198 
RERAMIC STUDIO 
IS there not more than 
*■ one legitimate type of 
decoration ? After all that 
has been written on this subject 
in favor of conventionalism, this is 
still the cry that goes up from the 
vast number of students, who, as lovers 
of Nature, loath to sacrifice any of her 
charming irregularities of form or color, 
plead for more liberty than is permitted by 
the canons of pure design. . We, who are in 
touch with this army of workers, helping, sug- 
gesting, supplying their needs, realize that there 
must be compromises; that there should be a 
platform upon which those of different tastes 
may meet. 
For the majority of us, the journey from the 
natural to the abstract has been slow, having 
been begun with the study of methods instead 
of principles. We cannot all see through the 
same eyes, and what is beautiful to one does 
not appeal to another. "There is nothing ab- 
solute in art, art is not a science," but there are 
principles which govern it, and which if violated 
lead to confusion. It is these which must be 
studied first, methods and technique afterwards. 
Now let us see if we cannot, through an under- 
standing of these principles, effect a comprom- 
ise which will result in a type of decoration that 
will satisfy us as lovers of nature, without offend- 
ing the advocates of pure design. Naturalism 
is defined as "truth of aspect," conventionalism 
as "truth of construction and detail"; nature 
the inspiration, the foundation of both. An 
accepted authority on this subject defines de- 
sign as the orderly expression of an idea, and 
rhythm, balance and harmony as the princi- 
ples of order and beauty. A conventional ar- 
rangement and treatment of a motif is undoubt- 
edly the surest way of obtaining order in a de- 
sign. However, because a decoration is con- 
ventional in treatment, it is not necessarily 
orderly or beautiful; because a decoration is 
naturalistic in treatment it does not follow that 
it is disorderly or in bad taste, het us then 
waive the terms naturalistic and conventional, 
and take for our standard the orderly arrange- 
ment. 
The Japanese type of decoration 
bears witness that a naturalistic or 
semi-naturalistic arrangement need not 
violate the principles of rhythm, bal- 
ance and harmony. On 
the contrary these princi- 
ples are the basis of Japa- 
nese art. Rhythm is the 
concerted movement 
throughout a design or deco- 
ration which carries the eye 
from one part to another. That 
movement may be swift or slow, 
it may be secured by repetition or 
otherwise, but it must be continu- 
ous, always carrying the eye back into 
and not away from the design. Rhythm 
may be expressed through the orderly ar- 
rangement of a decoration even though the 
treatment be naturalistic or semi-naturalistic. 
There are two ways of obtaining balance, 
either through symmetry, the opposition of 
equal attraction, or by the opposition of unequal 
attraction, which is a higher type of balance 
and which characterizes the best in the art of 
Japan. The word harmony, though itself sug- 
gesting what it comprehends, may be said to be 
the delicate adjustment of the component parts, 
making them mutually dependent, and consider- 
ing the relation of lines and tones as well as color. 
A harmonious effect may be secured in a dec- 
oration having a naturalistic treatment, but 
the question arises how to discriminate between 
decorative naturalism and realism. The one 
is impressionistic, the other a literal rendering 
of the subject. The latter draws attention to 
itself to the exclusion or the object decorated, 
the former deals only with the main character- 
istics, emphasizing them, eliminating unnecessary 
detail, and, by a refinement of color, bringing out 
the poetic qualities. Thus an impression is 
produced rather than a reality, which contri- 
butes to the beauty of the form without over- 
shadowing it. "Put away the allurements of 
imitative naturalism, except in so far as they 
may be made to contribute and be subservient 
to the effect and purpose of the whole." The 
decorative quality is hard to define. Its domin- 
ant characteristics may be said to be simplicity 
in color and construction. In the realm of 
flowers, the wild varieties are consequently more 
easily adapted than the cultfvated. with a few 
notable exceptions, such as the poppy and nas- 
turtium of the garden. 
Birds and fish are extremely decora- 
tive in color, especially when in mo- 
tion, their ryhthmic qualities lend- 
ing themselves admirably to design. 
Order and simplicity 
should characterize the 
decoration of china for 
MOUNTAIN ASH 
