CHAPTER 20

Designing for Tiles and Pottery

PRINCIPLES OF PATTERN DESIGN are important for the craftsman to be familiar with, for the reason that it gives points with which to “check up” drawings before they are applied, as well as to permit greater facility in designing.

MANY DESIGN WELL without having learned the theories of design, having a natural sense of good arrangement of details and spaces. However, natural designers, as well as those who do not find it easy, will profit by becoming well grounded in the design principles.

NATURAL FORMS afford excellent examples of principles, giving beauty in line, form and color; and the more the designer refers to nature for these ever occurring lines of grace and beauty, the greater will be his development as a designer.

SUCH STUDY FROM NATURE should be intelligently pursued. To study nature for design motifs does not mean that “photographic” arrangement or life-like sprays should be applied onto surfaces. The most deplorable forms applied to pottery or other handicrafts are those that have been made with no thought of the surface influence upon the pattern designed. The designer should refer to nature only as a reference from which inspiration is received for motifs to be used. In every instance the forms in nature should be interpreted into design and so transposed that they beautify the surface irrespective to resemblance to the natural source. Nature uses patterns in all her kingdoms correctly. The patterns on petals and leaves, the pattern on bird plumage and animal skins, as well as nature’s designs on minerals are all beautifully arranged to conform to the contours of the surface. It would have been just as easy for the Great Creator to produce forget-me-nots and violets in natural splendor upon the leopard, but the ringed spots varying and converging to the lithe, graceful lines of the surface without any appearance of being in relief upon the skin are much more beautiful. Those who state that “Nature cannot be improved upon” as an excuse for natural representation in designing are overlooking nature’s real poetic opportunities to the designer. No true artist or designer ever hopes to actually represent nature. It is impossible. The best that can be done is each individual artist’s interpretation of nature forms founded upon governing principles. These principles have been tested by centuries of scrutiny and all beautiful forms of historic ornament are governed by principles which, as has been stated, originated in nature’s design forms.

RADIATION, SYMMETRY, UNITY, SUBORDINATION, MEASURE, ETC., are all principles of importance, but the three that are of great value to the craftsman are Measure, Balance and Unity.

THESE THREE PRINCIPLES can be used to test the line, form and color of the design before it is applied.

MEASURE is the principle that requires a consistent varying of areas, line directions or colors. Measure creates interest. It does not mean that large and small parts are to be designed without any further consideration. There must be a right proportion of one to the other and balanced as regards their location. Measure will control the contours or forms of vases and motifs for if the widest part of the form comes above or below center of the axis, it will be more interesting than if located in the center. The working plate illustrates this.

BALANCE is the principle which creates harmony by contrasting measures. If we have a heavy spot on one side of a design, the eye requires satisfaction by seeing another spot or several parts equal in weight to the large spot on the opposite side of the design. Balance is also secured by locating a unit or design spot in the proper location of a space, without necessarily having a second opposite spot. Nevertheless, it is balance in relation to its background. Balance may be secured by Symmetry, making parts like-sided or balance may be secured by equal amounts of form on two sides of an axis, even though not symmetrically placed. (See working plate.)

Balance in color requires that if a color is used in a single spot that its location be pleasingly balanced within the space decorated. Where a color is to be used in several places in the design, these different spots should balance each other.

UNITY is the principle which brings harmony into design by similarity of parts, by keeping lines of a design parallel to the space outline within which they are designed. Again the main lines of a design if radiating from a point or axis within or without the design space produces unity. Unity is produced by harmonious values and by harmonious color.

A DESIGN WITHOUT UNITY may be one where the parts are too varied in form, where they do not pertain or group with each other, but appear “explosive.” Different finishes to the motifs in a design destroy unity. Avoid mixing naturalistic or conventional and geometrical motifs in the same design, and using lines or forms which are not pleasing in direction, or harmonious with the space in which they are placed.

UNITY requires that all parts of a design be of similar expression. To have one part of a design based upon a poppy or bird with a section drawn naturalistic and another part conventionalized and possibly a third section in geometric arrangement is to produce disorder or dissimilarity, and yet such fault is apparent in a large proportion of designs.

ALL DESIGN FORMS CAN BE DIVIDED INTO FOUR DIVISIONS and these divisions can be defined as Naturalistic, Conventional, Geometric, and Abstract. If any design motif for a tile or any application is started in a Naturalistic manner, then all parts should be expressed in the same manner.

THE NATURALISTIC DIVISION OF DESIGN is where natural forms and growth arrangements are planned or designed within a given or arbitrary space. The decorative arrangement comes from carefully planning the subject so that it composes in a pleasing way within the space. The Japanese designs are good examples of this kind of decoration. It will be found that careful attention is given to the background spaces as well as to the parts of the subject being drawn. Strong outlines, double outlines and individual techniques or renderings further increase the decorative quality of a naturalistic design.

THE CONVENTIONAL DIVISION OF DESIGN is where a typical form from a nature growth is taken and repeated in regular repetition, or a general shape formed from a plant form and used to interpret the subject. For instance, a flower with several petals will have each petal different in contour, but in conventional design, one shape is chosen and this shape is repeated. While no two leaves are alike on the plant, one or two conventionalized shapes are determined and these shapes are then used throughout the design. The veins and stems of the flowers may be elaborated or the leaves may have their centers designed or “inhabited” so that added interest may be created in the subject.

THE GEOMETRICAL DIVISION OF DESIGN is when the subject is designed entirely with triangular, rectangular, square, oval, elliptical, or circular shapes, or where the outlines follow straight lines which may go at right angles to each other or in oblique directions. Such straight line designs are technically required for rug or textile designs and due to the ruggedness and strength or interest achieved through a straight line rendering are often adapted for decorating many other forms of applied art.

THE ABSTRACT DIVISION OF DESIGN is represented by that form of design which may have little direct representation of the natural forms, but has been developed from it. We find that the wave border of the Egyptians and the Greek fret are abstract designs of the water. The Peruvian Inca, the Aztec and North American Indian used abstract designs of the bird and other nature forms in their textiles and pottery. The abstract design requires a careful arrangement of line and form spaces, depending as it does on good design for interest rather than its identity to nature forms.

LINE UNITY is that principle which appeals to the eye by the relation of lines in the design to the space decorated. Curved lines for curved forms and straight lines in the designs decorating straight lined forms will do much toward making all parts consistent. A line not too curved and with a blending of straight lines with the curved direction produces a line of character and strength for design rendering.

A TEST OF GOOD DESIGN is to see if the main lines or “frame lines” are pleasing in direction, decorating the space, whether any more details are added or not. No amount of filling in and adding of motifs will perfect an imperfect beginning.

BLOCKING IN of general forms is considered essential in freehand drawing and it cannot be discarded in designing. First plan the main lines of growth of the design. Then block in the masses or motifs to be used. The details and connections as well as the technique of the design will then be a simple matter to solve.

THE GREATEST ENJOYMENT to the craftsman in any line of endeavor lies only through working out of Good Design.

WHEN MODELING FOR COLOR CEMENT HANDICRAFT or for any applied art it will be found that three forms that are least modeled will be most pleasing in the years of usage. High relief is not refined or deservable in applied modeling. Sculptors everywhere are studying and returning to the chaste, quiet forms of flat bas-reliefs of which we find excellent examples among the early work of the Egyptians, Byzantines, the early Indian and Chinese carvings, as well as the work of the Aztecs and Maya Indians of early America. A few examples of these types are shown and workers in color cement will find ultimately that they have chosen a good influence if they will work their projects in color cement handicraft in this manner.

High projecting parts and naturalistic representation of flower or foliage masses are neither pleasing nor artistic and a visit by anyone to the good museums will fail to find any such productions from the art ages of the past recorded as good examples of the era.

Keep all parts applied to the curved or flat surface of the bowl, vase, box or tile so that it appears to have been always a part of it rather than an afterthought and detachable in relation.

Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber:

tested with a Beaume=> tested with a Baumé {pg 175}

40 degrees Baume=> 40 degrees Baumé {pg 153}