The Teaching of Art Related to the Home Part 9

The "trial and error" procedure is well ill.u.s.trated in the following report of a Wisconsin high school teacher:

Related art is taught in all units but is taken up in detail for the first time in the soph.o.m.ore year in home furnishing and decoration, wardrobe planning, and the Christmas gift unit. Most of the girls come from very poor homes; and the prevailing idea of beauty is largely artificial flowers or large framed family photographs.

The aim in the related art work has been to help the girls use the things they already have and to appreciate beauty in the things they own and have the opportunity to buy or see.

The following problem arose in the soph.o.m.ore cla.s.s of 27 girls in the home furnishing and wardrobe planning unit:

The girls were to make Christmas gifts in which their knowledge of design and construction was to be applied. The gifts were to be for some particular member of the family or friends. After deciding what they were to make they planned the design and colors. Some of the girls used yarn or bias tape designs on theatrical gauze or monk's cloth, making scarfs, pillows, curtains, davenport covers, or couch covers. Others made collar and cuff sets, ap.r.o.ns, underwear, towels, laundry bags, pan holders, or pa.s.se partout pictures.

Elva came to school with a blue bird panholder to embroider in many colors as her gift to a married sister. I told her it would take much time and I wondered if it were worth while putting the time on a panholder. I asked her if the design were appropriate, and she said she liked it better than the plain quilted holders.

I did not know what to do as I did not want her to spend time on such a foolish and inappropriate article but decided that she might be convinced of her poor choice after making it so I allowed her to work on the holder, giving her help as needed, but no encouragement as to the beauty of the holder. In order that the others in the cla.s.s might be more convinced concerning some of the things we had discussed in our related art from this holder, I asked each girl to keep accurate account of time spent in making the gifts.

The girls who were making plain holders had finished a set of them and at least one other simple gift while Elva continued embroidering on her holder. Everyone was much interested in all of the gifts and made many comments. Although none but Elva knew my views, she received no cla.s.s approval or bursts of enthusiasm over her holder, and one girl even ventured to ask her if she thought her holder was good design.

Finally the gifts were finished, and each girl exhibited her work, criticizing it both constructively and adversely. Finally it was Elva's turn. It was a pleasant surprise when she said: "I spent 6-1/2 hours of time on this one holder, and I don't like it now.

I could have made six plain ones, and they would have been better in design and served the purpose better than this one will. I don't think my sister will appreciate this holder more or maybe as much as one of the others."

The cla.s.s did not take exception to her criticism, and we then evaluated the design, appropriateness, and time spent on it. The cla.s.s decided Elva was right in her conclusions that she had made a mistake.

As most of the girls were giving their gifts to persons in the community, we discussed placing and use of the various gifts, and the girls decided that after Christmas they would tell how or where the gifts were being used. When this time came and Elva reported, she said the panholder had surely been used and was so badly scorched that you couldn't even see the design that took 6-1/2 hours.

Several laboratory problems which teachers have used in art cla.s.ses are here presented. In the light of the standards which are offered as a basis for determining what problems shall be chosen, they are discussed briefly as to their educational possibilities. The order in which they are listed is alphabetical and not suggestive of importance in ranking.

1. _Block printing._--If the designs are so simple that the girl learns how to adapt similar simple designs to other things for her home, this problem may have value in such a course. In addition, the girl is acquiring a wall hanging or a table cover that will have an appropriate place in her home. Such simple blocks may be kept for using on a variety of articles for gifts which the girl can make at very little expense and in a short time. The "stick printing" also offers some opportunity for adapting designs.

2. _Fabric or yarn flowers for the wardrobe._--If such articles are made of appropriate materials, there is opportunity for girls to exercise judgment in the selection of colors, textures, and combinations that are suited for their use on special garments.

3. _Hand st.i.tchery (embroidery, hemst.i.tching, f.a.goting, and quilting)._--In so far as the pupils can justify the use of hand st.i.tchery for a particular article or garment and then confine their efforts to the choosing and adapting of designs, to the planning of color combinations and to the doing of just enough of the st.i.tchery to learn the process, st.i.tchery problems may have a place in the art course. The actual repet.i.tion of st.i.tches is too time consuming for cla.s.s practice. Unless the pupils will finish such problems outside of cla.s.s some others would better be chosen. There is an opportunity through st.i.tchery problems to show girls how a bit of appropriate handwork may be applied to an inexpensive ready-made garment, thereby enhancing its attractiveness and value.

4. _Lamp shades._--Lamp shades may be individual cla.s.s problems if the pupils have real need for them. If made in cla.s.s the educational value comes through planning the size and shape, choosing suitable and inexpensive materials, and adapting appropriate designs to them.

5. _Lettering._--Since in many real situations in life one is requested to print one's name, it would seem desirable to include some very simple straight-line printing problems.

6. _Marbleized paper._--This is a possible cla.s.s exercise which involves the handling of colors. Such papers may be utilized as wrapping for gifts, book covers, desk sets, or portfolios.

7. _Painting furniture._--There will probably be little opportunity or need for the actual carrying out of such a laboratory problem in the beginning course in art related to the home, but it may be used successfully in a later unit in home furnishing or in a home project. The educational value in painting furniture is confined to the choice of finish and color and in learning the manipulative processes. The actual painting of many pieces is too time consuming to be done at school and too laborious for young girls to do una.s.sisted at home.

8. _Place cards._--The choice of size and shape of card and the placing of the name on it are the important factors in using plain place cards. Here is an opportunity for girls to make use of straight-line letters. In selecting and making decorated place cards, suitability to purpose and kind and amount of decoration are other factors that need to be considered.

9. _Portfolios._--Simple portfolios may be appropriately used as cla.s.s problems provided the pupils have a need for them.

They afford opportunity for the application of the principles of proportion, emphasis, and harmony as well as of color.

If decoration is to be used, it should be simple and suited to the material of which the portfolio is made and to its intended use.

10. _Posters._--When the need for posters arises, a related art cla.s.s may profit by applying their knowledge of color, emphasis, and s.p.a.ce arrangement in making them. For a simple yet attractive poster, a well-mounted picture which suggests the story with one or two lines of lettering may be grouped to form a unit. This takes but a short time. For those students having difficulty in making the straight-line letters in crayon or ink, the gummed or cut letters may be used, or a school stamp lettering press may be utilized.

11. _Rug hooking._--The educational value of this problem is in the selection and adaptation of designs and colors to the s.p.a.ces and materials used. Beyond this point it is largely repet.i.tive manipulation; and unless girls want to finish rugs outside of cla.s.s, and will have an opportunity to do so, such work should be discouraged.

12. _Tie dyeing._--If good dyes are procurable and the exercise is limited to using a few hues, tie dyeing may be desirable from the standpoint of developing ability to combine colors successfully and to the fitting of the design to the shape of the piece dyed.

If used as a cla.s.s problem, special attention needs to be given to the adaptation of design to the s.p.a.ce. This means careful preparation of the material for the dye bath. Wise planning for the desired color effects is also essential.

Shaded dyeing offers an interesting opportunity for further use of color. The problem involves the recognition of interesting ranges of values and the determination of pleasing s.p.a.ce relations for those values.

It has been suggested previously that handling dyes would be a more valuable experience to girls than using paints or water colors. However, to insure success, dyes of standard quality should be selected and carefully prepared. Soft water has been found best for most dyes. A soft, loosely woven material without dressing is typical of the fabrics that are most frequently dyed at home and may well be used at school. Carefully dyed yard or half-yard lengths of cheese cloth have been found valuable in supplementing other fabrics in the study of color. The experience girls gain in mixing and handling the dyes for these short length pieces has been deemed by some teachers as far more valuable than that gained through making flat washes for a color chart as a means of understanding colors and their relationships.

Much time is usually lost in having pupils attempt to mix paints for flat washes for the various hues of color charts. The purpose of making color charts is to provide the girls with a guide for recognizing and combining colors. Many teachers have found that a more successful method is to have the pupils arrange colored fabrics or papers in the order of their hue relationship. It has not been considered necessary for each pupil to do this, since the ability to recognize hues and their relationships may be equally well achieved through working in groups. A large chart of standard hues provided by the teacher will be valuable in developing understanding of color.

13. _Weaving._--This problem requires a loom, and for the small amount of weaving that should be done in school and in view of future needs, the teacher is seldom justified in asking for such a piece of equipment.

Book ends, trays, and candlesticks are essential articles from the standpoint of utility and well-selected ones are valuable as ill.u.s.trative material in the development of good judgment in their selection and arrangement. When these articles are used as laboratory problems, special care should be taken to avoid placing the emphasis upon decoration.

There are no doubt other problems that may be used successfully.

However, only those should be chosen that will supplement the art training advantageously and that will measure up to the five suggested standards on pages 47-48, which, stated in more specific terms, are--

1. Every article should require a relatively small amount of time and few repet.i.tive practices.

2. Every article should be evaluated in terms of its relation to use and surroundings and chosen for a specific place.

3. Every article should meet the fundamental requirements of good design.

4. Decoration, if any is used, should make a lasting contribution rather than a temporary appeal.

5. All problems should require only that technique which can be achieved successfully by the pupils.

FIELD TRIPS

Field trips in some form have been used to quite an extent in the teaching of many subjects and have been undertaken for a variety of reasons. In the teaching of art the purpose may be fourfold:

1. To stimulate interest in beauty.

2. To provide contact with materials and articles as they are to be found in life.

3. To extend information.

4. To provide additional opportunity for exercising judgment.

Unless the trips to be made by the cla.s.s are planned carefully they may become merely freedom from regular school routine. If the group has an opportunity to help plan the trip, including the route to be taken, the points of interest to be looked for and reported upon at the next regular meeting of the cla.s.s, the conduct to be maintained on the trip, and the courtesy due the homemaker or the merchant or the business man who is cooperating with the cla.s.s visit, there is bound to be greater interest and concentration upon the trip with more beneficial results.

Trips taken very early in the unit or course can do little more than serve as a means of stimulating interest in the new phase of work. Trips taken later may be used to verify conclusions and develop judgment in making selections as well as to create broader interests.

One cla.s.s in a study of clothing selection made several trips to the local stores. The first one was preceded by a study of surface pattern in dress fabrics from the standpoint of the effect of design and color upon the appearance of the wearer. The trip to the local stores was made to determine which of the wash dresses exhibited in three store windows best met the standards which the cla.s.s had set up for such a dress. The standards were as follows:

1. The style or design of the dress should be suited to the kind of fabric and the surface pattern of it.

2. The tr.i.m.m.i.n.g should be in harmony with the construction lines and the color of the dress.

3. The surface pattern of the material should be one of which the wearer and her friends would not soon tire.