nfralick
Tue, 11/25/2025 - 19:27
Edited Text
COLLEGE ARCHIVES
X N AGE of speedy change is a time of unpre-
^cedented opportunity.
The world now is re
No longer stagnant and static, it
ceptive to ideas.
it molten and fluid, running into the new molds that
men shape for it.
finest chance.
Our very danger is therefore our
The swift changes that threaten us
also summon us.
The world is waiting for our
message if we have any.
men to lead it.
It is alive and needs live
Let us not moan like the nerveless
Hamlet: “The world is out of joint; O cursed spite.
That ever 1 was born to see it right,” but rather cry
with Rupert Brooke, as he sailed to the hard cam
paign in Gallipoli:
Now God be thanked, who
hath matched us with this hour.
President Faunce, Brown University.
Work
' I ' HERE never has been a more difficult job for
* a young man or woman than that of choosing
a vocation, and at the present time the solution of
that problem is one which seems almost impossible.
Only a few years ago, courses in Vocational
Guidance in high school were able to help a student
with the selection of his life’s work, but now no one
knows exactly how or what to advise the Youth who
are just completing their public school course.
At least we can be proud to be living in this
' age of such speedy change.
Admiral Perry used
about the same kind of a boat as did Caesar Augus
tus or Cleopatra, but look at the development in
ship construction since the time of Admiral Perry,
and compare his flagship with the present NOR
MANDIE or QUEEN MARY.
Mechanically, the world has progressed more
in the last fifty years than in the entire period of the
earth’s existence up until that time.
The electric
street car is one of the modern inventions which has
come and practically gone within the memory of
middle aged men.
No one knows what tremendous opportunity
The Loch
may suddenly open up to the Youth of the coming
generation, and while the present day adult may not
he able successfully to plan your vocation for you,
nevertheless we can be sure of this; the most intel
ligent person is the one who can think and act in
terms of the greatest variety of expression; is going
to be the leader of tomorrow.
Each one of us should know how to express
himself by means of the written word, the spoken
word, graphics, music, and muscular action, and
should be by the same token able to think in these
terms, if he is to succeed.
We learn to write by
writing, and only as we write can we understand
the printed word which may be written by someone
else.
We learn to speak only by speaking, and as
we speak, so can we understand the spoken word
which comes from another’s lips.
We learn to
draw, make diagrams, plans, sketches, only as we
make those same diagrams, drawings and sketches
and only as we do these, may we understand the
drawings and sketches and diagrams, and plans
made by others.
We learn to play the game, to
dance, to skate, to play golf or football or basket
ball, only as we ourselves play the game, and only
when we do can we understand and appreciate the
The Kirk
physical feats of others.
We learn to sing or play
a musical instrument only as we actually sing or
play, and only then can we appreciate and under
stand the great musical works which have had so
much to do with our emotional nature.
In other
understanding
words, true appreciation and
and
thought comes only through participation.
The purpose of this little book is to introduce
to you the possibilities of Art Education as a voca
tion, and specifically the art course as given at State
Teachers College in Edinboro.
If you should de
cide to come to Edinboro, we are sure that you
would find a very friendly
faculty
and
student
group, who would help you to find a type of voca
tion out of which you might get joy and satisfaction
as well as profit in your life’s work.
Auld Mill
THE ART SCHOOL
AJ^HILE a great many of our graduates have
’’ gone into commercial art, salesmanship, com
mercial drafting, and other lines not strictly teach
ing, the art course in our State Teachers College is
designed primarily to train our teachers.
Most
young folks have the notion that they wish to study
Commercial Art if any, but all things considered, it
is far better to teach art and receive a salary than
to enter a field where only the oldest and the wisest,
and we might say. the luckiest, participants are very
successful.
Furthermore, it is, cilraost without exception,
a fact that those who start out with very little desire
to teach, discover after they have practiced it, that
they find a decided joy in teaching.
Our course,
the outline of which you will find on another page,
will give you a great variety of art subjects, and in
education enough academic subjects to give you a
well-rounded, cultural background, which is of
course what the Youth of today needs most if he is
going to face the problems of tomorrow.
Upon
completion of the course, the graduate receives the
The Brig
degree of Bachelor of Science, and a provisional
college certificate permitting him to teach his major
art and minor, usually ELnglish or Social Studies, in
any of the public schools of the state. The college
provisional certificate becomes permanent after
three successful years of teaching.
ART SETTINGS
The natural background of hills, trees, open
water, rushing streams, combined with such things
as men have fashioned in the way of winding rib
bons of roads, bridges, farmsteads, and quaint old
cottages afford a wide variety of background for
the art worker in all media.
The Edinboro Teach
ers College Art Department is second to none in
the range and richness of its settings.
Sketch
TALENT
first question that comes into the mind of
* a young person interested in art is, “Am I tal
ented enough to undertake the serious study of the
subject?
We firmly believe that talent is “ninetenths perspiration and one-tenth inspiration”, and
the ability to draw depends not so much upon art
istic temperament as upon hard work.
Very fre
quently a student comes to Edinboro to take the
art course, without having had art in high school.
He at first seems to be far surpassed by the student
who has had much art in high school under a fine
teacher, but he will in a very short time catch up
with and often do better work than the so-called
talented student.
What one really needs is an in
tense desire to express himself graphically, and a
love for things artistic.
All the rest will come in
due time, provided the student works and works
hard.
Portrait
EDUCATION FOR THE FUN OF IT
T F one must live in this rather curious world, then
* it would seem advisable to undertake some voca
tion or avocation in which one can find great pleas
ure.
If one never taught, then one would find
enough inspiration in our course in jewelry or pot4k
tery or costume design, modeling, or drawing and
painting, to furnish one with creative inspiration for
the rest of his or her life.
The practice of the arts
is fun, and whether we learn to do some creative
work ourselves, or whether we teach the child how
to create, we can think of nothing, the doing of
which will bring more joy to the individual than
just such practice of some of the arts and crafts.
Portrait
THE COST OF THE ART COURSE
’ I HE Commonwealth of Pennsylvania charges
* no tuition for residents of the state.
The an
nual contingent fee for special art teachers is
$108.00.
The housing fee which covers room,
board, and laundry is $252.00 per year.
Both the
contingent and the housing fees are payable in
quarterly installments.
The Activity Fee, the payment of which ad
mits students to lectures, entertainments, athletic
contests, etc., is $15.00 per year.
It also is pay
able quarterly.
The cost of books and supplies for the average
student amounts to about $50.00 per year.
Design
AN OUTLINE OF THE COURSE
(Leading to the Degree of Bachelor of Science in Public School Art}
Bra. Wk.
Credit in
S. II.
First Semester:
Drawing (1) ..............................................................
Modeling .....................................................................
Physical Education (1) .........................................
Introduction to Teaching ......................................
English (1) ................................................................
English Activities .....................................................
10
4
3
3
3
3
5
2
1
3
3
3
26
17
Second Semester:
Elementary Industrial Arts ................................
Media (technique) ....................................................
Pottery .........................................................................
Physical Education (2) ..........................................
Science I .......................................................................
English (2) ...............................................................
5
2%
2%
1
3
3
10
5
5
3
3
3
29
17
Third Semester:
Design (1) ..........................................................................
Color ......................................................................
Drawing (2) (advanced) .....................................
Psychology I ..............................................................
Literature I .........................................................
6
10
3
28
3
6
3
3
3
5
3
17
Fourth Semester:
Design (2) ..................................................................
Instrumental Drawing ...........................................
Costume Design .......................................................
Home Planning .........................................................
Psychology II .............................................................
American Literature II ..........................................
5
6
6
5
3
3
28
2%
3
3
2%
3
3
17
Credit in
Hrs. Wk. S H.
Fifth Semester
Advanced Design and Color (Applied to Pag
eantry, Stage Setting and Lighting, Com
mercial Art, etc.) ..........................................
Elements of Pictorial Expression and Illustra
tion ......................................................................
Education Through Fine and Industrial Arts...
American Government ...........................................
History of Civilization ...........................................
6
3
6
3
6
3
3
3
3
3
24
15
3
5
3
3
3
5
3
3
14
14
6
6
5
4
3
3
5
4
21
15
21
2
14
2
23
16
Sixth Semester:
Advanced Drawing and Painting .......................
Art Curriculum ........................................................
Educational Sociology ............................................
Elective ........................................................................
Seventh Semester:
Batik ..............................................................................
Jewelry .........................................................................
Art History andAppreciation .............................
History andPhilosophy ofEducation ...............
Eighth Semester:
Student Teaching and Conferences ..................
Techniques of Teaching .........................................
(The above arrangement is made so that a school may distribute
student teaching throughout the year, or have all of it in one semester.)
The first column of figures. Hrs. Wk., Indicates hours spent in
lecture room or studio; the second column, S. H., indicates the semester
hours credit earned towards completion of work for a degree.
A FULLER DESCRIPTION OF SOME OF THE COURSES
COSTUME DESIGN
The study of costume is of importance to every human being who
has any choice or ever hopes to have any choice in the matter of clothes.
Clothes are one’s closest environment and they undoubtedly exert an
influence upon the wearer and his companions. It is not so much a
matter of vanity as of wise social psychology that directs an enthusiastic
study of clothes.
The study of costume may be approached from several different
standpoints: through sewing and the handling of materials; through
constant selection—the buying and selling of garments; through the
drawing and painting of people.
Here in Edinboro the student is encouraged to think of costume
as a branch of pure design, an arrangement of forms, colors, and textures which may have as vital rhythm and balance as the noblest painting and sculpture. Yet the human quality is not to be lost. These
rhythms must arise in the wearer's own personality, his manner of walking and talking and habitual gesture. The forms and colors are taken
from the living, changing, ever exciting pageant of fashions, past and
present.
Stage costume is emphasized as expression of the individual and
the mood of the play; social costume is emphasized as a search for the
ideal, an expression of our time.
(
J
’
|
'
i
i
I
J
[
|
j
Drawing, painting and miniature models are freely used in this
study, but the major emphasis is always placed upon design.
MODELING AND POTTERY
j
Modeling and pottery are two pleasant activities carried on with
clay as a medium. This soft, plastic material responding to the light
est touch is capable of becoming an object of beauty, and expressive of
that fine artistic nature that we all possess.
Modeling is concerned chiefly with the building up of natural form,
a likeness in three dimensions. In our studies at Edinboro, garden and
architectural ornaments, portraits, statuettes, and monumental statuary
are carefully studied and modeled in clay. After that they may be
copied in wood or stone, or cast in plaster, concrete, bronze, and other
materials. Making molds and casting is an integral and very fascinat
ing part of the course.
The creation of these- objects in clay, this fascination of making
the molds and then the final thrill of seeing the idea expressed in a permanent material, are all experiences to be enjoyed in our studios while
dealing with this subject.
’
?.
3
J
1
The modeling of such industrial art objects as book ends, wall
brackets, etc., is a lot of fun, and very practical. Our students have
made many such lovely objects for themselves, for gifts, and to sell at
a good profit.
r
i
[
■
'
»
Beautiful vases and bowls, and jewel caskets with picturesque
Indian patterns, or bright, smooth, sleek glaze, reward the pottery stud
ent. Here, one learns to form these lovely pieces by modern methods.
First, the coil method as employed by primitive people, then the type
made of a number of flat sides of clay rolled out into thin slabs. These
may be hexagonal, octagonal, etc., with scalloped edges and pierced
open work decorations. To the whirl of the potter’s wheel then, one
also shapes beautiful, smooth, graceful vases that rise almost miraculously from out of the potter’s hands. This method known as “throwing”
pottery on a wheel was the universal practice in Bible times, among
the ancient Greeks, during the early history of our country, and is still
practiced by the mountaineer craftsmen in Kentucky, Virginia and the
Carolinas. The last method is slip casting, in which numerous pieces
from one original may be poured into a mold, a practice which was
followed in the great potteries of Staffordshire, Sevres and Dresden.
This is also the general practice employed in the industry today.
After the pottery piece has been formed and becomes dry, there is
still a further step before its artistic fulfillment is realized. This is the
firing, by which means the piece becomes hard and durable, and the
glaze smooth in texture and lovely in color. This firing is done in mod
ern oil burning and electric kilns, where the temperature can be con
trolled and just the right degree reached to achieve perfection in the
product. Students have the opportunity to take part in operating the
kiln and observing the firing process. Then after the firing and cooling
off comes the breath-taking thrill of seeing the same piece that went
into the kiln come out again, beautifully transformed and proved after
a severe test by fire.
ARTS AND CRAFTS
The thrill of accomplishment, the keen pleasure of doing with one’s
own hands those processes which to the uninitiated seem so difficult, the
aesthetic joy of translating into actual materials those exciting images
of inspiration; these are the fruits of one’s labors in the field of crafts.
Can you imagine the pleasurable anticipation, the moments of sus
pense, the moment of realization one encounters along the way from the
very moment one picks up a pretty looking pebble on the beach and
sees it in imagination set in a suitable setting, until one either wears the
finished piece himself or sees it on a friend? Only such pleasure is pos
sible for the person who has actually taken such a pebble and worked
it until the polish they deserve and the stone shaped to fit a particular
desire.
It is well within the possibilities of everyone to design and make
J
jewelry or to do metal crafts. The hands may bs taught to perform the
simple operations necessary in the construction of a really beautiful
piece. The judgment may be trained by experiences to make the de
cisions necessary for making beautiful combinations of processes and
materials.
Lack of success in this field is usually due to fear which may be at
tributed very definitely of course, to lack of familiarity and experience.
The apparently more involved processes of enameling, metal inlay
and the use of millo, etc., are really not difficult, they are merely un
familiar.
In our course at Edinboro, we attempt to help you to an apprecia
tion of materials, processes and workmanship. We lay down no pre
scribed course but we do strive to encourage the student to exercise his
prerogatives as a student in delving into the mysteries of techniques,
helping him over the difficult places, and removing his fear of failure;
replacing such fears with the joy of knowing that in the completed pro
duct he has handled with his own hands every piece of material, made
every joint and decided upon every combination of color.
X N AGE of speedy change is a time of unpre-
^cedented opportunity.
The world now is re
No longer stagnant and static, it
ceptive to ideas.
it molten and fluid, running into the new molds that
men shape for it.
finest chance.
Our very danger is therefore our
The swift changes that threaten us
also summon us.
The world is waiting for our
message if we have any.
men to lead it.
It is alive and needs live
Let us not moan like the nerveless
Hamlet: “The world is out of joint; O cursed spite.
That ever 1 was born to see it right,” but rather cry
with Rupert Brooke, as he sailed to the hard cam
paign in Gallipoli:
Now God be thanked, who
hath matched us with this hour.
President Faunce, Brown University.
Work
' I ' HERE never has been a more difficult job for
* a young man or woman than that of choosing
a vocation, and at the present time the solution of
that problem is one which seems almost impossible.
Only a few years ago, courses in Vocational
Guidance in high school were able to help a student
with the selection of his life’s work, but now no one
knows exactly how or what to advise the Youth who
are just completing their public school course.
At least we can be proud to be living in this
' age of such speedy change.
Admiral Perry used
about the same kind of a boat as did Caesar Augus
tus or Cleopatra, but look at the development in
ship construction since the time of Admiral Perry,
and compare his flagship with the present NOR
MANDIE or QUEEN MARY.
Mechanically, the world has progressed more
in the last fifty years than in the entire period of the
earth’s existence up until that time.
The electric
street car is one of the modern inventions which has
come and practically gone within the memory of
middle aged men.
No one knows what tremendous opportunity
The Loch
may suddenly open up to the Youth of the coming
generation, and while the present day adult may not
he able successfully to plan your vocation for you,
nevertheless we can be sure of this; the most intel
ligent person is the one who can think and act in
terms of the greatest variety of expression; is going
to be the leader of tomorrow.
Each one of us should know how to express
himself by means of the written word, the spoken
word, graphics, music, and muscular action, and
should be by the same token able to think in these
terms, if he is to succeed.
We learn to write by
writing, and only as we write can we understand
the printed word which may be written by someone
else.
We learn to speak only by speaking, and as
we speak, so can we understand the spoken word
which comes from another’s lips.
We learn to
draw, make diagrams, plans, sketches, only as we
make those same diagrams, drawings and sketches
and only as we do these, may we understand the
drawings and sketches and diagrams, and plans
made by others.
We learn to play the game, to
dance, to skate, to play golf or football or basket
ball, only as we ourselves play the game, and only
when we do can we understand and appreciate the
The Kirk
physical feats of others.
We learn to sing or play
a musical instrument only as we actually sing or
play, and only then can we appreciate and under
stand the great musical works which have had so
much to do with our emotional nature.
In other
understanding
words, true appreciation and
and
thought comes only through participation.
The purpose of this little book is to introduce
to you the possibilities of Art Education as a voca
tion, and specifically the art course as given at State
Teachers College in Edinboro.
If you should de
cide to come to Edinboro, we are sure that you
would find a very friendly
faculty
and
student
group, who would help you to find a type of voca
tion out of which you might get joy and satisfaction
as well as profit in your life’s work.
Auld Mill
THE ART SCHOOL
AJ^HILE a great many of our graduates have
’’ gone into commercial art, salesmanship, com
mercial drafting, and other lines not strictly teach
ing, the art course in our State Teachers College is
designed primarily to train our teachers.
Most
young folks have the notion that they wish to study
Commercial Art if any, but all things considered, it
is far better to teach art and receive a salary than
to enter a field where only the oldest and the wisest,
and we might say. the luckiest, participants are very
successful.
Furthermore, it is, cilraost without exception,
a fact that those who start out with very little desire
to teach, discover after they have practiced it, that
they find a decided joy in teaching.
Our course,
the outline of which you will find on another page,
will give you a great variety of art subjects, and in
education enough academic subjects to give you a
well-rounded, cultural background, which is of
course what the Youth of today needs most if he is
going to face the problems of tomorrow.
Upon
completion of the course, the graduate receives the
The Brig
degree of Bachelor of Science, and a provisional
college certificate permitting him to teach his major
art and minor, usually ELnglish or Social Studies, in
any of the public schools of the state. The college
provisional certificate becomes permanent after
three successful years of teaching.
ART SETTINGS
The natural background of hills, trees, open
water, rushing streams, combined with such things
as men have fashioned in the way of winding rib
bons of roads, bridges, farmsteads, and quaint old
cottages afford a wide variety of background for
the art worker in all media.
The Edinboro Teach
ers College Art Department is second to none in
the range and richness of its settings.
Sketch
TALENT
first question that comes into the mind of
* a young person interested in art is, “Am I tal
ented enough to undertake the serious study of the
subject?
We firmly believe that talent is “ninetenths perspiration and one-tenth inspiration”, and
the ability to draw depends not so much upon art
istic temperament as upon hard work.
Very fre
quently a student comes to Edinboro to take the
art course, without having had art in high school.
He at first seems to be far surpassed by the student
who has had much art in high school under a fine
teacher, but he will in a very short time catch up
with and often do better work than the so-called
talented student.
What one really needs is an in
tense desire to express himself graphically, and a
love for things artistic.
All the rest will come in
due time, provided the student works and works
hard.
Portrait
EDUCATION FOR THE FUN OF IT
T F one must live in this rather curious world, then
* it would seem advisable to undertake some voca
tion or avocation in which one can find great pleas
ure.
If one never taught, then one would find
enough inspiration in our course in jewelry or pot4k
tery or costume design, modeling, or drawing and
painting, to furnish one with creative inspiration for
the rest of his or her life.
The practice of the arts
is fun, and whether we learn to do some creative
work ourselves, or whether we teach the child how
to create, we can think of nothing, the doing of
which will bring more joy to the individual than
just such practice of some of the arts and crafts.
Portrait
THE COST OF THE ART COURSE
’ I HE Commonwealth of Pennsylvania charges
* no tuition for residents of the state.
The an
nual contingent fee for special art teachers is
$108.00.
The housing fee which covers room,
board, and laundry is $252.00 per year.
Both the
contingent and the housing fees are payable in
quarterly installments.
The Activity Fee, the payment of which ad
mits students to lectures, entertainments, athletic
contests, etc., is $15.00 per year.
It also is pay
able quarterly.
The cost of books and supplies for the average
student amounts to about $50.00 per year.
Design
AN OUTLINE OF THE COURSE
(Leading to the Degree of Bachelor of Science in Public School Art}
Bra. Wk.
Credit in
S. II.
First Semester:
Drawing (1) ..............................................................
Modeling .....................................................................
Physical Education (1) .........................................
Introduction to Teaching ......................................
English (1) ................................................................
English Activities .....................................................
10
4
3
3
3
3
5
2
1
3
3
3
26
17
Second Semester:
Elementary Industrial Arts ................................
Media (technique) ....................................................
Pottery .........................................................................
Physical Education (2) ..........................................
Science I .......................................................................
English (2) ...............................................................
5
2%
2%
1
3
3
10
5
5
3
3
3
29
17
Third Semester:
Design (1) ..........................................................................
Color ......................................................................
Drawing (2) (advanced) .....................................
Psychology I ..............................................................
Literature I .........................................................
6
10
3
28
3
6
3
3
3
5
3
17
Fourth Semester:
Design (2) ..................................................................
Instrumental Drawing ...........................................
Costume Design .......................................................
Home Planning .........................................................
Psychology II .............................................................
American Literature II ..........................................
5
6
6
5
3
3
28
2%
3
3
2%
3
3
17
Credit in
Hrs. Wk. S H.
Fifth Semester
Advanced Design and Color (Applied to Pag
eantry, Stage Setting and Lighting, Com
mercial Art, etc.) ..........................................
Elements of Pictorial Expression and Illustra
tion ......................................................................
Education Through Fine and Industrial Arts...
American Government ...........................................
History of Civilization ...........................................
6
3
6
3
6
3
3
3
3
3
24
15
3
5
3
3
3
5
3
3
14
14
6
6
5
4
3
3
5
4
21
15
21
2
14
2
23
16
Sixth Semester:
Advanced Drawing and Painting .......................
Art Curriculum ........................................................
Educational Sociology ............................................
Elective ........................................................................
Seventh Semester:
Batik ..............................................................................
Jewelry .........................................................................
Art History andAppreciation .............................
History andPhilosophy ofEducation ...............
Eighth Semester:
Student Teaching and Conferences ..................
Techniques of Teaching .........................................
(The above arrangement is made so that a school may distribute
student teaching throughout the year, or have all of it in one semester.)
The first column of figures. Hrs. Wk., Indicates hours spent in
lecture room or studio; the second column, S. H., indicates the semester
hours credit earned towards completion of work for a degree.
A FULLER DESCRIPTION OF SOME OF THE COURSES
COSTUME DESIGN
The study of costume is of importance to every human being who
has any choice or ever hopes to have any choice in the matter of clothes.
Clothes are one’s closest environment and they undoubtedly exert an
influence upon the wearer and his companions. It is not so much a
matter of vanity as of wise social psychology that directs an enthusiastic
study of clothes.
The study of costume may be approached from several different
standpoints: through sewing and the handling of materials; through
constant selection—the buying and selling of garments; through the
drawing and painting of people.
Here in Edinboro the student is encouraged to think of costume
as a branch of pure design, an arrangement of forms, colors, and textures which may have as vital rhythm and balance as the noblest painting and sculpture. Yet the human quality is not to be lost. These
rhythms must arise in the wearer's own personality, his manner of walking and talking and habitual gesture. The forms and colors are taken
from the living, changing, ever exciting pageant of fashions, past and
present.
Stage costume is emphasized as expression of the individual and
the mood of the play; social costume is emphasized as a search for the
ideal, an expression of our time.
(
J
’
|
'
i
i
I
J
[
|
j
Drawing, painting and miniature models are freely used in this
study, but the major emphasis is always placed upon design.
MODELING AND POTTERY
j
Modeling and pottery are two pleasant activities carried on with
clay as a medium. This soft, plastic material responding to the light
est touch is capable of becoming an object of beauty, and expressive of
that fine artistic nature that we all possess.
Modeling is concerned chiefly with the building up of natural form,
a likeness in three dimensions. In our studies at Edinboro, garden and
architectural ornaments, portraits, statuettes, and monumental statuary
are carefully studied and modeled in clay. After that they may be
copied in wood or stone, or cast in plaster, concrete, bronze, and other
materials. Making molds and casting is an integral and very fascinat
ing part of the course.
The creation of these- objects in clay, this fascination of making
the molds and then the final thrill of seeing the idea expressed in a permanent material, are all experiences to be enjoyed in our studios while
dealing with this subject.
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The modeling of such industrial art objects as book ends, wall
brackets, etc., is a lot of fun, and very practical. Our students have
made many such lovely objects for themselves, for gifts, and to sell at
a good profit.
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Beautiful vases and bowls, and jewel caskets with picturesque
Indian patterns, or bright, smooth, sleek glaze, reward the pottery stud
ent. Here, one learns to form these lovely pieces by modern methods.
First, the coil method as employed by primitive people, then the type
made of a number of flat sides of clay rolled out into thin slabs. These
may be hexagonal, octagonal, etc., with scalloped edges and pierced
open work decorations. To the whirl of the potter’s wheel then, one
also shapes beautiful, smooth, graceful vases that rise almost miraculously from out of the potter’s hands. This method known as “throwing”
pottery on a wheel was the universal practice in Bible times, among
the ancient Greeks, during the early history of our country, and is still
practiced by the mountaineer craftsmen in Kentucky, Virginia and the
Carolinas. The last method is slip casting, in which numerous pieces
from one original may be poured into a mold, a practice which was
followed in the great potteries of Staffordshire, Sevres and Dresden.
This is also the general practice employed in the industry today.
After the pottery piece has been formed and becomes dry, there is
still a further step before its artistic fulfillment is realized. This is the
firing, by which means the piece becomes hard and durable, and the
glaze smooth in texture and lovely in color. This firing is done in mod
ern oil burning and electric kilns, where the temperature can be con
trolled and just the right degree reached to achieve perfection in the
product. Students have the opportunity to take part in operating the
kiln and observing the firing process. Then after the firing and cooling
off comes the breath-taking thrill of seeing the same piece that went
into the kiln come out again, beautifully transformed and proved after
a severe test by fire.
ARTS AND CRAFTS
The thrill of accomplishment, the keen pleasure of doing with one’s
own hands those processes which to the uninitiated seem so difficult, the
aesthetic joy of translating into actual materials those exciting images
of inspiration; these are the fruits of one’s labors in the field of crafts.
Can you imagine the pleasurable anticipation, the moments of sus
pense, the moment of realization one encounters along the way from the
very moment one picks up a pretty looking pebble on the beach and
sees it in imagination set in a suitable setting, until one either wears the
finished piece himself or sees it on a friend? Only such pleasure is pos
sible for the person who has actually taken such a pebble and worked
it until the polish they deserve and the stone shaped to fit a particular
desire.
It is well within the possibilities of everyone to design and make
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jewelry or to do metal crafts. The hands may bs taught to perform the
simple operations necessary in the construction of a really beautiful
piece. The judgment may be trained by experiences to make the de
cisions necessary for making beautiful combinations of processes and
materials.
Lack of success in this field is usually due to fear which may be at
tributed very definitely of course, to lack of familiarity and experience.
The apparently more involved processes of enameling, metal inlay
and the use of millo, etc., are really not difficult, they are merely un
familiar.
In our course at Edinboro, we attempt to help you to an apprecia
tion of materials, processes and workmanship. We lay down no pre
scribed course but we do strive to encourage the student to exercise his
prerogatives as a student in delving into the mysteries of techniques,
helping him over the difficult places, and removing his fear of failure;
replacing such fears with the joy of knowing that in the completed pro
duct he has handled with his own hands every piece of material, made
every joint and decided upon every combination of color.