18 
KERAMIC STUDIO 
TEACHING DESIGN IN CLASS (Pages 21-22) 
Lillie W. T. Bennett 
GIVEN an Art School, Class or a Club, a teacher may 
follow the successive steps of fundamental drawing and 
design. But most teachers of china painting seem to be given 
a class whose members are without art training and most 
firmly and unitedly insist upon flower painting only a thing 
they have seen and feel they can understand. If a private 
teacher and you are to continue to hold your class, you must 
sustain the interest and make the class feel that they are 
getting what they wish. They feel that is for what you 
were engaged. At the same time you will wish your class to 
do a little work and study the principles of decoration. 
How are you to go about it? 
If the mountain will not come to Mahomet, Mahomet 
must go to the mountain and it is also good psychology to begin 
with pupils on their own plans — just as you find them. Then 
begin with the naturalistic but encourage arrangement in the 
parts of the decorative. 
First you will need some examples of these naturalistic 
arrangements to exhibit to your pupils. Examples of these 
arrangements are shown in Plate 1 examples 1 and 1 A. Plate 2, 
1-3-7-8, etc. You can make further examples by translating 
conventional (abstract) and semi conventional designs into 
terms of the naturalistic. Take a piece of tracing paper and 
trace lightly any semi-conventional design, then using the 
flower that you have chosen draw on the tracing more firmly 
and in a naturalistic manner, keeping to the same or similar 
line arrangement. Example plate 1-5 could have been de- 
rived from 6, 1 from 3 and 2. 1 A Plate 1 naturalistic arrange- 
ment to repeat five times about the rim of a plate, 2 a 
semi-conventional arrangement, 3 a more abstract and 4 more 
abstract derivation, 5 and 6 are also derivations. Or divide 
your plate into any number of equal parts 3, 4, 5, etc. In one 
of the sections draw a naturalistic arrangement with any four 
well spaced parts of a flower as 1 A or D., repeat this about the 
plate. When your pupils become interested in these examples 
of naturalistic arrangement fill your studio with good examples 
of semi-conventional work. Have some new thing each week 
on exhibition but do not force the attention upon it. If you 
surround them with good things some one will admire and 
mention some one of the examples some day. Then you can 
argue and point out the good points of the design, its line, 
its light and dark and light, the color and what is most impor- 
tant the adaptility of the decoration to the form and to the 
use of the object. During the discussion some one, or you, 
may suggest that some one design might be more pleasing if 
the units were more compact. This would suggest an exer- 
cise in rearranging or rather respacing designs from the maga- 
zines making some parts larger, some smaller in an effort to 
better a design. Make some of these changes before the class, 
on the board, or on paper with the class looking on or get them 
to carry out some of the suggestions for you. 
As soon as you can get the students to put pencil to paper, 
they will become interested and quite fascinated in seeing the 
difference a slight variation in spacing, etc., will make. Your 
battle will then be more than half won. 
Have all the arrangements pinned up on the wall. Try 
and find some good point in each design. If you have time 
help each pupil carry out your suggestions, your criticism. 
But make no change without telling why you made it. That 
is do not say, simply, that the unit or a part of it would be 
better if larger. Tell them of the process by which you ar- 
rived at your decision; if the part of the unit is so small that 
it attracts attention unduly, the eye sees it alone,thus destroy- 
ing the unity, the holding together of the design. Learning 
to analyse is one-half of the study of design understanding. 
To the beginner the first principles of design are always very 
confusing, it is a new field, he is very much at sea to where it 
all leads, easily discouraged. More personal help and encour- 
agement will be needed during the early stages of the study 
than at any other period. Try and find all the good points 
possible at this time and emphasize only one or two very ob- 
vious points in each talk. 
In Egyptian, Assyrian and Greek borders you will find 
much material for exercises in variation. Another valuable 
exercise is to have each pupil bring in an example, object, 
drawing of what he considers good in design. By encouraging 
an expression of the reasons why the design is liked you will 
not only develop the analytical powers but get an idea of 
the taste (the degree of art culture) of the person. Perhaps 
in working out these problems the students will be very much 
hampered by a limited knowledge of drawing. Show them 
that the principles of design are the same when applied to 
straight lines as to curved and flower and figure composition. 
Suggest the use of the straight line in the exercises and suggest 
the absolute need of drawing lessons. Now the battle may 
be won. You can now begin with the design problems, your 
system of composition supplemented with drawing. Draw 
flowers, fruit, from life for you do not wish your pupils to be 
limited to strict arrangements. If each design problem 
is applicable to china decoration, and occasionally developed 
upon the ware, a sense of doing actual, practical work will be 
developed. 
•f *• 
ROSE DESIGNS FOR THE COUNTRY HOME (Supplement) 
W. K. Titze 
BOWL BORDER 
1 — Green bands, equal parts Yellow Green and Copen- 
hagen Blue. Grey bands, Copenhagen Blue (light) Roman 
Gold for lines and basket motif. Roses, Yellow shaded with 
Yellow Brown and a little Brown Green. Hearts of roses 
Yellow Brown and Yellow Red. 
TEA PLATE DESIGN 
11 — Circular motif to be placed in center of plate. Roses 
First fire use Grey for white roses, Albert Yellow for the cen- 
ters shaded with Yellow Brown and in deepest parts a touch 
of Yellow Red. Leaves, Yellow Green shaded with Grass 
Green, Brown Green, Russian Green. Make the leaves of 
many colors, Violet used lightly is a good color for shadow 
leaves. Retouch motif with same colors as in first fire. 
Band on outer edge is of Black with an inner line of gold. 
Circular motif to be outlined in Black. 
Ill — Narrow green band, one part Yellow Green, one 
part Brown Green. Large green band, Grey Green. Yel- 
low bands, Albert Yellow, use it medium strong. Work roses 
with Yellow shaded with Yellow Brown and Brown Green, 
centers of Yellow Brown and Yellow Red. All lines and space 
in back of rose tree is Black. Use a little gold in the upper 
portion of tree design and along the stems of tree. 
IV — Use Dark Blue for Dusting in bands. Trace design 
in carefully. Outline with water black, or India ink, apply 
special dusting medium (thin), allow to stand about 10 min- 
utes then dust on color. Allow this to stand a while then cut, 
with an orange wood stick, your design. Stems to be left white. 
Roses, any standard Rose color can be used. Leaves of Yellow 
Green. Lines of gold. 
A FLOWER VASE 
V — Upper portion is worked as tea plate design No. IV. 
