Part 5

_Exceptions._--While the above rule should be generally followed, there are exceptional instances of the perfectly harmonious arrangement of flowers of two or more kinds together. Among these we may mention the combining of field daisies and buttercups, or buttercups with the grasses among which they grow. So, too, the lacy flower of the wild carrot may sometimes be effectively combined with some other flower. The spikes of the cardinal flower, for example, are gorgeous in colour, but very stiff and difficult to arrange; so the addition of a few sprays of the wild carrot softens the effect and makes it more pleasing.

COLOUR ARRANGEMENT

We have just considered the grouping of flowers by themselves. There is another element to be considered before we can have artistic results, and that is arrangement as to colour.

_Colour Grouping._--We may not all be sensitive to colour ourselves, but in arranging flowers we should always keep in mind the pleasure that is to be given others, and so we wish nothing in our colour grouping that will offend those whose colour sense is keen. There are three colour schemes that can be followed with success and satisfaction to all. In one we group together only flowers of the same colour, as red roses, pink sweet peas, yellow iris, not red, pink, and white roses, nor all of the various colours of sweet pea.

Another arrangement calls for shades and tints of the same colour. With many flowers it is possible to get exquisite effects by following this scheme. For instance, pansies ranging from a pale lavender to deep purple are lovely arranged in a low basket of damp moss. Sweet peas have beautiful shades of pink that can be combined, as well as shades of red and of lavender. Nasturtiums are never so effective as when the various shades of yellow, orange and brown are used together. The garden aster of to-day is another flower that affords much pleasure in colour arrangement; for it has lavenders and purples, a variety of pink tones, beautiful reds, and perfect white ones.

And the white ones! What shall we do with these? Three or four pure white asters of the same variety may be used together; or two or three white ones may be grouped with a few lavender ones, or pink ones. White may be combined with any colour with good results. Nature is a good teacher here for she gives us both the coloured and the white in almost every variety of flower. For example there are crimson cosmos and white cosmos, scarlet geraniums and white geraniums, blue violets and white violets, and so on through a great many varieties.

_Combination of Complementary Colours._--Another colour grouping that is sometimes desirable makes use of the complementary colours. The salpiglossis, a garden flower that ought to be better known than it is, gives us examples of these, with its blue and orange-yellow flowers that are so effective together. The iris also has flowers of complementary colours, yellow and violet blue being common among them.

THE FLOWER HOLDERS

_A Flower Composition as a Picture._--Having learned something about the artistic use of colour, we come to the consideration of the arrangement of the flowers, and this includes the vase or other receptacle used for holding them. An artistic flower composition is a picture; and as the mat and frame give finish to a picture hanging on the wall, so the vessel holding flowers should give the required finish to the flower picture. Like the frame, it should be simple in design, have graceful lines, and serve only as a medium to set off the flowers to the best advantage. There should be as little decoration as possible, and when jars or vases of colour are used they must blend or harmonize with the colour schemes of the flowers placed in them.

_Receptacles for Flowers._--It often is a problem to find the most fitting thing for holding flowers; but in the reliable Japanese shops one can always find some simple holders, and there are very good designs in the clear and in the green glass that are inexpensive and appropriate. As a rule the less expensive the article the better adapted it is as a suitable holder for flowers. One need never mourn that she cannot afford cut glass vases for flowers, as they and their cheap imitations are among the most unsuitable of holders.

_Four Typical Flower Holders._--Let us suppose our equipment includes four simple receptacles,--a small, clear glass fish globe such as may be had for twenty-five cents; a clear glass vase, about twelve inches in height, cylindrical in shape though flaring a little at the top, costing twenty-five cents; a large cylindrical Japanese jar of a pale green tint, eighteen inches in height and costing about one dollar and a quarter; and a deep green one, about eight inches in height, which may be bought for sixty or seventy cents.

The fish globe is very effective when nasturtiums and their leaves are loosely arranged in it. The stems show through the water and glass and form a part of the composition. Short stemmed roses may be most artistically grouped in it. I have seen a very charming combination of mignonette and bachelor's buttons in the same bowl, as well as a harmonious picture in yellow, composed of the various shades of California poppies and their foliage.

The tall glass sets off two or three long stemmed roses: and a few yellow daffodils or the narcissus with their leaves look equally well in it. Poppies for a day, in the same vase, have given pleasure to the beholder. At Easter it has joyously borne a stalk of two perfect lilies, and in the autumn tall spikes of salvia have been equally at home in it.

Our tall Japanese jar is suited to larger arrangements, for we need to remember that in tall or vertical compositions the vase should be about one third the height of the whole combination; so this is adapted to holding branches of apple blossoms or mountain laurel; or, if one is fortunate enough to find tall lilac bushes, about three branches from these are effective in it. Tall-growing golden-rod looks equally well placed here. It furnishes a modest setting for dahlias and chrysanthemums, and one of its most decorative compositions has been two or three branches of pine bearing their brown cones.

The possibilities of the smaller green jar are numerous, and only a few are given as suggestions. A loose arrangement of jonquils and their leaves, or of white narcissus, is effective. The shorter stemmed lilacs, either the purple ones or the white ones, may be placed in it. An arrangement of white field daisies, and one of yellow roses, have been found equally successful. One soon discovers the harmony and balance that exist between the flower and holder.

THE BACKGROUND

_Space and Harmonious Surroundings._--To obtain the largest decorative effect we must have not only artistic grouping and harmonious setting of flowers, but space and background, just as are needed for the hanging of pictures. Many a floral composition has lost all decorative effect from being placed in too small a space and surrounded by distracting objects. A few days ago I stepped into a room on an errand and forgot my errand in the pleasure I derived from seeing some beautiful yellow chrysanthemums, three or four, I think, in a yellowish brown jar on a large mahogany table, having for a background the upturned leaf of the table. It stood some little distance from anything else, a shaft of sunlight lay across the whole, and as I looked at it I thought: Here is all that constitutes a decorative arrangement of flowers. It was the feature of the room that held one's attention.

_Flowers for the Dining Table._--If we can have flowers in but one room in the house, it may be difficult to decide which one it shall be. Since it often happens that the dining-room is the only room where a busy family comes together for any length of time, flowers should certainly be introduced here that all may share their beauty and cheer. Any arrangement for the home table should be moderately low; and there are many simple flowers that can be used in this way to advantage. For instance, one can gather a quantity of the innocence or common bluet (root and all), to be found in any field in the spring, and put them in a shallow glass dish. Simple and effective decoration for the table is the result. Flowers with any degree of fragrance should never be used in the dining-room. The fragrance of some flowers is offensive to many people, and when combined with the odour of food doubly so.

At a luncheon served by the girls in the model house the floral decoration for the table was a half dozen single, yellow jonquils with their foliage, placed in a creamy brown vase made by one of the girls. Their dishes being in white with a gold edge and the walls and furniture in browns, nothing could have been more harmonious than these few simple flowers.

_Expensive Flowers not Necessary._--It is evident that for floral decoration neither expensive nor lavish displays are necessary, that simplicity is the thing to strive for, and that a few sprays of wild flowers in their season are more truly artistic than many expensive hot-house flowers. In this country we do not, as the Japanese do, make a festival in honour of certain flowers; but if we rightly appreciate and utilize the flowers of each season, we may give a touch of festivity to the life of every day.

In the early spring nothing can be more appropriate than an arrangement of pussy willows or branches of the alder with its tassels, while the red maple when in flower gives a touch of colour that will brighten any room. A clump of blood root in a small jardiniere is as decorative as the expensive plants one may see in the home of some friend. The flowers of the field and the garden offer so many possibilities for decorative results that no one's home need lack the cheery touch which they can give.

There is a personal element in flowers such as is not found in any other means of decoration, not even in pictures, with the single exception of good portraits. They seem to speak to us. We can almost believe that they feel an interest in all that we have said about them. If they really could know, would they not approve the principles that we have laid down? We may fancy that they _would_ approve and that, if they could really speak and we would listen, they would tell us so in some such language as the following:

WHAT THE FLOWERS SAY ABOUT IT

Don't mix us; we are exclusive and prefer our own kind.

Don't make a confusion of colour with us.

Don't arrange us in snug, solid masses.

Don't neglect to use our stems and foliage as a part of the decoration.

Don't tie us with ribbons, nor put paper-lace frills around us.

Don't crowd us in with an assortment of household goods; we need space and a background.

Don't arrange us in tall, stiff forms for the dining table.

_Do_ love us and use us in the home as much as possible. This is well for you. By so doing not only will your love of us increase, but your artistic perception of the fitness of things will constantly enlarge. For truly has it been said, "The poorest woman in the world, if she has faith in beauty, will always be able to fill her home with light; she can always place there some flowers."

V

DECORATIVE FABRICS

PORTIÈRES, WINDOW DRAPERIES, CUSHION COVERS, TABLE MATS

The very need of ornament arises out of a certain innate discontent with plain, smooth surface--_Lewis F. Day_

No kind of decorative art offers greater possibilities for touching the right--or the wrong--chord than that which makes use of fabrics. Portières, curtains, cushion covers, table runners and mats, lamp shades, and many other furnishings, in which fabrics are involved, present problems that quickly engage the interest of the amateur decorator who wishes to avoid the commonplace and, when well worked out, add greatly to the attractiveness of artistic surroundings. And every house becomes a studio for problems peculiar to itself, when the possibilities of development in this direction are realized. Here, as everywhere else, decorative art is secondary to architectural design and must never fail to acknowledge its dependence. Its glory is to follow. To attempt to lead means miserable failure.

_Example of the Model House._--The wide doorways connecting the hall, the living room, and dining-room of our model house made doors undesirable and portieres necessary to assist in marking the division between the rooms and to soften the lines of the wood finish. They were made to harmonize with the colour scheme but were darker and richer in tone. The multiple windows, with the absence of direct sunshine, suggested the light style of drapery; and the preference given to straight-lined, substantial furniture, made in the school shops, led as a natural consequence to cushions and coverings of leather or coarse fabric, in order to bear out the idea of simplicity, directness, and durability in craftsmanship. Velvets and satins would have been out of place.

_Utility to be Regarded._--The highly decorative function of such accessories makes it doubly necessary to exercise care in selecting materials, designing the ornamental features, and properly placing the completed article, in order that the requirements of use be not subordinated to the demands of art. It must never be forgotten that utility is the basis of all true decoration. Portieres were originally a substitute for doors--a means of closing an opening between rooms. It must be possible always for them easily to serve this purpose. Hence loops or rings, which slide easily over a pole, should be used. Portières may properly be made of heavy cloth and they may have a lining harmonizing or in pleasing contrast with the tone of the principal fabric. They should always be at least opaque. Window draperies, on the other hand, are not a substitute for shades or curtains. They should not shut out the light but soften it. They should, therefore, be made of light, washable, and durable material, and be hung so that they can be easily taken down for cleaning. The simplest style of hanging, by means of a brass rod and plain brackets, is the best. Since there is no need of frequently sliding them over the rod, it is well to hang them by means of a hem, stitched two or three inches from the top of the drapery, through which the rod may be easily pushed. Cushion covers and table runners, made of durable material and decorated with colours that are washable, are manifestly more serviceable than those that look fresh only when new, and hence are more in keeping with the idea of sincerity in household decoration. There is necessity for honesty in decoration as well as in plumbing if it is to meet the tests with equal success.

How such decorative features are worked out from beginning to end, is told in the following directions for a few practical problems which are known to be practical, because they have been actually carried through from the design to the completed article. This detailed and complete explanation, with the accompanying illustrations, will suggest many similar problems which every home offers.

BLOCK PRINTING

Problem: _Decorating a Table Runner_.--This problem is easily separated into four distinct parts--making the design, cutting the block, printing, and finishing. The materials needed are as follows:

(1) Making the design Ordinary drawing paper Rice paper Charcoal Pencil Japanese or sable brush, medium size Water-proof India ink

(2) Cutting the block Gum wood Small penknife Vise Sand-paper, fine

(3) Printing the design Printing board Sheet of glass Oil paints Turpentine Palette knife Cotton batting Cheese cloth

(4) Finishing the runner Embroidery silk or mercerized cotton

_The Design._--To carry out the problem as illustrated, it is necessary, first of all, to make the design. Geometry, nature, and the imagination are satisfactory sources upon which to draw for the motif. If the inventive faculty is quite undeveloped, one should study for suggestions the figures in Oriental rugs, photographs of early Eastern art, and the fine old tapestries in museum collections. Some good geometrical designs, like that used on the pillow cover illustrated on page 104, were made by school-girls after drawing many figures found in rugs; and interesting bird patterns, after studying numerous reproductions of Coptic designs. In no case was the block pattern in the least like the designs studied. They served only as ideas to start with and led to the production of truly original work. It is essential to keep a few simple principles in mind in working out the design: (1) Both the dark and light shades in the patterns should be varied in size and form to avoid a monotonous result and should be as beautiful in proportion as possible. (2) There should be a centre of interest, one part of the design dominant--more attractive than any other. (3) The design must be a unit--_i. e._, the parts must hold together. All feeling of unity is lost if the parts of the design call attention to themselves to the exclusion of the whole.

_Preliminary Sketches and the Drawing._--It will be found desirable to make many preliminary sketches in charcoal or soft pencil, rubbing in a part of each sketch with a tone in order to secure immediately the dark and light effect. These should be compared, keeping clearly in mind the principles stated above. When one possessing the right qualifications has been found, the next step is to draw on a fresh piece of paper an accurate 3-inch square and copy upon it the satisfactory design in pencil outline. This should be done very carefully, that the spirit of the original charcoal sketch may not be lost. When the drawing is completed it must be put into shape to be transferred to the block. To do this we fasten a piece of rice-paper over the drawing and trace with very light pencil lines, filling in the dark spaces with black ink, using a brush. This brush work may be done directly without the pencil line if the drawing underneath shows very plainly through the paper. When the ink has thoroughly dried, the design may be cut out on the edge of the 3-inch square.

_Laying the Pattern and Cutting the Block._--A block 3 × 3 × 7/8 inches will now be required. This should be procured and sand-papered. One face of it should then be covered with a coating of library paste, the pattern laid upon it, and rubbed down smooth. If the design is symmetrical it should be pasted on the block, ink side up, but otherwise with the ink side down, or the design will be reversed upon the cloth. When the paste gets quite dry one may then fasten the block in the vise and, holding the blade of the knife at a slight angle and always away from the dark spots, proceed to cut the design along the outlines. These must be kept very smooth and sharp. All of the white shapes should be cut out, leaving the black ones in relief. Usually an eighth of an inch will be deep enough for the background, but it will be found after practise in printing that the larger spaces should be cut deeper and that, when the edges or corners of the block form a part of the background instead of the dark pattern, they also need a deeper cut. The paper that still adheres to the face of the block may now be removed by rubbing it upon a sheet of sand-paper laid upon something hard and smooth like glass in order that the block may have an absolutely level surface.

_The Padded Board._--All block printing should be done upon a padded board. A very convenient one can be made by laying upon a bread board three or four sheets of blotting paper, and tacking over these several thicknesses of cheese cloth. In place of these an ironing board may be used.

_Material Required._--It is essential to select for the runner a piece of crash of fine texture and even weave. This is sold under the name of Russian crash and is from 15 to 16 inches wide but varies considerably in quality. It is very difficult to print well upon the coarser grades.

_Trying the Colours._--After deciding upon a colour which will harmonize with the general colour scheme of the room in which the table runner is to be used, it is in order to mix the paint and try the block upon a small piece of crash. To prepare the paint, squeeze a small quantity of the true colours chosen upon a sheet of glass and blend thoroughly with the palette knife, thinning with turpentine to the consistency of cream. It is seldom that a colour right from the tube will prove a pleasing one to use. Other colours mixed with it will change its hue and intensity; black or white will alter the value. Tie a little cotton batting up in a small square of cheese cloth or old handkerchief linen, being careful to remove from the raw edges all ravellings that might drop into the paint. Spread out quite thin upon the glass a small portion of the prepared paint and press the pad into it a number of times until it has absorbed all it will. Now charge the block by lightly pounding its surface with the pad. Press the block upon the cloth evenly. Only by repeated experiment will it be possible to determine just the right quantity of paint to mix, its brilliancy of tone, its consistency, how heavily to charge the block, etc. A good print shows the texture of the cloth through it, is even in tone, and has clear-cut edges. If the print looks like a painted spot, or if, when quite dry, you find it has stiffened the cloth, the paint used was too thick or else the block was too heavily charged. Different materials require different treatment. For a thin silk the block should be very lightly charged and lightly though evenly pressed upon the material. In printing upon crash it is necessary to press the block very firmly upon the material; and frequently, to insure getting a sufficiently strong impression, it is advisable to tap the block lightly with a hammer or wooden mallet. If one has a steady hand, the block can easily be lifted at one side to determine just where the extra pressure is needed. The block should be thoroughly rubbed with old cloth after each impression is made and occasionally sand-papered to remove any paint that may adhere to it. The first print made after sand-papering the block is liable to be a little less distinct than the others and should therefore be made upon an extra piece of the material.

_Centring the Work._--A good way to plan the placing of the panel design is to run a basting thread across the crash between two of the woven threads. Mark the centre of the runner upon this thread, and, using these guides, print the design, beginning with one of the central units.

_Additional Features._--Considerable charm can be added to the pattern by filling some of the spaces with a simple darning or running stitch in some bright colour. The embroidery thread used should be rather fine. It is well to finish the ends of the runner by button-holing with ravellings of the crash. Tiny dots of some colour used in the panel may be embroidered at intervals just above the button-holed edge.

_Colours._--The following list of oil colours will be found practical: ivory black, flake white, burnt sienna, light red, crimson lake, chrome yellow, chrome green, permanent blue.