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They are involved in a rhubarb, you might say. But in their work that phrase does not have a derogatory connotation. Their rhubarb leaf ceramic pieces are among their most popular numbers. The leaf's graceful lines and intricately-veined design have proved so adaptable and versatile in their work that it has received top rating in generating ideas for their leaf ware production.

Rhubarb leaves vary widely in size. The two women use the four- to five-inch span as a pattern for their popular ash trays, relish dishes or what-nots, and the umbrella-sized sixteen- to eighteen-inch leaf as a pattern for the large sandwich or cake salvers. All find a ready sale at $1 to $7.50 each according to size.

They also use other leaves for their patterns such as maple, oak, linden, canna, calla lily, hollyhock and delphinium. Yes, even some of the common roadside weeds such as burdock, sunflower and dandelion, serve as models.

"What a pretzel-like turn one's interest can take!" says Mrs. Sabatka. "Who would ever think I'd go down some alley, or into a vacant lot just to look for the unusual in leaves? Or that this work would have so captivated my attention that I'd become more interested in leaves on a vacation trip than in scenery?" Judging from the dozens and dozens of neatly-pressed leaves she has filed for use, her off-the-beaten-path searching has paid off.

HAVING DECIDED on the type of dish she wishes to make, Mrs. Sabatka turns to her "leaf file," and selects a maple, rhubarb, calla lily or what-not according to the type and size of the dish she plans to make. She then rolls her clay to the thickness of one-eighth to one-fourth inch, and lays on the leaf. She then gently rolls over it a small rolling pin to imprint its shape and the intricately-patterned vein design into the clay.

With a scalpel she then cuts around the leaf including the stem, if she plans to use it to help form the handle of the dish. Returning the leaf to the file for further use, she then models the leaf-shaped clay into the desired form, placing crumpled tissue under each part as she molds it to hold it in shape as she works around the leaf. If she is making a strictly round or square dish, she may shape it over a mold. She has even used a baseball bat for the purpose.

As the three- and four-leaf dishes are popular, she will pattern that number from the same leaf. When all are modeled, she may center all at the stem, intertwining the leaf stems artistically to form the handle, or she may attach the dishes at the tip end, or even at the sides to give variety. To attach them she uses a little slip clay as a glue. When dry, they are fired at the 06 cone, at 1,840 degrees.

PERHAPS SOME of the popularity of these leaf dishes may be attributed to the majolica decorative treatment they get in the hands of Mrs. Gill, the decorator of the team. At least when completed, these dishes resemble the Renaissance Italian majolica ware. The pottery's beauty is due to the skilled application of thin, lustrous majolica enamels. These can be purchased in any of the shops handling ceramic products.

To produce these American majolicas, Mrs. Gill takes the clay dish in the bisque or once fired stage, and first covers it with white majolica enamel both top and bottom. It dries almost immediately. Then usually using a green shade of the enamel, with a rather large art brush she starts at the center of the dish and works the enamel irregularly toward the sides. She also applies the green to the back, allowing a little to flow over the edge of the inside. Although this sounds as if it may be rather carelessly applied, it must be most carefully done, requiring some experience to do it effectively.

Next she paints on other colors (not over four) along the sides, such as yellow, rust, or blue, one after another, drawing them down toward the green center until the edges are washed together smoothly. That is also true of the green that was allowed to run over the edge at the top. "One thing to remember," says Mrs. Gill, "is that the majolica enamel must be applied carefully because there can be no re-touching, as it dries so rapidly."

When completed it looks as if one had poured one color after another into the dish, and then had wiggled it around to splash the paint down the sides. That makes it sound as if it were a hit and miss affair, but it is anything but that. However, the blending of the colors creates a very effective decoration. It seems particularly adapted to the leaf ware because the enamel settles in the intricately-veined pattern of the leaf that was imprinted into the clay when the rolling pin was passed over the leaf as it lay on the soft clay.

When all the enamel has been painted on, the dish is left to dry from twelve to twenty-four hours, after which it is fired at the 06 cone, 1,840 degrees. One of the interesting things Mrs. Gill finds in working with the majolica enamels is that she never knows until the piece comes from the firing just what the color will be, making it impossible to copy the piece exactly in a second attempt.

THE MAJOLICA is not the only imported pottery this team imitates. They find "sgraffito" or slip-tracing ware a ready seller. Originally this was made by the Rhineland Germans near the Swiss border. From there it was introduced into this country by the colonial Pennsylvania Dutch. Their ware was made of the red clay. While in the green or soft stage, it was washed with a slip of white clay. Then while the latter was still soft, a design, usually of trees, birds and long stemmed flowers was traced on, and the design then etched through the white clay with a sharp tool or pen, allowing the red clay to show through to produce the decoration.

Mrs. Gill follows the same method. She selects a ten- to twelve-inch ceramic-clay plate which Mrs. Sabatka has just taken from the mold. It is in the soft, the leather or unfired stage, not thoroughly dry, yet firm enough to handle. To make sure that it is moist enough to take the paint readily, she sponges it lightly with water. She then paints it with a slip paint-liquid clay to which she has added some color such as soft gray, peach, delft-blue or any other desired shade. It has the consistency of ordinary paint. With this colored liquid clay she then goes over the plate four times to be sure that it is well covered, each time from a different direction. She then traces on a picture—a Dutch scene with trees, vines and birds, or a Chinese design with long flowing lines is effective. Long lines are more effective than the short choppy ones.

Then, using the sgraffito or slip-tracing tool, or even an old dental knife, Mrs. Gill carefully grooves out the design-about one-sixteenth inch wide through the slip paint she has just added until the plate itself shows through this design. The latter is a gray color, the shade of any ceramic before it is fired, unless one has the red or other colored clay. The contrast of the two colors, the slip and that of the plate itself, makes the design stand out effectively. If the slip gets too dry to groove smoothly, she moistens it with a wet sponge. The important thing is to be sure to have smooth, clean edges all along the outline of the design, for there should be no gouging. At the end, Mrs. Gill examines the piece carefully, and smooths up any ragged edges along the design. Unless one is careful, it is so easy to gouge a little too deeply here and there. When dry, the plate is ready for the firing. Then when it is thoroughly cooled, a clear, colorless glaze is applied, and it is fired again, at the 06 cone.

AMONG OTHER attractive pieces which the women make are the sponge-painted dishes. These are, particularly effective for flower holders. Using the liquid or slip clay, they run it into a mold as for a vase, bowl, pitcher or what-not. When it is dry, it is fired. In the bisque, after fired stage, it is then dipped into glaze, dried and fired again. It is then hand-painted with china paints. It may first be given an over all coat of some color like lavender, rose or blue. Mrs. Gill attaches a nip of a sponge to a stick, and dips this sponge into some contrasting color, gilt or silver or any other, and dabs here and there more or less helter-skelter, never in even stippling. When all the color desired has been applied, it is then sprinkled with jeweled frit powder which gives it an attractive crackled effect. This, however, is not to be confused with crackled glaze. The piece is then fired.

This ceramic team hand paints most of their ceramic ware, using china paints. They use them not only in the design, but on the dish or vase itself to make the dish look more graceful and distinctive by highlighting or shadowing curves and bulges. It eliminates the flatness of the ordinary molded ceramics, and lifts them into the class of those shaped on the potter's wheel, individualizing each piece.

Another thing which makes their ceramics unusual is that they china paint all the decorative appliques. The appliques are the flower bouquets, fruit clusters or berries that are put on the covers of the dishes, on slipper toes, or even on the upper surface of plates of varying sizes for purely decorative effects.

To make these Mrs. Sabatka takes regular molding clay and rolls it about one-eighth inch thick. Then with cutters resembling those for making cookies, she cuts out round, or elliptical shaped pieces of clay, which she in turn shapes with her fingers into flower petals and leaves and then arranges in clusters by pressing the soft clay at the base to hold them together much like paper flowers. Berries are made by rolling tiny balls of clay and scoring or marking with a stiletto or pencil at one end to make it resemble the stem end of a currant or gooseberry. Grape clusters are formed from larger balls. She then attaches the flowers or fruit to the dish cover, or vase, or wherever she is going to use them, by using a little of the thin, slip clay. When dried and fired, they hold firmly in place. After the decorated dish has been fired, it is then in the bisque stage, and these flower and berry appliques are then hand-painted with china paints in order to shade them to make them look more natural. This hand painting raises them above that flat, one-color appearance one finds in the usual run of ceramic dishes. When the hand painting is completed, the dish is again fired at the 020 cone, 1,100 degrees.

ALTHOUGH THIS partnership was formed about a year ago, the two women are already finding that they are unable to keep abreast of their trade. They teach ceramics (twelve lessons for $10) and they feel that their markets have been built-up considerably through the students they have trained. Through friends and contacts of theirs, the popularity of their wares has grown. For instance, one woman, a friend of a student, came in recently and wanted eleven gifts, wedding, birthday, etc. She went out with thirteen, giving the cash register a $65 jingle.

To sell through a local gift shop, they first showed the owner samples of their work, which convinced him that it might be profitable for him to handle their goods. He himself thought they were selling them too cheap, but agreed to sell them for a commission of approximately twenty-five per cent. Then a woman operating a resort in a neighboring state visited their shop and before she left, she took some pieces with her on consignment at a twenty per cent commission. She is now selling regularly for them, and her customers tell their friends who in turn place orders. A friend of Mrs. Sabatka and Mrs. Gill has been responsible for a number of orders from California and another from Alabama. An exhibit at their local fair also resulted in some good sales for the two women. Many repeat orders followed later. Thus their markets have widened so that they have no trouble in selling all they can produce.