additional maintenance appropriation of

$2565.00 which has enabled the school

to

possess an adequate kiln house and fixtures and to plumb the main building for gas and water, improvements which were greatly needed. I must.

however, point out that to maintain the work on its efficiency and

to accommodate the increasing body of students, a considerable

outlay upon small apparatus is important. The equipment of

grinding machinery has become quite inadequate; and. as an illus-

tration of the narrow margin upon wh:ch the work is carried. I

would ;:,tate the fact that the whole of the experimental work has

been done with a single pair of

scale~.

ALFRED YEAR.BoOK, 1902

03

My own work has been continued as usual. I have can·

ducted the necessary classes, the laboratory work, directed the efforts of the students each in his individual line, and have assisted with my own hands in the practical cli:pcrimentation on clays. The of working in schools has been brought under my noticc, and with the view of promoting this study,

I

have attended Association at Belmont and Al- mond and the of Class Teachers and Science Teachers at in each case to the assembled teachers.

I

have also invited the Class, which meets at Alfred. to attend the school weekly for practical instruction. This they have done to their great advantage and satisfaction.

Calls for technical assistance have repeatedly been received and willingly to and investigations are still going on with the view of d:fficulties of manufacture.

I

attended the of the American Ceramic Society as usual and am every possible effort to advance the teehni- cal work of the country.

The financial statement for the year is appended.

Respectfully yours,

CRAS. F.

BINNS,

Director.

Alfred, January

I,

1903.

TREASURER'S REPORT