The Teaching of Art Related to the Home Part 14

_Name of Project: Improving Our Home_

(Reported by an Alabama high school girl.)

In the spring I took as my project home beautification. I thought when I started there was very little I could do to improve the old barnlike house and unsightly grounds, but the more I did the more there was to be done. I began by removing the old overgrown hedge from the side and front of the yard. After grading the ground we sodded the whole yard in Bermuda gra.s.s. The house was next underpinned with rough strips of lumber which were painted. A lattice fence was also built from the house to the garage (about 40 feet).

Between the fence and the lawn a s.p.a.ce about 30 feet square was left for a flower garden. Just in front of the fence several rambling rose bushes, jonquills, and chrysanthemums were planted. All around the garden I had flower beds about 4 feet wide filled with marigolds, zenias, bachelor b.u.t.tons, asters, and phlox.

In the summer we decided that we could afford a concrete walk and steps. This was a little expensive but it has helped the looks of the place so much that we have never regretted the time and money spent.

The interior next received attention, beginning with my own room.

The furniture consisted of an iron bedstead, an oak dresser, table, and chairs. There was a faded rug on the floor. I moved the dresser to another room, then from an old washstand I made a little dressing table. With rough lumber I made a window seat which I covered with bright cretonne. The furniture was very attractive after a coat of paint and two of enamel were put on. I have very light curtains at the windows. The old rug was turned over and looks almost like new.

The walls in the living room and hall were painted in buff, the dining room and kitchen are to be the same.

One of the greatest improvements of the interior is the built-in cabinets. A very convenient one was made between the dining room and kitchen, where an old chimney used to be. The bricks were used to build a bas.e.m.e.nt. The part of the cabinet in the dining room is to be used for dishes, and that in the kitchen for the cooking utensils.

Both are to be painted cream inside and oak outside.

Next spring I am going to plant more flowers and keep working on everything that I think can be improved, for I love home projects.

It not only has helped me, but has helped my entire family and even our neighbors.

Section V

ADDITIONAL UNITS IN ART RELATED SPECIFICALLY TO HOUSE FURNISHING AND CLOTHING SELECTION

Though we travel the whole world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.--Emerson.

In the earlier sections of this bulletin it has been suggested that the first course or unit in art be chiefly concerned with the fundamental principles of art and that applications of them be made in a great many fields. It is antic.i.p.ated that a detailed or complete study of art as related to home furnishing or to clothing selection is to be given at a later time as separate units or courses. It is, however, hoped that the foundation course in art related to the home will give pupils such training that they will be better able to solve their most common daily problems in which art is an important factor, should they fail to have opportunity to take units in home furnishing or clothing selection later.

In schools having two semesters that can be devoted to related art, it is recommended that the fundamental art course in which general applications are to be made be given in the first semester and the work of the second be composed of these more advanced units. When but one semester is provided for related art work, additional units in home furnishing and clothing selection should become a part of the regular homemaking program, with several consecutive weeks planned for each unit. These additional units offer fine opportunity for further applications of the principles of art in judgment and creative problems pertaining to home furnishing and clothing. Since the pupils will have gained an art consciousness through the more general course in art related to the home, and should have developed to a fair degree an ability to recognize and use certain fundamental art principles, it may be expected that the home furnishing and clothing selection units will be built around the larger and more difficult judgment and creative problems of selection, combination, arrangement, and rearrangement as they are met in life.

In planning for a unit in home furnishing as an additional unit in related art, the present and future needs of girls should again be considered. In the study of house plans, the question arises as to whether or not to require pupils either to draw original plans or to copy plans for houses. To do so has been justified as a means of developing interest of pupils in well-planned houses. However, since comparatively few pupils will ever make use of house plans they have made and because many of them will have occasion for making changes in a house that is already planned or a.s.sisting in the selection of a plan for a house, it would seem more worth while and less time consuming for them to judge house plans from the standpoint of convenience and the placing of furniture than to draw them. Since the amount and kind of wall s.p.a.ce is a determining factor in successful arrangements of home furnishings, opportunity for the individual pupil and cla.s.s to judge house plans should be provided. Many interesting plans are to be found in nearly all household magazines. Care in the selection of such plans is important in order to avoid discussion of types of houses that are not in keeping with the standards of the community.

If the home furnishing unit is to provide worth-while training and experience it should give to the pupils not only an ability to recognize good design and pleasing proportion in various pieces of furniture but ability to determine pleasing combinations of color, design, and texture in upholstery, drapery materials, and floor coverings, and to arrange and rearrange furniture and home accessories so that the rooms are comfortable and inviting.

In all consideration of home furnishing and accessories, emphasis is given to the selection of the vase, the lamp, the chair, or the curtain which is most pleasing in shape and suited in color and texture for a particular grouping or arrangement. In the earlier and more general art unit, attention is confined to such selection for some parts of the home, but in the later study of home furnishing, they are made for the entire home, with more specific reference to the relationship of one room to another and to larger arrangements.

It is a.s.sumed that in cla.s.ses for the average girl 14 years of age and above, little if any reference will be made to period furniture. If any is made, it should be from the point of view of determining the suitability of adaptations of it to the average home and not purely as a means of identifying one style from another.

To the extent that a better appreciation of good design and proportion in furniture may be gained by studying why some period furniture, as early American, is always beautiful and continues to be reproduced, it may be desirable to make some allusion to it. When a teacher determines that for the majority in a particular cla.s.s there is no need for devoting any time to a consideration of period styles in furniture, she may satisfy the few who ask questions concerning those styles by directing them to specific reference readings and allowing them to make individual studies of those in which they have greatest interest.

The type of furniture to be found within the community is always a guide in determining how much, if any, study of period furniture is to be made. An attempt to justify such a study is sometimes made from the standpoint of the pupil's personal need in a.s.sisting in the selection of new pieces of furniture for the parental home and of the future need in selecting furniture for her own home. But, after all, success in providing an attractive and convenient home depends more upon the harmonious combination of colors and materials and the satisfying daily arrangement of furniture and accessories than upon whether or not the furniture is of a definite period or style. It is upon the former that emphasis should be placed in planning and directing a unit in home furnishing if it is to be of the most service in the everyday experiences of the pupils.

The unit in clothing selection provides further opportunity for valuable art training. The main purpose in this unit is to develop in the pupils an ideal of being becomingly dressed at all times and an ability to choose and combine articles of clothing into attractive daily ensembles. It is evident that if such a training is to be of real service to the pupils in meeting their daily clothing problems they must work as much as possible with actual garments, clothing materials, and clothing accessories. The pupils may be expected to bring some of the needed garments and accessories from home, the teacher may borrow some from the stores, and whenever possible the pupils may be taken to the stores. Such an experience as the last named is most true to life and is described elsewhere under the topic "Field trips." (See pp. 53-55.)

Many teachers question whether or not to include some study of historic costume. Since the unit in clothing selection is designed to give the pupils an ability to solve their daily clothing problems, the practice of having the pupils make sketches, tracings, and mountings of costumes of different periods is undoubtedly of little value. It is not only time consuming but can contribute very little to the development of judgment in selecting and combining articles of modern clothing into suitable and becoming ensembles. There is even a danger that such a procedure may stifle rather than stimulate interest in beautiful and harmonious clothing combinations for everyday use. However, certain features of those costumes which have withstood the test of time and have been revived and adapted again and again in modern dress designs may justly claim some consideration. A few well selected and mounted ill.u.s.trations of these historic costumes in color may stimulate an interest in art and a desire to know more about the influence of dress in the early periods upon the designs of to-day as well as contribute to better appreciation of color.

Section VI

ILl.u.s.tRATIVE MATERIAL

When you understand all about the sun and all about the atmosphere and all about the rotation of the earth, you may still miss the radiance of the sunset.--Whitehead.

PURPOSE

In home economics teaching there is an increasing recognition of the importance of ill.u.s.trative material as a teaching device. There is no greater opportunity for effective use of it than in the teaching of art related to the home. Since one of the major objectives of such a course is to develop an ability to select the most suitable materials and articles, and since there is such a variety from which to choose, it is essential that materials which will give the pupils contact with good things and adequate experience in selection be provided.

Another important objective is to develop ability to make successful combinations and arrangements. Since it is not yet possible to use real homes as cla.s.srooms, it is advantageous to bring some of the home into the schoolroom.

Some outstanding advantages of the use of ill.u.s.trative material are:

1. It focuses attention upon a single example and affords opportunity for common interpretation and discussion.

2. It furnishes visual as well as audible instruction.

3. It provides contact with actual materials not in an imaginary form, but as found in real life. (The use of doll-size houses with furnishings is questionable for their construction is too time-consuming and they are too much in miniature to furnish standards or to interest girls in real problems.)

SELECTION AND SOURCE

What are the factors governing the choice of ill.u.s.trative material? The following ones have been adapted from a study by a graduate student at the University of Nebraska. The material should--

1. Make a psychological appeal by--

_a._ Coming within the experience of the pupils.

_b._ Being suited to their age and previous training.

_c._ Possessing pertinent and attractive qualities.

2. Afford wide opportunity for independent choice.

3. Be simple and adapted to the standards of the community.

4. Be reasonable in cost.

Teachers of art have a double problem in the selection of ill.u.s.trative material in that they must not only choose those things which meet the above standards, but they must eliminate those in which there are unrelated factors which cause a lack of clarity. Quality rather than quant.i.ty should be the guide in making selections, for a small amount of well selected and arranged ill.u.s.trative material is usually more effectively used than a large unorganized collection. Having determined upon the pieces of material that are desirable, the next problem is where to obtain them. Every teacher of art should build up her own personal collection of materials to supplement what can be procured from other sources, for one teaches best from her own material. At the same time, the teacher has a responsibility in guiding the selection of some pieces which should be provided by the school as permanent ill.u.s.trative material. Still other pieces which it is inadvisable for either teacher or school to buy may be borrowed for special purposes.

Chart 3 lists the general types of ill.u.s.trative material and indicates possible sources of this material.

Chart 3.--_Types and sources of ill.u.s.trative materials_

------------------------------------+-------------------------------- General types of | Sources of these materials ill.u.s.trative materials | ------------------------------------+-------------------------------- | I. Articles and materials | in everyday use: | | 1. School-owned materials-- | 1. This collection will be Book ends. | acc.u.mulated as funds are Candlesticks and candles. | available and as desirable China. | articles are located.

Colored papers. | Certain things as bits Curtains. | of yarns and sc.r.a.ps Flower vases and bowls. | of materials may be Necklines cut from neutral | contributed by members fabrics. | of cla.s.ses.