The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-19

come of course, for if there is marked talent for art it Is very apt to be brought out in the drawing work. However. the real object is the de- veIopment of artistic appreciation. We try to teach the pupils not only to love and want and make pretty things, but to understand combinations Of colors. You have seen women wear | gowns, hats, gloves and coats which i fairly howl at each other, showing | singularly a lack of education. Some of the most atrocious wall paper ss found in homes where money enough 1 is expended, but no taste, and taste is a matter of culture along the line that I have undertaken. We took up last winter the study of Persian rugs. The designs with their exquisite outlines and soft intermingling of colors were | copied in water color and crayolas. 1 This tends to cultivate desire for the artistic that cannot be satisfied by the | lurid hues and grotesque designs of rugs chosen for many of their homes. | These rugs will be gradually done away with when there is no demand for them. You see, this branch of study is really practical. The idea of utility enters in very largely. For ex- ample designs on wood blocks, such as | l have here, are cut out by the chil- dren; they may be made into many combinations by transferring to cloth linen or silk-bringing out the origi- ! nality of the student In designing. The blacks are used in decorations for sofa l pillows and scarfs for various uses. There are problems, too, in tile de- signs, in which the Individuality and originality of the designer Is given full play. At the May festival given at one l sch ool each pupil decorated her own costume. First the design was fash 1 toned, then the wood block cut out; l by the use of stencil it was trans ferred to bagus paper and shellac washed over it. After this it was the work of a few moments to trace on the cloth. The costumes were very effective.
 The drawings for decorative work as given here are worked out in line first with India ink. Afterwards the ad | vance into brush work comes with the | addition of water to the ink, and the problem is done in half-tones win some. dark lines. Color is next intro duced in soft tinted landscapes. The pupil is then ready for more ambitious 1 work in landscapes, fruit and flowers. still life and work from life.
 But in all this the end in view is artistic appreciation. To make the | children understand and appreciate | masterpieces in art and nature. 1o know good pictures, and to be able | to comprehen end the ensemble in land | scape view, rather than a tree, or d fence or barn separately"
 -Aiss Bundren accomplished a grea. | deal in New York, because she worked hard. However, she was well equippe | for her course, having had excellent groundwork under the tutelage of Miss Edna Smith, who is not only an arti t of ability but strives to bring out in her pupils that love and appreciation for the best that art can give.
 | A young Birmingham girl who is trav- cling now in Russia writes very interest," | ingly of conditions there. A letter writ ten from Moscow on June 2S states that at that time the weather was freezing cold. Their seasons are almost the op-
 posite of ours. She tells feelingly of the
 wretchedness of the people, comparing
 their unhappiness on festal days with the
 joys of the Italians of the same class OH
 similar occasions, and her heart goe'
 out to them in their despair.
 Nothing seems to escape this typica
 American girl. She sees not only the
 historic places that ari loved of tn
 guide book tourist but her eyes are O,
 the alert for peculiar customs and man ners that escape others less discerning
 For example. she tells of a religious law prevailing in certain localities. Tn priests must be married men. But on'
 whose wife dies Is prohibited from re , marrying, though he may retire into 2 | monastery. Archbishops and bishops | however, are celibate.
 [, Begging in Russia is encouraged by tn ] government, contrary to the custom pre- ! vsiling in Italy and France, where al
 effort Is made to prohibit it. On one oc
 casion, as she passed out of a convent
 there were 15 mendicants lined up ol
 either side in supplicating attitude 9 Raising her finger, she began to coun
 them, upon which the hats went off an, l all began to bow in the most ingratiat f ing way. But when she walked scorn fully by, with her head up in eviden a disapproval, she was hissed by all wit
 one accord
 One of the most unusual women i :. Birmingham is Mrs. E. l.. Brackenbur, , who came to the city recently with he s husband. a mining expert stationed her, :, Mrs. Brackenbury is a native of Der mark, and has the most charming ac V cent imaginable She Is a woman of ex
 quisite culture, being familiar with sel o eral languages. Her English, while quit
 broken, .has the advantage of care an
 correctness which we find general i
 those who have mastered the tongu,
 while surrounded by people who spea \ Hit properly, instead of giving way
 s,ovenly habits of expression.
 MT. and Mrs. Brackenbury came to tn
 states about six months ago from Johai
 nesburg South Africa where his bus ! ness interests have kept him for the pa.