INDUSTRIAL ART 



2985 



INDUSTRIAL ART 



that are graceful. When we are sure of fine 

 proportions and good outlines as a basis, we 

 can with propriety begin to think about 

 lidding decorative elements in shapes and 

 colors. 



Proportions are wonderfully important in 

 design. The beauty of a Greek vase is almost 

 wholly a matter of proportion. We speak of 

 a man or a woman as having a finely-propor- 

 tioned figure. This means that such a person 

 is neither too short nor too tall, too. thin nor 

 too stout. Even a sheet of paper for a letter 

 or a book page is planned to be in suitable 

 proportions, both for use and for the "looks 

 of it," which means the consideration of beauty. 

 Designs which are planned with regard to the 

 proportions of an object, and which take into 

 consideration the line of construction on which 

 the object is built, are called structural de- 

 signs. We shall develop structural designs in 

 the next two problems. 



These decorated olive bottles make most 

 satisfactory flower holders, especially when the 

 colors are planned in relation to certain flowers 

 that complete the color schemes and produce 

 a wonderful harmony. Fig. 52 illustrates a 

 bottle planned to hold the gorgeous African 



Fig. 52 Fig.54 Fig.55 Fig. 53, 



marigold. It might also be used with brown- 

 eyed Susans, with goldenrod or with yellow 

 chrysanthemums. Its decoration is simply a 

 matter of structural proportion. The bottle is 

 about ten inches high; more than half of it 

 is painted a brilliant orange, with enamel 

 paints. More than half of the remaining 

 height is painted intense yellow, and the rest 

 of the bottle a fine yellow-green (see How to 

 Use Color Knowledge, page 1484). When 



these colors are dry, bands of black enamel 

 paint are added where the colors meet, and 

 at the top. When this is dry, the whole bot- 

 tle is given a coat of white copal varnish. 

 The result is a striking color combination, and 

 when a few long stemmed marigolds with 

 their green leaves and gorgeous blossoms are 

 placed in the bottle, the effect is startling in 

 its brilliant beauty. 



Fig. 53 shows another ten-inch bottle painted 

 as a receptacle for scarlet sage, or salvia. The 

 lower part is painted a fine green, the neck, 

 white; and the "collar," scarlet, all with enamel 

 paints. When these colors are dry, the white 

 stripes are added. They are about a quarter- 

 inch wide and are painted freehand, with a 

 No. 3 water color brush. 



The bottle shown in Fig. 54 was planned to 

 hold the sweet, old-fashioned flower, mourning 

 bride sweet scabious, the botanists call it. 

 This is a shorter bottle than Figs. 52 and 53, 

 being only seven and one-half inches high. 

 The lower part is painted medium violet, made 

 by mixing cardinal red, ultramarine blue and 

 white enamel paint; the neck, a yellowish pink, 

 made by mixing vermilion and white enamel 

 paints. The collar repeats the violet note of 

 the lower part. When these preliminary coats 

 are dry, rhythms of white triangular shapes 

 are painted in a vertical direction on the vio- 

 let background. There are six of these rhythms 

 around the bottle, painted freehand. A sep- 

 arating band of white is also painted where 

 the violet coat meets the light vermilion on 

 the neck. In this bottle pink, white and violet 

 asters also look extremely well. 



Fig. 55 shows 'another interesting decoration. 

 Here the bottle is eight and three-quarters 

 inches high and two and one-half inches wide. 

 The entire bottle is painted black. When this 

 coat is dry a design of white squares is painted 

 near the top. The simplicity of this black and 

 white scheme heightens the effect of fine yel- 

 low dahlias placed in the bottle. 



There is no end to the color effects and the 

 color combinations that can be secured by 

 using these painted bottles in connection with 

 our best-known garden flowers. It does not 

 take an artist to secure these interesting re- 

 sults, but it does take understanding of the 

 principles of design and knowledge of color. 

 Such information is within the reach of all. 



Problem 10; Redeeming a Marshmallow Box. 

 Not every tin container is fine in proportion, 

 but many boxes in which tea, preserved fruits 

 and candies are packed are of good proportions 



