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KERAMIC STUDIO 
HOW TO USE A MOTIF 
Albert W. Heckman 
NE of the problems of the china decorator, 
to say nothing of the designer in general, 
is how to use a motif. There are many 
problems, to be sure, that Keramic Studio 
hopes to helps its readers with, but this 
one seems to stand out as being worthy of 
our immediate attention. From where are 
we to get our motifs ? Our first thought is, of course, from 
the Museums of Fine Arts, but we all do not have access 
to them and many of us who do, have not always the time 
it takes to study the fine old textiles, laces, pottery and 
other things for useful motifs. Excellent photographs are, 
however, to be had of many of these things. Keramic 
Studio will publish some of them from time to time with 
the hope that they will be of practical benefit, and, where it 
is possible, it will be shown how they can be used. Through 
the courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art one of an 
old lace altar cloth is being published this month on 
page 167. 
Art instruction which gives a student power to create 
something which has value and fine quality as a work of 
art must be two-fold in its nature. It must develop within 
the student the ability to execute in a skillful and crafts- 
manlike way and it must also develop the student's capacity 
for discrimination and judging what is good and what is 
not good. Most of us will agree that many of our decorators 
are thoroughly acquainted with their craft and are highly 
competent to carry out the most difficult designs that 
Keramic Studio has to offer. On the other hand, many of 
us, including some of these very competent workers, will 
also agree that they are unable "to make up a design of 
their own," to say nothing of being at a loss to know 
just how to adapt some of the designs and motifs which 
appear in the pages of this magazine to their own particular 
needs. 
By way of illustration let us assume that we should like 
to make use of one of the motifs in the photograph on page 
167 in decorating a bowl the shape of which is something like 
Fig. 1. How shall we go about it? First of all it is advis- 
able to become thoroughly acquainted with your motif and 
to do this nothing is better or more practical than to make 
drawings of it in your sketch book. (Fig. 10 shows a page 
of motifs taken from the writer's book) . For this purpose 
India ink or black water color is very satisfactory. Having 
done this how shall we proceed to make the design for the 
bowl? 
First : By planning the arrangement of the design as a 
whole in black and white only. 
Second: By planning the arrangement of the motif in 
the design, also in black and white. 
Third: By planning a suitable color scheme. 
Considering the first part of this problem, one of the 
things we ask ourselves is, where shall we put the decora- 
tion, on the inside of the bowl or on the outside, in a border 
or in an all-over arrangement, in a panel or simply as a 
unit complete in itself on the sides of the bowl ? The shape 
of the thing to be decorated must help us with this part of 
the problem. In this instance this bowl and many others 
like it, especially those which are pentagonal or hexagonal 
in shape, lends itself favorably to the use of a panel arrange- 
ment in decoration. Perhaps if the bowl were a low one 
a border arrangement would be better or if it were more 
open it might be better to confine the decoration to the in- 
side of it. Now, as we take some paper and a brush full 
of paint and start to plan the design as a whole (it is advis- 
able to make the drawings as large as the bowl to be decor- 
ated) we find ourselves beginning to divide the space in one 
way or another. All applied art is dependent upon spacing 
and the finer the spacing, of course, the finer the art will 
be. Fig. 2 shows how this process of space division may 
be started and figures 3 and 4 show how these first simple 
divisions may be carried a step or two further. Thus far 
the problem has been easy enough for any beginner to do 
and do in a creditable manner if some thought is given to 
the work. One could make ten or more variations in this 
way and then select that which is most satisfactory. This 
process of making many different arrangements of one 
thing and then selecting that which is most satisfactory is 
an excellent way of developing one's capacity for discrimi- 
nation and being able to say, if a thing is not good, at least 
wherein it might be better. 
When you make these variations, first try some very sim- 
ple line arrangements, and, as you proceed, think more and 
more of arrangements in dark and light areas. Widen the 
lines where they are too thin and wiry, group them 
Where they "fall apart," vary the width of them in these 
groups where they are too much alike, fill in a space here 
and there with a solid dark — in this way your line drawing 
will develop into one of dark and light areas. Where you 
use a secondary idea or motif keep it consistent with the 
dominant one. For instance, one could plan an arrange- 
ment of large and small panels, keeping the large ones for 
