The Washington herald., 1914-01-26
ny MARY ,. MULLETr.


| Wop5n0nt MAJ -...
Miss Grace Clarke ID . washington girl
whose love Of art has found new way
Of expressing itself. At least. II Ia .
| new way for q woman. She has designed
the costumes for several stage produc-
tons In which hundred or more per-
formers have taken part. And what IL
more surprising. she has painted the en-
tire supply Of scenery for half . dozen
plays.
When Miss Annie Russell. the dis
tinguished actress, determined to give q
season Of Shakespeare plays and old Eng
lish comedies. she made q proposition to
Miss Clarke which would have fascinated
elmost any girl.
down In Maine. on the shore OF Pemaduid
Harbor. with balsam woods fora back
ground and the ocean for . very moist
front yard. To this fresh and fragrant
retreat she proposed that Miss Clarke ac-
company her.
There was q big old-fashioned barn on
the place which could be turned into
studio. And while Miss Russell was get
ting up her roles In the contemplated
repertory, Miss Clarke. out In the barn.
could be spiashing away at the yards and
yards Of scenery which would be neces-
sary.
@.ee 80 NC AeASo wv - 1~~Os~~
yards and yards' Of It there were
without any exagseration- Some Of the
expenses OF canvas that had to be COW
cred with paint were % big that they
could not be completed in the barn. roomy
As that was. but had to be taken out of
doors on fine days There they were
painted by Miss Clarke. to the intense
delight Of everybody from miles around
that could make any sort Of an excuse
to get within eye shot Of this al fresco
studio
When you try to picture Miss Clarke
covering these great spreads OF canvas
with bold strokes, you probably see her
as stalwart woman Of the Amaxonian
type, who could 90 up and down the
ladder Necessary to reach her painting
Platform two steps at a time and whose
strong right arm could WELD with mas
culine vigor the big nat house-painting
brushes she has to use to obtain the
necessary broad effects.
II you really have begun to think OF
her as belonging to this type, you will
exactly the opposite direction For in
stead of being Amazonian, Miss Clarke
is unusually small and her hands and
wrists are so delicate IL would seem
physically impossible for her to accom-
plish the mere manual labor Of scene
painting.
She only laughs, however, at the idea
that there Is anything incongruous in five
feet Of girl painting fifty feet of canvas
She says that she not only can do IL,
but that she enjoys doing IT. And she
recommends IL as an occupation that will
prove full OF interest and pleasure to
other young women artists. As things
are now. though, the field is SO monopo-
lized by men that Miss Clarke is likely to
retain for some time to come her unique
painter.
Costumes Plays.
Perhaps other girls with artistic ability
will be more interested in her success in
costuming plays. She drifted quite
naturally into this field. for in addition
to all her other activities. she teaches
costume design and illustration at Pratt
Institute in Brooklyn. Her classes there
are limited to sixty members and are al
ways full. She is enthusiastic over the
future of this phase Of artistic work for
women. The demand. she says. is con-
stantly increasing and excellent positions
are always optn to good costume design
era
By COSTUME designers In this connec-
ton she means designers of fashions,
not of stage costumes. But II is with
the stage that she herself Is chiefly con-
cerned. 1t is a fascinating field. but far
from an easy one. II requires not merely
a sense of color and line, but close re-
gard for historical accuracy.
Her real ambition is to revolutionize
stage methods by doing" an entire pro-
duction. As things are managed now,