$2.

50 net

About fifteen years ago the author of

this book was engaged by Prof. Franz
Boaz to make drawings of archeological
discoveries in Mexico. The fruit of
those drawings was the discovery of a
principle of design, in primitive Aztec
painting and sculpture, based on a sys-
tem of seven fundamental lines or motifs.
Research into the primitive arts of all
countries, climes, and periods revealed
the universality of this principle, and the
discovery was further confirmed by the
adherence to the ancient law of design
of present-day popular arts all over the
world.
The great psychological importance of
this law was at once apparent and Best-
Maugard set about devising his revolu-
tionary method of art instruction. His
book was published by the Mexican Gov-
ernment and he himself was placed in
charge of the work of introducing its
use. Half a million Mexican school
children have since studied by it, and,
in our own country, after Best-Maugard
had lectured at the University of Cali-
fornia, three thousand students were en-
listed. The English edition of the book,
which is here presented to the American
public, has been completely revised, re-
written, and in large part expanded.
 A METHOD FOR
CREATIVE DESIGN

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A METHOD FOR 1X:
CREATIVE
DESIGN
By
ADOLFO BEST-MAUGARD

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COPYRIGHT, 1926, BY ALFRED = KNOPF, 1

MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

 PREFACE
Tue series of lessons used in this special method are
quite simple and are intended both for children and for
adult students. It is primarily for those who love
drawing and design but have found them an unattain-
able dream, having given up their hopes and ambitions
because of the difficult years of study required by the
usual methods. It is the purpose of this book to give
them the opportunity of making their dream come true,
and this realization may be brought within the realm
of possibility by the application of their efforts a short
time each day, in a trial of a few weeks.
Some people are unhappy in life because they are
unable to express themselves through the different
arts, such as Music, Painting, Dancing, Singing, etc.,
since to do so they must study for many years. By
that time they have lost their first fresh impulse. They
are so tired of the drudgery that they do not care
whether they express anything or not. And most
persons do not even try to study.
Individual creation should give us a relief from the
routine of everyday work, and in this method we will
try to make our designs merely for our own amuse-
ment. Art is to be considered as a plaything, a re-
freshing pursuit by which we may find an outlet for our
emotions through our own creations.
We shall give the student what he is unconsciously
striving for: the materials and suggestions which will
v
vl PREFACE
make him utilize his creative energies by putting him in
the proper environment. By giving him the general
principles, we shall help him to find the most direct
road to complete self-expression through his own ex-
perience, thus eliminating unnecessary waste of effort
and time. The most salient features of this system are
the simplicity and rapidity with which results are ob-
tained. The student is awakened to a new world of
endeavor, a world which he would never be able to
realize alone, or would require a life-time to discover.
He will find himself making progress without any con-
scious effort; something wonderful will stir up within
him; from the first week’s study he will begin to realize
unexpected potentialities for artistic expression which
will develop later on a new faculty, and he will realize
that he is now able to create his own schemes, which
before he never dared dream of doing. The develop-
ment of this power within him is the basis of his real
individuality and makes him a creator in the finest
sense. His work will be absolutely his own creation; he
will be no longer under the necessity of copying
from others, he will dream his work out of his own
imagination and his production will be unique.
The child enjoys drawing; why should not the adult
enjoy it as well? For the toiler and the business man
drawing should be as much a diversion as it is for
children. A grown-up person who has never studied
the art of design will appreciate it as fully as a child
enjoying his first lessons, and with the same chances
of success.
Thanks are due to the American Museum of Art
and the Museum of Natural History for permission to
use certain of the illustrations of examples from prim-
itive arts.
 CONTENTS
BOOK I: CREATIVE DESIGN

PARTI
1 Tue Seven Motirs
2 Borpers
3. Posirions oF THE MotiFs
4 RosETTES AND FLOWERS — (FULL VIEW)
5 Att-OverR PatTTERNs

PART If
6 GRowTH
7 FLOWERS — (IN PROFILE)
8 LEAVES
9g STEMS
10 FLowER CoMposITIONS

PART ITI
11 BUTTERFLIES AND Dracon FLIES
12 RIBBONS AND BOWKNOTS
13. BASKETS

PART IV
14 Vases, PrrcHers AND URNS
15 FRuITs
16 Fruir ComposiTIONS
17 GARLANDS

IPART -V
18 PLANTS AND EARTH
19 TREES
vil CONTENTS
20 WATER AND Waves
21 FisH AND OcEAN PiantT LIFE

PART VI
22 Birps
23 COMPOSITION OF AMERICAN CoaTs oF ARMS

PART <VIT
24 Mountains anp CLoups
25 Sun, Moon AND STARS
26 FLAMES
BARTS TTL
27 Houses
28 FENCES
29 SMOKE AND FLacs
30 CURTAINS
31 TypicaL Earty AMERICAN ORNAMENTS

PART IX
32 ANIMALS

PART X
33 THe Human Ficure

PART XI
34. ComposITION
SpAcE AND Mass ComposITION
35 CoLor

PART SAX LT
36 PERSPECTIVE
37 DIsTANCE
38 SHADING

PART XIII
39 MopeRN SURROUNDINGS
 CONTENTS 1x

BOOK II: CREATIVE IMAGINATION

PART I
THe DEVELOPMENT OF CREATIVE IMAGINATION 103
PART IT
Tue SeveEN Motirs IN PRimITIVE ArTS 112

BART III
CoMPosITION 135
IPART IV
THe ARCHETYPE 145

PART V
THE WHIRLING SPIRAL 154

EART VI
Tue PsycHoLocy oF CREATION 164

PART VII
THE INNER AND OuTER CAUSES OF CREATION 170
 BOOK I
CREATIVE DESIGN
 Pasel wel

ieee eno PeVeboNe MuOrtely

ES,

The suggestions and rules that we will follow are

simple and easily understood by everyone. They are
quickly grasped and retained in the mind of the student.
In this method, there are seven simple motifs and
signs, which we consider as fundamental, and a few
rules to follow, and these, once in the student’s memory,
will enable him to make an infinite number of combina-
tions and designs which he will enjoy. These seven
motifs are already well known to us, and we find them
in the forms and shapes of all our surroundings.
The first is the Spiral or the very familiar scroll
motif, suggested in the whirlpool, or in the rolled shape
of such things as the snail’s shell.

@
The second is the simple Circle. We see it in the
shape of the sun or in the ripples in the surface of still
water into which a stone has been dropped.

© I
2 AG WED
CRE itDeen
The third is the Half-circle, found in the rainbow
and in the crescent moon.
Conn
WS
The fourth is Two Half-circles in the form of the
letter S, like the shape of flames of fire.

ENG
The fifth is the Wavy line; we see it in water waves
or in the shape of wavy hair.
OI”°™0SFIrPN

The sixth is a broken Zigzag line; it suggests the

outline of the broken peaks of mountains or the light-
ning.
AINA
The seventh is nothing but the simple Straight line
which gives the position of quiet hanging things, trunks
of trees, or the ocean line of the horizon.
EES

These seven motifs, which, as we have seen, are al-

ready familiar to us in the shapes of natural objects,
are the fundamentals of this method of design, and
everything that we do hereafter will be in the way
of combining and arranging two or more of the motifs
into attractive designs. There are two rules to be
remembered:
1. Never cross lines, or allow one line to interfere
with another, but let every line go on its way with-
out touching the others.
 BORDERS 3
2. When using one or more similar lines, as in border
arrangements, they should be drawn in parallel and at
equal distances apart.

© Oy §=Wsx

Zee OORIDE
RES

The student should now experiment with a few

simple arrangements:
Take motif 6 and fill the free spaces with the second
motif:

ACO fe JSOYOYSSSY

Instead of circles, half-circles (motif 3) may be used:

ENON
IWILLWL
The fifth motif also makes an excellent basis for
border design. Add dots or circles in the free spaces:

EXIT NRTI AS OLALaAYS

4 CREATIVE DESIGN
Now try the half-circle (motif 3) ina series like a letter
M, and also use the circle in the spaces left.

“VV V VV YoVYoYo YoYo)

Naturally we can use these motifs in all their pos-

sible shapes, making them more open or close together,
as it may best suit each scheme. The half-circles may
be used in succession in a condensed arrangement (A)
as well as in the following open arrangement (B).

mm
The same for the wavy line, or the zigzag, or for
the S motif.

UAE SV?

WWW rE

NDIA BNO ON
 BORDERS ‘
It is obvious that if we only developed the few bor-
ders here demonstrated, we should already have an
immense variety. The first, of the wavy lines and
circles, Fig. A, in a closer arrangement would be Fig. B
and the second, of zigzags and circles, in the same way
would be Fig. C and the third of the S motif would be
Fig. D and Fig. E.

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Thus we see how simple it is to do those borders and

we will now try to elaborate them, combining as many
motifs as possible in making designs.
Start with the first arrangement of wavy lines and
circles, following it with other motifs, and so on with
the others as tried before.
6 CREATIVE DESIGN
The student should then develop his own ideas for
border designs, using the same elements.
 BORDERS 7
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8 CREATIVE DisirGn

2 POSEILTON SMO FAT INE MOTIFS

There are four basic positions to be observed in draw-

ing the seven motifs:
1. Horizontal position: Draw the motifs in a con-
tinuous forward line.

WVU UVSC, 2000000 CLL OL

2. Vertical position: Draw the motifs up and down.

0000000

3. Right-hand oblique: Draw the motifs to the

~~
 ROSETTES’ AND FLOWERS 9
4. Left-hand oblique: Draw the motifs to the left.

ate
In drawing the motifs, follow these four general
positions either in the single line or parallel.

4. ROSETTES AND FLOWERS

— (full view)

fOVEVOVS’

Now that we are able to draw designs of elaborate

borders, let us see how they may be used for a different
purpose; we are going to draw rosettes and flower
shapes by using the borders already designed. First
draw a circle. (It does not matter if it is not perfect
for flowers are not perfectly round). Then pick up some
simple border, any one will do, but since it is for a
flower, we suggest taking one with the shape of petals
(like the one of half-circles and circles (Fig. A) and draw
it around the circle, instead of forward in a straight
line A second row can be drawn inside of the circle
and the center filled with scrolls or dots (Fig. B). An
10 CREATIVE DESIGN
infinite variety of rosettes and flowers can be designed,
depending on the borders used and the invention of the
student in their arrangement.
 ADL -OVER. PATTERNS II

§. ALL-OVER PATTERNS

We will now give a few suggestions for arrangements

of all-over patterns, which can be used to represent the
centers of the flowers. This all-over pattern is disposed
on a plaid distribution and we will, accordingly, draw
first a rough sketch of a plaid design:
12 CREATIME =DESIGN
The motifs should be placed at the crossings of the
lines so as to give an even distribution (Fig. A), or in
alternating arrangement (Fig. B). Any of the simple
motifs may also be used in the spaces (Figs. C & D)
after which, the guiding lines should be erased.

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The following page gives a few suggestions for all-

Over patterns.
ALL-OVER PATTERNS 13
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BREA ays
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= Me ic
 PAR

6. GROWTH

All branches, flowers, and leaves follow a principle of

design in nature that we call growth. In growth, a
series of leaves or flowers increase or diminish evenly
and harmonically along a stem. To design a fern-frond,
for example, draw the curved central vein, with deep
half-circles beginning at the base and tapering gradually
to a point at each side of the tip.
The lilies of the valley shown below illustrate this
principle of growth.

Observe that all branches, stems, and flowers spring

out in an upward-slanting curve. This is called Tan-
gential Growth.
14
 PU OW ERS IN OPROEILE 15

7. FLOWERS — (in profile)

A flower in profile is made by drawing a round
flower, divided in the center:

Erase half of it:

To this half-circle add the shape of a flower seen from

the side:

And complete with a few scrolls:

tee
»)

All the following examples from early American designs

of conventional flowers are an aid in understanding the
possibilities for creating new combinations which are
endless and a few suggestions will be found on the next
page.
 LEAVES 17

8. LEAVES

Add leaves and stems to the flowers. To make a

simple leaf, draw two half-circles joined at one end in an
almond shape, and for the scalloped edges add small
half-circles or zigzags.

ay LS ae
To complete, draw a straight line down the center,
with other small straight lines slanting upward at the
side, to suggest the veins of the leaf.

QED S
Practise drawing a great many kinds of leaves, using
some of these as suggestions.

my SS S
18 CREA TIW.E Dik UGN
In the following examples most of the leaves have been
drawn using the seven motifs in growth arrangement.
 STEMS 19

9. STEMS
The stems of flowers or fruits are designed with two
parallel lines, and one motif between these two lines
will add to the decoration.

Thorns are designed with the motifs outside the lines

of the stem.

<A
NTA
EN
nae

Wheat ears are very easy to draw:

20 CREATIVE DESIGN
Flowers may also be designed very simply in a great

Bac
AAA

VRRRRSRSSF
 PLOWER COMPOSTLIONS 21

IO0. FLOWER COMPOSITIONS

Put these designs together in the natural order, and

the result is a composition of flower, stem, and leaves:

It is now time to begin making a few flower compo-

sitions. The first one must be very simple. First draw
lightly an outline of circles and curved lines as a guide
to the blossoms and stems. Fill in with petals and
leaves:
22, CREATIVE DESIGN
A flower composition in thin light lines:

BANC
2 <a vy

Design with light and heavy lines. Draw the thin

lines first, and fill in the black spaces with heavy thick
strokes:

U
L/ \

Ul

\'

Note: These designs as well as

J S that on page 20 are adapted from
Goa early American pottery.

ONO
 PARAL

II. BUTTERFLIES AND DRAGON FLIES

The conventionalized butterfly may be easily formed

out of two flower shapes in profile.

OGoe
Put the body in the center. The antennz are repre-
sented by scrolls, and the eyes by small dots or circles.

With a few variations, all kinds of butterflies may be

drawn on this general design.
24 CREATREVE DESIGN
Butterflies in profile:

The dragon fly has a long body shaped like a shallow

S motif, drawn in parallel with decorations between.
The wings are leaf-shaped, but decorated differently,
with two small circles for eyes. The student should
develop his own ideas for decoration.
 RIBBONS AND BOWKNOTS © 2s

I2. RIBBONS AND BOWKNOTS

The ribbon and the bowknot are familiar traditional

designs in early American art.
The simplest ribbon is made of two S motifs drawn
in parallel, with a single zigzag at either end; or with
the ends of the S motifs joined; also combined with
wavy lines.

There are many other combinations:

SOSA
Dah eA
26 CREATIVE DESIGN
Draw the center of the bowknot first. Make a circle
with an § in it:
Add two irregular, double half-circles on each side.
Design other shapes of bows, using any of the ex-
amples shown above, as in these suggestions.

9D
FT FS
For a flower composition tied with a bowknot,
sketch another small outline. Let the stems show
clearly, and tie the bowknot around them. .
Butterflies and dragon flies hovering about the
flowers, may be added wherever they seem to belong.

Take care that in these designs, as in all others drawn

by this method, every flower, leaf, stem, ribbon or band
is shown completely. Never draw one object partly
hidden or covered by another. Flowers must be full
face or flat profile. No perspective.
 BASKETS 27

13. BASKETS

The basket is a widely used motif in nearly all

decorative compositions containing flowers.
For a very simple basket design, draw a straight or
slightly curved line for the upper rim, and a correspond-
ing line for the base;

Two half-circles on the sides will complete the outline.

LG SW eilemacelf
28 CREATIVE DESIGN
Suggest the weaving of the basket with an all-over
pattern; or a simple plaid.

Ayit | ws
\—(—= ({isit=
—t~! =-Msi
l—t— (Name

The rim and base, as well as the handle, may be done

with an S line used as conventionalized cord.

SSS Le
There may be handles at the top or sides.
Make the side handles with simple double S lines.

:
A?
RY 9=
 BASIE. S 29
\ Fill the basket with flowers following the lines of
construction.

Experiment with these basket shapes, adding flowers

to harmonize with their structures in the same way
that the bunch of flowers was done.
 PAR IL,

I4. VASES, PITCHERS AND URNS

The outline of a jar reduced to its simplest elements

consists of two motifs: a circle for the center, and
shallow half-circles in basket shape, one for the mouth
of the jar, and an inverted one for the base.
The handles may be in the S line shape with the ends
curling inward toward a spiral.
For a pitcher vary the shape of the neck, and add one

BS
A study of these shapes will suggest further original
variations.

$9OH
 Meare ioe ieee
ee RS AND TURNS 41
The typical urn consists of a half-circle for the body
and a smaller inverted half-circle for the base. Adda
circle to join these two, with an inverted basket shape
and two shallow half-circles joined to form the mouth.
The handles may be similar to those on the vases.
32 CREATIVE DESIGN

15. FRUITS
In drawing fruits, study the use of motifs in borders
or all-over patterns. The repetition of a single motif
often gives the most decorative effect.
 PRUE CONCP OSTT PON'S 33
There are many ways of using different motifs and
patterns to draw the same fruit. Taking these two
pineapples as examples, try drawing the fruits shown
above with different borders and all-over patterns.

16. FRUIT COMPOSITIONS

A fruit dish is designed in the same way as the lower

half of an urn. Or else the student may use one of
the baskets he has already drawn, and fill it with fruits
and leaves in this way: Other suggestions for fruit
dishes:
34 CREATIVE DESTGN

A Anadis
© PTY Teer

A cornucopia, or “‘horn of plenty,” is very decora-

tive, and seems elaborate, but on examination it is
quite simple:
For the outline, draw a circle for the mouth, an S
line on the side, and a half-circle from the center,
running up to join the S line in a peak, for the horn.
Then with a series of S lines beginning at the top of the
peak and growing longer towards the base, twist the
horn into a whirl. When the cornucopia is filled with
fruits, only the upper half of the opening must show.
Finish this edge with the same S line border that is
used on the basket rims.
 GARLANDS 35
17. GARLANDS
The foundation of the garland is a festoon made of
two shallow half-circles.

For a more decorative garland, drop a deep half-circle

between each festoon, or loop.

KK)
Begin with a single loop, and sketch in the pattern
for flowers or fruits.

O O
O
Suggestions for garlands:
 PART V

I8. PLANTS AND EARTH

Leafy shrubs and the foliage of tree branches are

most simply represented by half-circles in succession.
Half-circles with straight lines may represent a small
bush:

The zigzag line is useful in designing long pointed

leaves, or long grass:

“—
Groups of short straight lines in a semicircular ar-
rangement suggest grass. An all-over pattern of these
groups becomes a meadow:

wy wow ow
wu Ne
Wi, oly, ee
Nw Wy
36
 PLANTS AND EARTH 37
There are many variations in the fern and palm leaf.
Begin by drawing a curved line for the center of the
leaf, and let the smaller fronds spring from it, diminish-
ingtoapoint. (Fig. A.) Use the zigzag in acute angles,
or half-circles in close arrangement. (Fig. B.) Fern
leaves are made in much the same manner. (Fig. C.)

1?

\) iw 3

Design a small, trunkless palm tree by joining several

leaves together at the base.
38 CREATIVE DESICN
Practise drawing these examples of plant-life shapes:

ZZ,
YADA.
L

SAG
ZE

The surface of the earth is uneven, full of little hil-

locks and depressions, which may be represented by an
irregular line of S motifs and half-circles.
 TREES 39

Fill in with a pattern of circles for stones, groups of

straight lines for grass, and tiny dots, in reality small
closed circles, for sand.

e Se ae ae ae RORENY aN ee
e
a ©
ga Orv © ovr Owe & NaN
4 Y ° eee Y
a
oN

= AWAWAY Oo
SS UAWAW AWA

LO] TREES
The trunk of a tree must spread a little at the base,
and again at the top where the branches of foliage
begin. The roughness of the bark may be represented
by an all-over pattern.
40 CREATIVE DESIGN
Examples of the use of the half-circle and the zigzag
in drawing foliage:
 RoE ES 41
Draw the palm tree with a long trunk decorated
with a border or all-over pattern, and let the fronds
radiate from the top as they do in the short palms pic-
tured among the small plantlife.
42 CREATIVE DESIGN
In the willow tree, all the branches droop, and the
leaves spring from both sides:

es) ai Y re is = py,

Taw A LhAY OSAN Tip

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NUVTR
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20. WATER AND WAVES

Still water is represented by parallel straight lines;

moving water, by wavy lines, the wave being deepened
to represent the degree of movement of the water.
 WATER AND WAVES 43
Half-circles in succession give the feeling of shallow
ripples:
eee A a Pe
i ed AP AaPAte
od ep Aa tered Oe WALK AAARMAR
www ww VY nraArMNA_AKAAL_
lee AT ae aor A AAA

For heavier waves, draw the S line in succession, or

the scroll:

Pea Ce
COC fw
To represent a marsh, combine water and grass
alternately:

Falling water:
44 CREATIVE DESIGN
21. ShLSH VAN DVOCEAN ELAINE Dac bak,

Two opposed S lines are used to design a fish. An

all-over pattern of crossed lines suggests scales:

or use the half-circles to design scales, and vary the fins

and tail:

Starfish and Shells:

Pa NOCH AN PICA NT LTEE 4s
Ocean Plants:
 PARTS Vi

22. BIRDS

In drawing a bird, consider the body as the core of

the design. The flexible members, head, neck, wings,
tail, and legs, are drawn separately, and the motion of
the bird is determined by the placing of these separate
parts on the body.

The body is egg-shaped and mostly immobile. Move-

ment depends on the placing of the head:

6 Coy
 BIRDS 47
and the position of the tail. The legs are a broken line.

Note the different proportions of each particular

bird, and their various characteristics on an identical
basic structure
48 CREATIVE DESIGN
When both wings are shown they must not interfere
with each other, but must be clearly separated:
50 CREATIVE DESIGN
23. COMPOSITION OF AMERICAN COATS
OF ARMS

Note: These examples of

traditional American art, as
well as others which are re-
produced in this book, are
valuable to the student be-
cause they show the use of
the seven motifs in the build-
ing of beautiful symbolic de-
signs. The student should
experiment as widely as pos-
sible with similar composi-
tions of his own.
 BAR Tey TL

24. MOUNTAINS AND CLOUDS

Mountains are drawn with the same lines used to

represent shallow earth-surfaces, but with a deeper
rise and fall of the curves.

wr Swot Wy2
+ WW Whe “+ Wy ts wes

For cone-shaped hills and mountains use the zigzag

For clouds use half-circles, S lines, and scrolls.

GENE

ee ony

Si
52 CREATIVE DESIGN
25. SUN, MOON AND STARS

To draw the sun and moon with human faces is a

very ancient and beautiful fantasy of design:

Moon, Stars, Lightning:

yere
Flight of birds in all-over pattern:
vw
v ates
vw View

Vv ve
v w
viv ew
vv Wav? vv
w w w
vy wy ws

wy
w

Vw
 PAR TTT

27. HOUSES
First draw the elementary lines of a house. The ad-
dition of a side tower makes a church.

A cottage with a
fence around it and
a small garden:

ee PEUVATMAVaTAAaA Ee
aibaebassancscssctemucyyiG:\be
PHARM ALULVMMLANbT.A AW UUTraneea untae ttt
54
 HOUSES 55
American Colonial house:
ey Ls SNA SO COCOMVO
RC OEE rrr OF ONC
9.9.9.9 6.00, 40 Se
6 es 4
aa

A castle:

A brick house:
56 CREATIVE DESIGN
Experiment with different types of houses:

28. FENCES
The house enclosed with a slight low fence, the field
enclosed with wire, are familiar scenes in American
village and country life:
 PENGES 57
A few types of fences drawn with straight lines, or
zigzag in rows:

Kiosks and Pavilions:

58 CREATIVE DESIGN
29. SMOKE AND FLAGS

The lines of smoke are the same as the lines of clouds,

but in smoke the movement is more rapid, and in a
definite direction, as if blown on the wind:

For floating flags, use the ribbon design:

 CURTAINS 59
30. CURTAINS
The curtain is a variation of the garland shapes
already shown:

2
x
AY
x
a
’
v
vk
a
NY
J
YY
Me
in

Tassel, made with circles, half-circles, and S lines:

Cord with S lines:

seocccwoc
oe cees

Fringes:
60 CREATIVE DESIGN

31. TYPICAL EARLY AMERICAN ORNAMENTS

 AMERICAN ORNAMENTS 61

Typical Early American Ornaments

 PAR atx

32. ANIMALS

All quadruped animal forms may be reduced in the

beginning to one basic structure. It consists of two
circles. Join these circles with two lines, as shown.

OO Cae
The position and movement of the animal depend on
the placing of the neck, head, legs, and tail, as already
noted in drawing birds:

(Xo exe
Observe the different ways in which the legs and head
may be placed on the same body to alter the position
and movement: ;

PNOUG
YY &
 ANIMALS 63
On this same shape which has been transformed into
a horse, change the tail and ears, draw long thin legs
and add horns to represent a deer:

fr.
Note how the same structure serves for widely
different kinds of animals:
64. CREATIVE DESIGN
A few examples of animal des ign in very simp le
.

outlines:
ANIMALS 65
 PARI ox

33. THE HUMAN FIGURE

The human body may also be divided into several
parts which are, separately, very simple. It is better to
begin this study, ordinarily rather difficult and com-
plicated, by drawing only the most primitive outlines.
The torso, or trunk, of the human figure resembles a
basket standing on a circle:

The torso: MY ||

Leg

Arm
obs Hands
 THE HUMAN FIGURE 67
Now draw the lines of the human body in whatever
position desired, but simply, as children do. Try these
dancing and running figures:

S22

Now attach to them the separate parts shown above.

Let the legs begin at a point in the center of the circle:

2a
SF
Outline of woman: Outline of man:
68 CREATIVE DESIGN

The head:

Head in front view, three-quarters, and profile:

 THE HUMAN FIGURE 69
Parts of the face: eyes, nose, mouth, ears, and hair:

Ps Li.
-.i

Try designing various other objects in combination

with the human figure. For example:
70 CREATIVE DESIGN
Examples of the human figure clothed and in com-
bination with other objects:
 PAs XI

34. COMPOSITION

_The student should experiment with combined de-

signs containing the designs already learned. Note the
composition below, which contains many elements in
very condensed form:

DESIGNS CUTLIN PAPER

For decorative arrangements on a flat background

without perspective, the student will find that cutting
paper silhouettes of his designs and pasting them on the
71
72, CREATIVE DESIGN
background will greatly simplify the early problems of
composition, and this procedure will prove very valu-
able as training.
Select a number of designs already familiar, such as
birds, butterflies, or flowers:

Cut them all about the same size, say three inches
square, decide what size the composition shall be, and
work on a flat surface. After the larger figures are
placed, fill in with smaller bits of single designs. All-
over patterns may also be used.

G
0

o Ss 0g

oo ( oO
°o
aeeans 2 «©

ANG WY,
Sl og
°°
 COMPOSITION 73
This is an interesting way to practise composition,
and the changes that suggest themselves to the student
are more easily adaptable than they are in drawing.
Do not consider either proportion or perspective at
this stage. Place the figures where their shapes blend
most harmoniously with each other and with the whole
design. The effect should be similar to that of printed
silks or cretonnes, in flat design on a plain background.
Composition must be creative. Keep always in mind
that original designing forbids a mere copying from life,
and that the artist is not limited only to possibilities
in Nature. In design, the artist is free to draw a
butterfly larger than the tree it hovers over, or a bird
and a house of equal size. It is only important that the
finished composition be beautiful and right, the result
of an honest mood and a careful plan.
Preserve the spaces between each unit of the design;
do not crowd or overlap them in any way.

Crowded and incorrect spacing:

Proper spacing:

a
74 CREATIVE DESIGN
Having assembled a great number of subjects and
elements to work with, the student will now be able to
represent his ideas first in a simple decorative design.
There are no fixed subjects to limit inspiration. The
student is free to follow his imaginings into fantasy,
dreams, legends or fairy tales, if he so chooses. He may
record his impressions of actual life, of his surroundings,
of street scenes, of the life of the city, the country and
the seaside, either from actual view or from memory;
and he should do this without regard to any pictures he
may have seen of similar things. Let him rely on the
method of design he is studying, and on his own in-
dividual use of the things he knows and feels.
The unit of a design has its individual value, cer-
tainly, but the important consideration for the moment
is harmony of composition. Whatever idea or emotion
the student wishes to express should be contained
within a limited number of elements of his own choos-
ing; the important problem is then the way in which
it goes into the picture, the form of its arrangement
within a certain allotted space.
In making his own compositions, the student has an
opportunity to use all his previous training in an
original way. A border or an all-over pattern already
familiar may be very helpful as the skeleton of a new
combination.
Take for example a composition having as its subject
a leaping rabbit. The rabbit leaps forward in long
curves, and this is best suggested by the use of the
wavy-line motif.
e°? 6 ®, on ®, ete
 COMPOSITION 75
This motif has been drawn many times in previous
lessons, combined with scrolls, circles, and other motifs.
Thus, we may take the simple border as it stands and
use a small part of it.

The rabbit may be placed at any given point of this

line, following its curves.

Now choose which position the rabbit shall occupy,

draw that part only of the curved line to the full size
of the intended design, and arrange all the rest of the
drawing in harmony with this ruling line.

In case of designs built upon simple growth, not

representing actual movement, but using for example, a
shrub or tree, the same rule is applicable, not as motion
but as growth.
76 CREATIVE VD ESIGN
Study the composition of the rabbit for its movement.
Note that the effect of movement is dependent on a
ruling line. This main line of the composition is called
the dominant, and the supplementary parts are sub-
ordinate. The subordinate lines must never obtrude,
they must support and be in complete harmony with
the main line or lines. Adapt the leading unit or figure
to the dominant line, and group the lesser ones in the
order of their importance.
If the dominant unit is to represent the movement of
 COMPOSITION Gf
a running animal or a flying bird, then the dominant
line directs the orbit or path of the flying creature in its
flight. This line is used in a very obvious way in the
comic-supplement pictures, where a dotted line repre-
sents the track of a look, a leap, or an object thrown in
the air.
To get a greater effect of movement, or swing, to the
composition, the silhouettes which were used at first
in the study of composition should now be cut in their
separate parts, and their positions adapted to the re-
quirements of the design, precisely as was done in
drawing them. This method applies to everything from
the human body to flowers, leaves, and stems.
For example, cut the silhouette of a bird into all its
parts:
78 CREATIVE, DESIGN

SPACE AND MASS COMPOSITION

When working directly in areas instead of in lines,

the background is as important as the mass of main
design.
In compositions which do not suggest motion,
make nearly the same arrangement as for all-over
patterns. The elements must cover the entire compo-
sition in a true balance; draw the more important de-
signs first, and fill in the spaces with the smaller ones,
remembering always to leave some space around every
object, whether large or small. They must not touch
one another. This free space may be painted plain
black, which makes a very decorative effect.

Observe in the above composition how the darkened

spaces between the units of design must also be con-
sidered as masses necessary to the pure balance of the
structure. Perfect structure cannot be achieved by
 COMPOSITION. 79
rules: the student must be guided by his natural sense
of equilibrium.
We have here given suggestions for the most simple
methods of composition, but in time, the student will
be able to plan other compositions, more complicated,
which will be merely decorative and free representa-
tions or illustrations of ideas of his own.

2.5. ‘COLOR
Up to this point the work has been done with pencil,
in black and white. The next step is to learn the use of
color.
The art of color is a study not to be dealt with here
to a greater extent than is necessary to give the student
a few hints, to stimulate his imagination, and allow him
freedom for his own compositions without suggestions or
the interference of special rules. Let each student de-
velop his individual feeling for color, for this is one of
the most important aids to originality and honesty of
expression. The student who perseveres and becomes
an artist will naturally take up the intensive study of
color as a part of his work.
There are for the present no special rules for combin-
ing colors. In this method the colors at first are never
mixed. Use the pure shades as they come in the or-
dinary school paint box, and try them in succession in
all the combinations that occur to the color sense and
are pleasant to the eye.
Crayon is the simplest form of color to use, and
younger students usually prefer it, but it is advisable
80 CREATIVE DESIGN
also to learn from the beginning the easy use of brush
and pen. For this reason they should be encouraged to
work in water colors and India inks.
For the trial of this new medium it will be well to
repeat some of the designs already learned, such as
rosettes and borders, in color outline.
Begin with outlines in color, and progress gradually
to full-color compositions with backgrounds. From this
lesson on, the work should be as much as possible
in color.
 PAR ie

36. PERSPECTIVE
So far all objects and figures have been dealt with in
flat profile, silhouette, or full front view, without refer-
ence to their bottom or top surface. They will now be
represented and described in perspective: not the
usual perspective in art, with the receding lines con-
verging to a point on the horizon, but a much simpler
one.
An object seen in front view from above naturally
shows its upper surface, or, as with a cup, its inside
surface.

oP >)
An object seen from below shows its base.

ae
Round objects such as vases and baskets which have
previously been shown only in profile or silhouette are
81
82 CREATIVE DESIGN
now shown combining the profile outline with the top

© ©
or base in perspective.

£&
This method applies to round objects, but those
having several sides must be drawn in perspective to
show the right-side face, the left-side face, and either
the top or the base, depending on whether the object
is viewed from above or below. 3

Three of their sides are thus actually visible, giving

a full description of the subject and an idea of its
volume.
 BERS Pb CihVir 83
Diagonal Y shaped lines are mainly used in perspec-
tive.

Following these simple rules, practise drawing in per-

spective all the designs hitherto done only in flat
surfaces.
84 CREATIVE DESIGN

37. DISTANCE
The simplest way to represent distance is to diminish
the size of objects as they recede one above another into
the background. This sense of distance is obtained by
drawing on planes.
All the nearest objects are the largest in size, and
appear together in the first row, or plane, at the bottom
 PERSPECTIVE 8c
of the composition. The objects on the rising planes
gradually diminish, keeping proportions among them-
selves in the same plane. For example, a composition
of tents and trees in perspective:

Third row, background: ? A\

Second row, middle distance: @ (KES

First row, foreground:

86 CREATIVE DESIGN

38. SHADING
The representation of depth and volume of objects is
obtained by shading, that is, by distinguishing between
different planes by an arrangement of light and dark.
Darkness suggests depth in relation to the light, or
outstanding parts.
To impart volume and roundness to an object, begin
the shading inside the outline of the figure, almost, but
not quite, touching it. The shading should be very
dark at the edges and grow lighter towards the centre.
(Fig. A.)
To suggest depth around a figure, shade very dark
around the outline, then fading outwards. (Fig. B.)
When objects have flat surfaces, emphasize the edge
between two breaking planes with shading starting
from the angles. (Fig. C.)
Note that the vase in Fig. D is seen in perspective
from above and that although its base is almost a
circle in outline, an effect of its flatness and the relief
of the stem are obtained by shading on both sides of
the stem.
In the fruits shown in Fig. E,,.observe that the
apple is shown to be round by means of the circle of
darkness which follows its contours, just within the
outside line.
Se
gg
Aina
Sl
 PA Re eC
LIT

39. MODERN SURROUNDINGS

The student should observe the modern life about
him, and draw what he sees reduced first to its utmost
simplicity of expression.
Choose whatever lies near at hand or catches the
imagination. The list given here will suggest some of
the numberless subjects to be found in actual sur-
roundings, and the examples given will be helpful in
working out the problems of perspective, of distance,
of composition and simplification:

Airplanes Radio towers

Amusement parks Telephones
Automobiles Trolley cars
Boats Engines: Railway locomo-
Bridges tives and fire engines
Building cranes Factories
Camping tents Flags
Casks Household objects
Circus Public buildings
Cups Ships
Electrical appliances and Skyscrapers
machines such as: Theaters
Electric bulbs Etc:, etc.
Radio set and wire coils
89
CREATIVE DESIGN
 MODERN SURROUNDINGS 91

(een WY
=°SIR
QD
Sa

Luu
CREATIVE DESTGN
MODERN SURROUNDINGS 93
94, CREATIVE DESIGN
MODERN SURROUNDINGS 95
CREATIVE “DESIGN

._
to

_
SS,
|as

SESS
\
 MODERN SURROUNDINGS 97

SY Dd © Uh
ae

] 4 YN 2) PP ae viv
4 oan CAL | { J) as chke

+] Sai LZPN tT rN
aia a ‘
0
i
CREWEINE DES EGN
— |
 MODERN SURROUNDINGS _— g9
It must be remembered that the beauty of most
modern forms is the result of the exigencies of their
100 CREATINE DESIGN
use. It is the result of the quality and texture of
materials, the fitness of their application and the necessi-
ties which determine their form rather than of any de-
liberate striving for ornamentation or so-called “‘artistic
forms.” For this reason, many of our modern sur-
roundings have much of the quality of primitive art
and as such furnish us with new examples of the old
forms adapted to a new culture and a new conception.
The use of the arrow in modern design is a good example
of this development, as the accompanying drawings
will illustrate.
This method for design, the first part of which ends
here, has thus far been concerned only with the simplest
exposition of the rules and principles to be followed,
and as such it can be used by all elementary students
of the art of design. The second part, addressed to
teachers and advanced students, is the explanation, in
greatly compressed form, of the main theories underly-
ing and justifying the method. In other words, the
first part shows how things are done and effects are
achieved; the second part explains why they are so done.
 BOOK II
CREATIVE IMAGINATION
 Aries Wert

THE DEVELOPMENT OF CREATIVE IMAGINATION

The particular aim of this system of design is to pro-

vide a simplified method of graphic art for the expres-
sion of ideas and emotions, to help the student to avoid
meaningless effort and waste of vital energy from the
beginning, and above all to set him on the way to
solving his own problems. Its happiest feature is
the simplicity and rapidity with which it removes
obstacles, and gives the student a sense of progression
from his first attempt to draw. This is because it
is a stimulant to the imagination and to the creative
forces rather than a textbook of exercises. The aim
is to establish at once an understanding of the funda-
mental laws of order, growth, rhythm, harmony, and
balance, to which all life is subject, progressing gradu-
ally to less abstract forms, with a study of simple, gen-
eral designs, inspired by nature, but conventionalized
by many generations of human expression.
In training a child, then, the first step is to free him
from timidity by means of a flexible craftsmanship,
in order that the expansion of his ideas may be en-
couraged by perfect command of method. On this
foundation he builds up his own style, his inner point
of view, and evolves, through his own experience, into
an individual capable of finding his proper material
and making the fullest use of it.
103
104 CREATIVE DESIGN
These suggestions for the more important forms of
traditional design will provide the student with a
knowledge of the essential forms of expression of the
past. Let him recognize that this must be his starting
point, from which he may enter into a whole new world
of fresh endeavor. He must at first use the suggestion
of old form to clothe the new concept, until he is able
to create forms of his own.
All popular expressions of art are the fruit of a collec-
tive ideal; national collectivity is necessary before there
can be unity in the national art. Inthe future, popular
arts will gradually become conscious: it is not enough
to know that certain things are done in certain ways,
the members of the group will demand to know also
why they are done that way. A knowledge of form and
a solid technical equipment are the first requisites for
any work in the arts; add to this, understanding of
the origin and meaning of form and technique, and the
way is cleared for true creativeness.
All good work in art originates in a lively and
vigorous imagination working with freedom from
prejudice and with a spontaneity gained from the
liberated play impulse. This enthusiasm and pleasure
give warmth to creation, which is guided and attained
by intuition. It is the boast of certain kinds of artists
that they do not know how they get their results —
that they are driven by what they call “inspiration.”
True art, however, has to be conscious, otherwise it
lacks those necessary qualities of high sincerity and
the expression of a feeling, accurately defined and
clearly understood. Such art can be produced only by
those who have full control over their creative impulse
and who act always with a clear comprehension of its
causes. On the other hand, complete sincerity in ex-
 CREATIVE IMAGINATION itos
pression may also be attained by the savage, acting in
absolute unconsciousness and guided only by mere
instinct.
The work of art may show these qualities in two
ways: at the one extreme stands the primitive, or the
child, ignorant, even, that art exists, and expressing
himself in artistic creation without prejudice or knowl-
edge and acting purely under the guidance of instinct;
at the other extreme, is the highly civilized man whose
expression is impelled by neither prejudice nor uncerti-
tude, because he knows and is master of his knowledge.
Between these are the stages of struggle, development,
experimentation and experience until sufficient knowl-
edge has been attained to allow for complete conscious-
ness and freedom of action. The primitive method
may be called instinctive or emotional, the civilized
either intuitive or conscious.
The failure of this high faculty of reason limits the
peasant arts. The uncultured artist-craftsmen of all
times followed their instinctive processes: they created
unconsciously from the heart, with tenderness and
naiveté, and the appeal of their work is limited to the
heart. They gave unreasoning response to their feel-
ings, governed by their immediate needs and the limita-
tions of their environment. That their motifs of decora-
tion could be analyzed, that their work was ruled by
certain laws, never occurred to them. No matter how
touching their art may be asa record of human aspira-
tion, it is not a complete art because it lacks the quality
of the higher expression, the quality of being conscious.
In art, as in all other manifestations of the human
spirit, our mind grows steadily more conscious, in this
enlightened sense, more critical in its use of traditional
materials, more analytical for the sake of a fuller un-
106 CREA FIVE DESIGN
derstanding: emotion is not the master, but the ally of
intelligence. This makes a balance. It is all very well
to feel rhythm, harmony, growth, but feeling will carry
the artist only a certain distance. ‘These instincts are
shared in some degree by every living thing. With-
out knowledge of the principles ruling these instincts,
it is impossible to reach the fullest degree of creativeness.
When we consider human development, it is clear
that for thousands of years the unconscious goal of
mankind has been to give plastic shape to its emotions
and concepts. This prolonged, blind, and diffused effort
has created many forms of art, all of which evince a sim-
ilar striving: the will to express beauty (rhythm, har-
mony, order, etc.), that sense of beauty common to all
races and times, however varied the surface forms it may
assume. In all ages, the artist has taken hold of the
idea of his time, wrought upon it all imaginable shapes
and passed it on to the succeeding generation as in-
destructible evidence of the true nature of his times.
The growth of this evidence corresponds intimately
with the development of all human perception: as the
perceptions grow more keen and subtle, man gains a
more luminous knowledge of his ideas; as the ideas in-
crease, he gives them surer definitions. Through study
of the primitive arts we can trace the long course of
this growth, thereby comprehending with more sym-
pathy this clarifying process of the human spirit. The
best guide for our own experiments is this understand-
ing of the law ruling the creative impulse of the primi-
tive. For basically it rules us also, and will command
the future. We must choose either to abide by it or to
disperse our energies without profit.
It is the intention of this method of teaching graphic
art to return to the sources, to begin with basic symbols,
 CREATIVE IMAGINATION 107
and little by little to establish in the mind of the
student his own sense of, and his kinship with, these
laws: he is the natural heir of all the stored wisdom
accumulated in Time, and he can better use his herit-
age if he knows its boundaries. For the child and the
novice in art, it.is a new approach to the past, a more
personal way of appreciating his own formula. He is
a composite product, a present projection of an endless
tradition: on his present possession he must build up
his future. The past is an apparently formless body,
carrying in it all that we are, our knowledge and ex-
perience, and all that we may draw upon to strengthen
our own contribution to the present.
This knowledge of art is one of the keys to the
mastery of life, a consciousness that is beyond mere
sophistication. Children should be early persuaded
not to confound creative art with mere realism, but to
identify it as reality; to recognize it as a special, en-
lightened way of seeing and defining; and this way
must be their own, not imitations and copies of the
visions of others.
In the usual method of teaching design, the child is
started too far along a road which is never his own;
he does not begin at the beginning. By this method we
are careful to provide the pupil with only the materials
and suggestions necessary to stimulate him to discover-
ies of his own. By putting him in the proper environ-
ment and giving him the general principles, we help him
to find his way through his own experience, the only
experience he can possibly use to any fruitful end.
This method is thus in harmony with the true ideal of
pedagogy, which aims to provide a synthesis of human
experience in the realm of ideas, and its results as they
are visible in the culture of the present. This should
108 CREATIVE DESIGN
be accomplished with the least expenditure of effort,
while developing the student’s energies and enthusiasms
for use in his further explorations. This textbook is de-
signed to rouse in the student his natural desire for par-
ticipation, for creation and discovery in the limitless
world of art. By its simplicity it hopes to forestall self-
consciousness. A child, a student, should be a pioneer,
an adventurer in life, and he will be, if only his young
curiosities are not early smothered with artificial for-
mulas, the workings of his imagination not curbed by
fixed rules.
The manner of approach to art is common to primi-
tive peoples, to children, and to beginners in the art of
design. Especially in the case of the child, we find that
a sophisticated design will confuse him, or fail to interest
him. For this reason it is fatal to burden the novice
with the task of literal copying from objects. He is lost
in the struggle with sophisticated form, volume, per-
spective. Given a few principles and left to himself, he
starts more simply. His first drawings are flat, primi-
tive, naive, alien to some persons with a fastidiously
cultivated eye, if you like, but they have a beauty of
their own, because they are right for him, it is the seed
that will grow. He must pass through that stage
precisely as he must cut his teeth, before he is prepared
for any further advancement.
It is useful for him to learn early that there are
seven basic motifs underlying all forms of art, and
that these symbols are the shapes of primitive expres-
sions of art. Once he learns the fundamental represen-
tations shared by all animal-shapes on earth, among
all animals in their kind, all tree-shapes in theirs, all
earth-shapes, he will have disposed of his first great
problem, of seeing clearly into the core of the forms of
 CREATIVE PMAGINATION ‘tco
representation. Having got the structure straight in
his mind, the way he covers it is his own affair.
Art should be a social function, a collective popular
expression. In proportion as it becomes a part of every-
day life, the concern of everybody, it grows in meaning
and power. In China, in Greece, in Egypt, and other
countries where there has been a vast underswell of pop-
ular art, we find the most profound expression of a
genuine national culture. This culture consists of
numberless elements brought together and fused by
the fire of national consciousness; without this con-
sciousness art loses its character, or, rather, fails to
develop one, and remains untempered and lifeless.
In the Americas, this welding process has been going
on for almost three hundred years. It took some time
for the imported elements to acclimatize, before they
could begin to mingle with each other. Surely more
diverse cultures were never brought together than in
this new world. The old native Indian civilizations of
Mexico, Central and South America, the Spanish, the
Negro, the later infusion of English, Dutch and French,
the trade with China and the Indies, the fairly recent
addition of large numbers of peoples from all the races
of the earth, make for such a mingling of cultures as
only time can unify when they are all wrought together
into the same ideal.
In this country there are recognizable manifesta-
tions in architecture, in painting, in music, in dancing,
in the theater, a definite point of view and method of
projection which are identifiably American. It is not
yet a thorough blend, its essentials remain unclassified,
its characteristics are not clearly outlined. This will
come with time. The conditions are ripening for the
creation of a distinctly American art, something fresh
I1O CREATIVE DESIGN
and unique that will come to life out of all this mass of
traditional tendencies and new materials diverted into
new fields. The foundations of all new cultures are
borrowed, usually from the nearest neighbor, and be-
cause America was discovered at the beginning of an
era of world travel and easy communication between
widely separated countries, her borrowings have been
free and varied beyond all precedent. This makes a
complex problem and many apparently irreconcilable
elements must yet be reconciled. A remarkably
generous, broad and plastic culture is promised from
all this, for already there is a pattern discernible on the
surface.
When the student realises his possibilities and his
preferences he will focus his efforts on a certain ideal
of achievement. The ideal of most American students
is to achieve a genuine expression of American art.
As we have said, there are already some remarkable
expressions of this American spirit, in architecture and
the graphic arts and other forms, but there is no defini-
tive outline or form that can be called pure American
as yet.
This genuine American expression can only grow out
of the sincere feelings of the people from the mo-
ment they give up influences from without and the
imitation of foreign expressions. For this enterprise
they must use all the genuine American elements that
now exist, all modern American surroundings, as well
as all the traditional, well defined American forms.
These forms are often found to be purest in the simple
objects, such as furniture, porcelains, hooked rugs,
embroideries, and other simple manifestations of a
popular art.
The American artists themselves must work out the
 Chea wv etn GEN AT LON - <1
evolution of traditional elements into a form expressive
of modern feeling and the requirements of modern
life; the northern spirit has its own feeling for color,
for form, its own special rhythm, and by keeping faith
with his own impulses regarding these things, the
American artist will create in time an art of his own
country, which is the art of the people.
We believe that artistic intuition isa universal gift, but
very few are encouraged to use it. This conception of
the universality of the human gift of expression is the
basis of modern teaching in all the arts. Simplified
methods of teaching music, dancing, painting, etc. will
testify to man’s new faith in himself as the instrument
of beauty. It is the province of the teacher to build up
and fortify this faith in the individual. The untrained
hand has at first an easy victory over the struggling
imagination, and the first work done may show poor
technique and little skill. Without a little help the
student may grow discouraged. Therefore it is im-
portant that the first lessons shall be so simple as to be
easy for even the smallest child. The conception is the
important thing, and the student must be encouraged
to rely on his own idea, to have faith enough in it to
sustain him through the period of probation to the
medium of his art.
In adopting this method, the student who has had
previous training will probably find his situation almost
reversed. If he is able to free himself of preconceptions,
begin to work in a spirit of play, of honest experiment,
with the sincerity of a child, he will find not only a
source of refreshment for his imagination, but added
technical training and a widened field of vision.
 PA Reet

THE SEVEN MOTIFS IN PRIMITIVE ARTS

A few suggestions as to the traditional uses of the

material contained in this book will offer an interesting
basis of comparison to the student. It will be seen that
the foundation is the same, only the manner and the
spirit vary from the crude primitive to the skillful
classic; from the eternal peasant emotion, which sur-
vives even today in nearly all countries, to the fresh
instinctive expression of children.
All primitive art forms are based on seven natural
motifs, and a comparative analysis of the ancient re-
mains of art in all countries reveals their presence in
the very earliest attempts of man to materialize his
emotion and make a record of his imaginings, using
them as spontaneous representations of abstract form
or as schematic drawings representing animals, plants
and so forth which became simplified and then modified
again into the seven motifs. In some countries the
motifs were used only in part, but they are as a whole
the foundation of all design.
Among the ancients, these seven motifs were used
as signs to represent their gods, or the phenomena of
sun, moon, stars, lightning, water, and other natural
forms to which they attached symbolic meanings. In
later epochs each region, or race, began to combine and
elaborate these motifs in different ways, according to
112
 ees EEN: MGA LES 113
tradition and temperament, producing characteristic
arts which seem at first glance to be altogether separate
and individual. But a closer examination discloses
that they are all ruled by the same basic law of design.
The reproductions from primitive arts which are
shown in the following pages are given only as a sample
of what might be specially studied. They are some
examples of art expressions in different mediums, from
prehistoric times to our days, and from all over the
world, from the most diverse localities and races and
most different periods. Some of them might have had
their inspiration from other countries but still others
must have been the originators.
As line is the basis of ornament, we shall consider the
lines we are using, comparing them to those used
basically in antique arts. Since we haven’t the space to
cover the entire field, let us confine our examination
to Greek art, which has exercised a predominant in-
fluence over the art of the western world and should
therefore interest us the more for being more closely
related to our own expression.
The Spiral: ©)

The so-called open curve, the scroll or spiral that

forms the wave pattern Fig. A called MEANpDReE. With
the S-line it forms the double spire, Fig. B.
Fic. A Fic. B

CCR C/©
The Rivcle: G)
Representing the stars or the sun.
114 CREATIVE DESIGN

The _ half-circle: oe

which forms the ImBrRicaTED or scale-like ele

pattern and the FEsToon, or swag, called the CATENARY,

which appears
in looped drapery. \W2EAARSARLY,

The S form: CNY

called Strycites, which combines into the GUILLOCHE

(Fig. A) as it is called in French, and which is the basis
of the double Spire element, (Fig. B)
Fic. A Fic. B

The wavy line:

a continued series of the S form.
The zigzag: VWIWIV
a broken series of straight lines forming angles.
The straight line :ctssssssssmms
These simple geometrical forms in their primary
combinations exist alike in the ancient arts of the Tol-
tecs, Egyptians, Lake-Dwellers, Assyrians, Chinese,
Greek, Early Britain, Persian, Hindu, Aztec, and many
others. (Stone Age and Bronze Age)
They are found not only as extemporaneous expres-
sions but also as the result of simplified natural forms,
 ede te BING MOT VES 115
such as plant, animal and human life represented in
conventionalized design. But in one way or another,
there is always the tendency to use these seven funda-
mental forms. The accompanying illustration is an
example of the way in which a bird representation

ps
has been reduced to a simple zigzag form.
The following pages of examples have been selected
from the primitive arts of various countries and
civilizations and despite the wide discrepancy of period
and geographical distance, they all show the common
use of the seven fundamental motifs at a certain mo-
ment in the artistic and cultural evolution of each race.

Fig. 1. Ornamentation on Hittite pottery in the Near East, about 2000 B.c.
116 CREATIVE: DESEGay

e .
Be >

Present day Roumanian painted egg shells and other

peasant ornaments.

LES iy Sede
Fig. 3. Persian pottery from Susa, about Fig. 4. Italian pottery dur-
3000 B.C. ing the Bronze Age, 2000
B.C. to 700 B.C.

FIGs
Seb SL

@)
O

Fie 5
Figs. 5 and 8. Contemporary African ornaments from the Niger district and
the East and West Coasts.
 i
THE SEVEN MOTIFS 117

r
AAVZN\
[RAMA EA SAEAAS 7 LAA

6g
Fice
Fig. 6. Detail of the Greek
frescoes at Tiryns, 1400 B.c.

DEDEY 09
Fig. 7. Painted fabrics of the Finnish
tribes in Russia.

Fie” 28

0. Woodcut from the Hervey Fig. 10. Contemporary ornaments from Northern
Islands, South Pacific Ocean. Lapland and Siberia.

y
FIG IZ
Fig. 11. A very com- \VAI
mon pattern in the
popular arts of China
and Chino-T urkistan, Fig. 13.
WA M leather work from
twelfth century. Tuareg and Liberia.
118 CREATEVE DESIGN

ee Adie
itmnn <a
=_
Figs. 12 and 14. Present day African ornaments from the Congo
and Abyssinia.
 Fig. A shows the use of the motifs for various representations in a Greek vase
of the early Athenian Period (600 B.c.). Fig. B is a very good example of the
Hellenistic Period (200 a.p.). Fig. C is a pomegranate of the Dipylon type (900
B.c.). The peasant arts of all the European countries show the use of these
forms. Fig. Dis a painting from Dalecarlia, Sweden (1800), and Fig. E shows an
old Renaissance sketch for jewelry in which the forms are used by the artist in
free-hand drawing.
 C
The black Italian pottery from Teano, Campania, of about 300 b.c. (Fig. A), and
the example of Athenian pottery of the geometric period, goo B.c. (Fig. B) as well
as the Hadra vases from Egypt (300 B.c.) are all good examples of the Greek
influence,
 Fig. A is an oinochoé jar in the Cypriote style (700 B.c.) and Fig. B shows some
late Mycenaean vases of 1400 B.c.
 g

E xamples of Copt cote xtiles.

 ES e%
i
er
on
ay
re ax

Fig. A. An early American lamb’s-wool hooked rug (1820), showing some of

the motifs.
Fig. B. An early American pottery pie dish from Pennsylvania (1800).
Fig. C. Detail from a Greek vase of the late Bronze Age (1500 B.c.)
Examples of modern Mexican pottery in which the seven motifs are used,
 B
Fig. A. Pre-Dynastic Egyptian pottery of 5000 B.c.
Fig. B. Painted drum of the Nootka Indians, British Columbia.
 The common playing card shows the use of the seven motifs with very little
variation over a period of five centuries.
 Dae SEVEN MOTIES 127

ee eee eee
ene.

2G
pna SCARE
OU SetEce ces

ARARAAR AMR
ow weer ee eh ee SF

Fic. A Fic. B
Fig. A. Ornaments from the Malay Peninsula, taken from designs illustrating the
mythology of the primitive Negrito tribes.
Fig. B. Painted Tapa of the Samoan bark fabrics of Oceania.

Bead work of the American Iroquois Indians.

128 CREATIVE DESIGN

Examples of ornamentation on pre-hispanic pottery from the Valle de Mexico.

In Mexico the motifs are found from pre-historic times to the present day.

Examples of ornament in the Bismark Archipelago of Australasia and among

the American Apache Indians.
 EE eSEV EN MOTIFS 129

ee,
ee
ee
aa
ea

i YP)
OE
eet
a

DICE OTE)
Designs used in Borneo for the tattooing of the body.
130 CREATIVE DESIGN

NX Ss a)
SSNO
Rey TANS
he
Vis

An example of American colonial embroidery (1700), obviously influenced by

the painted cottons imported from India during the seventeenth century.
 POE SEY EN MOTIES 131
In ancient primitive arts there seems to have been
an esthetic feeling against the crossed line. But there
are certain exceptions where the lines do cross, as we
have noted previously. The most characteristic ex-
ception is the straight line crossed by the straight line,
as a base for the checkerboard pattern:

The wavy line may also be crossed with itself:

a, i
The S-line crossed with itself may form a single or
double swastika:
132 CREATIVE DESIGN
The zigzag crossed with itself:

Oe MW
The technical limitations of weaving and basketry
must have suggested many of the variations in the
motifs which we find in ancient design. The necessity
of using only straight lines brought about a geometrical
type of ornament. Thus the original wavy line may
have become the zigzag, and the compact wavy line
(Fig. A) was turned into a square, (Fig. B):

Fic. A JABRUA LLL res

The more compact wavy line (Fig. C) lent itself to a

very interesting square pattern, (Fig. D):

Fic. ¢ Fie. D

The circle (Fig. E) and the spiral (Fig. F) were also

adapted into angular manysided figures in order to fit
a given space and follow the demands of the woven
material:

OA CIJA
Pic. Figs+k.
 PET SEN EN MOT LES 133
All of the motifs were adapted in this way.

le

Ce HE dip
eo rt ce

NO LE
All the numberless combinations that can be made
with the seven motifs are divided into two distinct
groups of expression. The first expresses quiet, repose,
balance, and is called Static arrangement. The second
expresses movement, development, growth, a breathing
quality, and is called Dynamic arrangement.
To the first group belongs the all-over design which
gives a restful feeling of stillness. The motifs are
134 CREATIVE DESIGN
balanced against each other in a pattern, and spread
evenly over a surface.

Static Arrangement: |

The second group includes borders and frets in which

there is a feeling of movement. In all of them the eye
feels the necessity of following the lines.

Dynamic Arrangement:

The tangential junction spreads out in the direction

into which the border grows or moves.
Usually, motion is represented and felt as running
from left to right.
When lines join as forces, they join in the direction
of the movement of the border.

> »—>
 PART SiTt
COMPOSITION

The intellectual comprehension of the laws of order

should enable the student to make balanced composi-
tions.
A composition must be considered as a whole, and
worked out first as an arrangement of mere lines with
a consideration of rhythm and harmony; then mass
and space must be organised when sketching the repre-
sentative units or figures. Finally it must be finished
with regard to all the details of which it is composed,
into harmonious wholeness.
In the first stage, lines must be considered as forms of
motion; they must push one another forward, or break
upon one another in such relation that they harmonize
in movement.
In the second stage, the most important unit or
figure and also the secondary ones must be adapted to
the dominant and subordinate lines and spaces of the
structure which have been laid down to govern the posi-
tion and form of these units and figures; if care is
not taken at this point, the student can easily lose the
harmony of the whole composition, by altering a line
or a mass outside of his first intention. Each smallest
unit works in a mutual relation with all the others,
and care must be taken to keep this relation true and
poised.
In the third stage, the finishing of the composition,
it is necessary to carry out to the end what has been
started. In coloring and shading try to keep all the
quality of the original design, and add to it style, feel-
ing, and wholeness.
135
136 CREATIVE DESIGN

I BORDERS
In designing borders, the student should feel the
major movement of rhythm and harmony underlying
the design he draws. Borders must move forward, and
grow as they move. This movement will be obtained
by choosing one motif from among the seven and
building on that, adding other motifs the design may
require as secondary decoration supporting the central
one. The single ruling motif of the border is called
the dominant, and the complementary one the sub-
ordinate.
Dominant.

eg a

Spirals are the Subordinate.

~9
rar —~9 oT

This continuous suggestion of movement in a definite

direction is enhanced by the tangential junction of the
subordinate motif, which always springs from the dom-
inant motif in the forward direction of the movement.

LO
 COMPOSITION 137
This can be done in symmetrical arrangement, or
alternating.

Symmetrical Alternating

The character of a border consists in steady repeti-

tion of motifs which create the rhythm; this even
repetition in a rhythm is called continuous growth.
The harmony of the whole depends on the right selec-
tion and arrangement of the component motifs. The
back-ground is called space.
Growth being, as we have said, the harmonious
repetition of the same form in an augmenting or
diminishing proportion (Fig. 1), we find in nature the

‘ b4 il mea3 F
iG. 1.

combined manifestation of growth and tangential junc-

tion in symmetrical or alternate arrangements, in
branches, leaves and flowers. [Fig. 2, see next page. |
138 CREATIVE DESIGN

Fic. 2.

PFspi Cl
Also in structures, buildings, and perspective:
 COMPOSITION 139
As we can see in the different expressions of Art in
different periods and among different peoples, there
are two main tendencies corresponding to the different
states of evolution and the temperament of the artist.
They are the naturalistic, in which nature is visualized
and the representation is of what we see in nature; and
the conceptual in which the representation is of what
we think of nature. Both methods are also found in
combination. In contemporary academic art much has
been done in naturalistic representation, but little in
conceptual. In this method we give the guides for learn-
ing first how to think about the form of things, correcting
and revising our conceptual images by afterwards turn-
ing to nature. Thus the perceptual and conceptual
views are wrought into each other in an intelligent and
conscious way, necessary to the perfect form of repre-
sentation.
There are three main approaches to form: the tradi-
tional, which reverences the past or the work of other
artists; the realistic, which believes in photographic
literalism; and the individual, free approach, which
insists on recording things through the medium of a
personal creation.
The follower of tradition obeys rules laid down, and
clings to a style of expression already accepted.
The realistic school may also work in traditional
ways, but it is closer to the outside aspect of things,
and sets down a literal record of actual life. If our
aim is to express exactitude in matters of anatomy, or
machinery, or the precise shapes of mineral, vegetable
or animal life, then we go to nature, or even to books
about machinery, zoology, anatomy, or botany, and
so get complete details of forms and structures.
The creative way follows a free impulse in an effort
140 CREATEVE DESIGN
to express feelings, to give shape to emotions and ideas.
Here the individual uses everything that he finds
useful and desirable. He will use them as a base for
his symbols to suggest his concept, and create new
forms of his own out of them.
It is well to experiment with everything; much
exercise in the three approaches to free expression
develops a knowledge of forms. It gives strength to
creative power and a sense of selection. Practise in
both the traditional and the realistic manner bring
knowledge and experience on which to base our future
creations.
The traditional is an example, and the realistic is
a firm base. Together they furnish much material
that can be seen afresh, and newly felt, and so given
new life and a more perfect form. If we wish to ex-
press an emotion through the form of a flower, it is
necessary first to know what a flower is, how it is built,
and of what it is composed; and it is also well to know
how all artists have looked at flowers, and how they
have felt about them; and it is important to know the
conventions of flower representations, and the simplified
forms to which they have been reduced.
This will give the beginning artist. a store of forms
and possibilities on which to base his experiments and
work out his own individual mode of expression and
use of symbols. New art is merely the old forms
selected and corrected by the light of a new imagina-
tion, and thereby further illuminated.
When studying borders and frets, a little while ago,
the motifs used in making them were chosen and
arranged for form’s sake, and for abstract representa-
tions of rhythm and harmony.
The next step is to develop those abstractions into
 COMPOSITION I4I
symbols representing animals, plants, flowers and other
forms. In this work the student may refer to all that
has been said about composition, as regards masses
and spaces; the simple lines may be turned into spaces
representing units; and thus a circle may be made
into a flower, a curved line may be used as a stem or
the curved vein of a leaf.

O
o ra)

Follow this example in the work of making a design

of a unit. Select some of the borders already made,
and develop them into a representation of leaves and
flowers.

oO 9 Rea:

Then take only a part of the border and, using its

leading lines, turn it into a representation of flower
and leaves and solve the problem of masses and
spaces.

ENG
ae CREATIVE DESIGN
Then finish according to the individual feeling.
Using a knowledge of form, it is possible to gain fresh
inspiration from even the most classic form, say the
Acanthus foliage equally with plants from nature, and
by all these means arrive at the perfect form, personal to
us, through which we may express our modern feeling.

2 ORG
Avo OIN|

Often when moved to create, to express an emotion

or idea through form, we have only a vague notion of
how we wish to represent it. The best steps toward
making an original drawing are as follows:
Begin by sketching a line, or general movement which
corresponds in an abstract way to the vague emotion
or idea. This may be used as the back-bone of the form;
it should be simple and intuitive, a mere suggestion .
of the form of the thing felt, which we want to represent.
It will be much simplified if the student uses a broad
adaptation of one of the seven motifs or a combina-
tion of several, precisely as is done in making borders.
ow
poe “a,

as oo Pate oF8%,
ea)
i ol
on ee aS -- paeaeS/ @

SE
VA o
a
( te
 CREATION 143
Using this line as a foundation, adapt the object or
unit which represents your idea to it, build around it,
and proceed with the composition of spaces from this
center, or back-bone, outwards. After the desired form
has been set down in a solid composition, finish with
color or shading.

mS
>
.|
oy ov y)
*en.
pe
a
on &.2%~ si Wy

tiee &:
cA” 4

7 J oo”
ee
ay s ->--
Pi on

Of these three steps in creation, we may say that the

first line, or back-bone, corresponds to our own inner
idea or emotion, that the added units or figures sym-
bolize them, and that the color and finish convey it to
the observer, make it more comprehensible and
interesting. [See also illustrations on page 177.|
One who has the faculty of reducing his representa-
tion of design, by lines, forms, masses and units, into
a complete creation of his mental conceptions will
give to the observer the impression that he desires.
\
-. A
2 A 4 e 2
Ard
Mor |ae ee gra 2 A
Ww) et eI Ree a
% RUE eteros
a ag ? BN 2
Lf
a >)
5a 2
a? 5 o
a? a o
af0 H
ig
‘ a
a
i]
144 CREATIVE DESIGN
3. “REPRESENTATION OF MOTION

To give the sense of motion in a design, the repre-

sentation of the object should be connected with its
line of motion, orbit, track, or path, and should follow
its motion in space. So when following such a design
with the eye, it is possible to reconstruct this suggested
line, and feel the object in relation to its path when in
motion. This gives dynamic quality.
This feeling of the motion is very strong when follow-
ing the major line in a border. A wavy line carries the
eye along in a curving, up-and-down movement; the
zigzag gives a sharp, broken rhythm; a straight line
give a sense of even progress.
It is very easy to understand this orbit, or trajectory,
when observing an airplane “writing” with smoke
against the sky. The smoke hangs in a line describing
the path of the airplane.
So if we suggest a part of the path of the moving
object in a design —in this case the airplane — and
the object itself, we will reconstruct in the observer’s
mind a feeling of the airplane and its flight.
A sky-rocket can be used as another example. The
ball of fire ascends, and marks its path by showers of
sparks that hang in the dark background of the night.
In the same way our moving hand leaves behind a line
on the black-board, when designing with chalk. Here
the line of motion, as the back-bone of the composition,
suggests the movement of a definite part.
 PARile LV

THE ARCHETYPE

The archetype is the essential idea of a certain thing.

We can form our own idea of a certain archetype by
studying the types which are derived from it. Suppose
we wanted to form the conception of the archetype
“flower.” We would analyze carefully from nature an
infinite number of different kinds of flowers and search
in botany, as well as in all the representations of flowers
in art, and in all other possible ways, for all the known
and unknown laws that affect the being, purpose,
function and structure of a flower, and discover what
are its essentials. This abstract idea will be a concep-
tion of the archetype. By it, if unlimited biological
creation were possible to us, we could create other
flowers of our own invention which would be as truly
flowers as the others, because they would be built on
the same fundamental plan or idea, somewhat in the
way inventors create a more and more perfect machine.
Innature we find the archetypes adapted to the special
circumstances of environment which create the different
types of species. In art, inspired by an archetype, we
create types. With the idea horse conceived in its
archetype we can paint, model, or in any way we choose
represent a certain horse that is our own conception
and creation, a type of our own, unique, different from
those created by others, having our own personality
145
146 CREATIVE spies EGON
but derived from the archetype which is not ‘ours be-
cause it is an existing idea from which we have taken a
conception. Similarly we can realize how the human
figure, animals, plants, flowers and so on which have
been represented in an infinite number of different
ways or types corresponding to the various periods,
arts, styles, countries and artists are each and all but
types derived from their few archetypes corresponding
to the fundamental ideas of the human figure, animals,
plants, flowers and the other forms.
In this method there has been suggested a series of
general types of each kind, with their essentials, for
purposes of design. Each of them suggests the arche-
type of its species, and with this conception built up
firmly in the mind, each one is the core of a new crea-
tion of the individual artist.
We have for example on page 77 a suggestion of the
archetype bird which suggests the general structure and
general characteristics of all birds. For designing pur-
poses, this form contains nearly all the essentials of a
bird.
If we make such conception of our own, and want
to create in our design any special kind, whether it
exists in nature or is on the other hand of our own
conception, we can build it according to the archetypal
bases and our fancy. It is possible to create simply by
adapting this conception of the archetype to the special
variation which we wish to represent.
We can give it long or short legs, a slender or a fat
neck and so on within the essential idea of the arche-
type bird, which are certain general characteristics
such as two wings, two legs, a neck and a head and
so on. We make it in our own way and so we create
the type we wanted.
 THE ARCHETYPE 147
The artist, by combining his knowledge of birds from
his naturalistic and artistic point of view with this
sense of the archetype, will discover a simple road to
the most fantastic and original expressions. Patterns
may be used for the texture of the feathers, forms of
growth for the tail, in short, any decorative design
desired may be used according to the individual
imagination. In this way even the beginner will find
himself doing with ease things he thought impossible
to do at all.
The simple types selected for this method are mere
suggestions for the building of units or symbols. Most
of them are characteristic of our modern surroundings
reduced to the simplest form. Units are really conven-
tions which must be created by each artist separately
as the inevitable symbols of his own feelings and
reactions.
Summing up, nature is necessary to the designer, but
not to the design: the artist should not look to nature
for justification of his designs. The young artist
should create his ideas and make his compositions
within the laws and principles given here for his use,
but always creatively, never in the sense of copying.
He will gradually develop his own symbols and units,
inspired by nature, and by existing art expressions.
The individual will discover within himself the ade-
quate forms for his own conceptions.
All methods, treatises and textbooks on art are merely
the means by which the student may hasten his own
ends, the natural development of his own faculties.
If he has creative ability, textbooks act as a guide, but
they do not offer any substitute for creativeness; nor
must the student rely on them to chart the path of
his personal development. The normal course of human
148 CREATIVE DESIGN
development is slow, and the aim of education is to help
the student to acquire rapidly such knowledge as he
may need for the full expression of his original talents.
We are trying here to give general suggestions to the
student, rather than technical details. “There are many
special treatises on technique, color, and use of medium,
which the student is advised to consult when he feels
himself far enough advanced to attack these particular
problems.
It is of the utmost importance at this stage that the
student build up his own sense of discrimination and
be guided by his own opinion in selecting advice and
suggestions. No one can do this for another indi-
vidual; each person must choose for himself the way
he will go in the creative life. Books will help, as all
experience and knowledge help, only when the indi-
vidual depends on his own judgment, backed by his
own developed imagination and understanding.
This method for art study has a further effect and
application if we realise that, later, as man discovers
through art the laws of nature and, through their
relationship, the laws of the universe, he becomes
acquainted with the rhythm and harmony that is
universal, that rules the infinite. Al the arts are ways
of experimenting to find the key to universal law. Art
is, therefore, only a means, not an end: the means to
self-perfection. By this method man is able later to
solve and understand higher problems of universal law,
in some way to become part of them; that is, to be
more conscious of and really to understand them.
When by this training we have acquired more knowl-
edge than we really thought we needed for art, as we
have advanced farther than we had expected, and
learned more than we ever thought we could learn
 wea R CHE Pye 149
merely by trying to give shape to our emotions, we have
reached a knowledge of universal law and have attained
the means of creation. Thus art leads us, drives us, in a
way, toward philosophy. Here we realise the impor-
tance of art education and how far we can go by the
means of art. We may consider that the study of an
art is a medium to awaken the germ of enthusiasm, life,
and movement, which can be applied to the problems of
knowledge. Here though we have observed only the
special case of graphic art, drawing, we can see that
it is a medium for attaining the knowledge of philos-
ophy. We could reach as high a level through the study
of other arts, because the different arts are the ways to
conquer, to reach the unknown.
We have seen how all primitive arts are based on
seven primitive motifs. Thoroughly studying the
seven motifs, we find that they are seven types derived
from an archetype: the ideal archetype spiral, which de-
velops in all dimensions. The seven motifs are the
more characteristic aspects or types of that ideal arche-
type spiral in a conventional flat representation con-
sidering only one plane of their development. That
is why lines never cross in this system nor interfere
with each other; because that could only occur in
the case of two planes in which lines could go one
behind the other.
Thus we give the student the seven motifs, the seven
most characteristic types ofthe archetype spiral and with
this suggestion he unconsciously builds in his own mind
the conception of the archetype and he gets the emotion
of what it suggests; that is, motion, action, life, evolu-
tion; and conversely, motion, action, life, evolution
evoke the archetype spiral. Our highest effort is to get
the conception in our minds of this ideal shape in all
its dimensions.
150 CREAT
EY ESD ES hGaN
The teacher after having a perfect knowledge of
what the archtype means must work with his students
until each one of them gets consciously that knowl-
edge for himself. The student must understand that
each archetype is the common denominator, the mother,
of an unlimited number of types. He must see that,
although each type differs from the others in its
quality and structure, the essential plan or idea on
which their construction is based is the same for all of
them. He must know that they all come or flow from
the same mother idea which gives them all the same
mother inheritance, the essential constitution, obey-
ing the same immutable laws of generation. On this
depends in the greatest degree the difference and va-
riety of the types. The teacher can make this point
clear by this example. All the skeletons and frames of
the vertebrates, man as well as animals, are derived
from an archetype with the same plan of structure;
the differences are due only to the different degrees of
evolution that each type has reached corresponding
to the necessities of its own progress or the different
purposes of its evolutive course.
We may be sure that when the student has made
such knowledge his own, he has opened to his mind
a broad way which connects him with the world of
the archetypes within which inventors and creators live
and act. Because, in fact, from that moment he will
find that all types and shapes manifested in the
world are derived from their corresponding archetype.
He knows when looking at a machine and at its work
how to find the archetype from which it was originated.
And since he knows that from that archetype an infinite
number of varieties or types may be produced, he can
conceive the one type which will best suit his special
purpose.
 PHESARCHEDYPE ISI
Now the student will understand easily the way to
evolve a machine; that is, by having more facilities to
make improvements on it. He will see how all inven-
tions have at the beginning some imperfections, that
little by little they are improved, as, for instance, the
typewriter, a machine every new model of which has
some improvement. The student that has made such
knowledge his own will be able to improve and evolve
things much better and in less time than other students
who have not had the chance to acquire such knowl-
edge through these principles that encourage the
awakening of intuition.
The student who practises this knowledge will find
that he is a creator and that he has the place of the
father when creating. He will see that before he can
produce atype fromthe mother archetype,hemust make
a mental fecundation without which the type could not
be manifested as a child of that mother archetype and
of hisown mind. The student will realise that the type
that he got from the archetype is the child of his imagi-
nation, a creation of his own that has his own charac-
teristics and to which he, consciously, with the power of
his mind, has given a certain shape, with a definite
purpose. Or, in other words, he imagined the type he
needed and has given it shape, using the essential con-
stitution of the one mould, the archetype.
Now let us consider the ideal spiral as the mother
archetype of the seven motifs. I have used only seven
of the infinite variety of them, because they are the
ones by which primitive man expressed himself first and
because they are the most typical representatives of the
different characteristic groups of types and also because
they make the archetype more synthetically comprehen-
sive. If we consider that man always tried to give ex-
ie CREATIVE DESIGN
pression to his emotions and ideas and that at a certain
degree of his development he expressed himself with
seven primary motifs each of them represented in an
infinite variety of shapes, we may well suspect that
these simple motifs represent or correspond to the
infinite ideas and emotions that man has expressed. So
the seven basic motifs may be said to correspond to
seven basic emotions or ideas, and this conception may
help us to understand that the archetype spiral is the
common denominator for human graphic expression of
emotions; the synthesis of expression of shape and
movement.
Thus, we may see that the original inspiration goes
through the following steps: the individual, who has an
inspiration, feels the necessity to express it, to give
shape to it, in a plastic way. While trying to find the
shape of his inspiration he will fall into other forms of
expression which correspond to, or are types of, the
same archetype, and they lead him till he conceives the
essential of it or its Arch. Accordingly, the individ-
ual with his inspiration and the archetype with which
he is to give plastic shape to it, originates the type he
wants. From this inspiration and the archetype is born
the special type that he desires. The individual repre-
sents the inspiration through the archetype and, when
the special type is conceived, he has only to reduce it
to plastic shape; then, depending on his personal abili-
ties in the different arts, he decides through which art
he will express himself. In this special case, he expresses
himself through graphic forms, through ‘the material
medium of drawing. This is the course from the pure
conception of the idealistic inspiration to the material
plastic form which depends upon and is ruled by the
archetype. This special shaped type in plastic form
 Dera ThorY PE 153
corresponds to his inspiration. Naturally much depends
on the freedom of the individual and his ability to be
sincere and to rise above the prejudices that would hin-
der real expression, and also upon the possibilities of his
skill in his chosen medium of expression. All these are
factors in the pure expression of his inspiration.
Thus, we have a new procedure for learning graphic
art, a procedure based on the recognition that the arts,
the material representations of racial emotions, are not
to be learned, as it were, by rote, but must be con-
ceived by a developing process, comparable to that by
which the arts were first evolved. This new method
recognizes that the development of individual artistic
perception is the recapitulation of the evolving artistic
perception of the race, and that, therefore, graphic art
is not something to be learned but something to be
lived, something that each person must discover for
himself, and will discover for himself if he be given the
right principles and the proper tools for the adventure.
 PARy iy

THE WHIRLING SPIRAL

It 1s the purpose of this part of the discussion to con-

sider with the student the factor of form not as given
shapes, but as conceived from its very beginnings; for
the student’s creative urge will reach fulfillment not
through manipulation of given shapes only but through
as much of a conception of the very creation of form
as he can grasp. With the idea of searching out an
understanding of form from the very beginnings of
things the student might take as a starting point the
fact that there is in the universe a constant relation
between cause and effect. This constant relation is a
uniform way in which mental and physical forces pro-
duce their effects and a certain phenomenon results
from a certain condition. This constant relation is a
law. We may thus conceive that the unknown, occult
potentialities which rule the universe acquire form when
they manifest themselves as laws acting on matter;
that it is through matter that they assume form.
Whatever may be one’s thought with regard to ultimate
causation, at least it is necessary to begin with the
postulates which sum up in the hypotheses of physical
science of our own day, man’s conception of the creation
of form. Expressed in briefest epitome those postulates
comprise the conception that the forces of these occult
potentialities are eternal energy which, taking the form
154
 THE WHIRLING SPIRAL uss
of vortical motion, comes into being in the manifested
universe as forces or modes of motion which act on
matter and so produce forms. When we think of these
laws we should not limit our thought to known laws,
but should bear in mind that we only begin to know a
few of those which comprise the more familiar dynamics
of the Universe; but besides these, there are probably
other undiscovered forces which undoubtedly take
their part in determining the forms of the universe.
These laws, known and unknown, all interact to-
gether in a perfect interior accord, which we call the
harmony of the universe. Thus there must be a mani-
festation, which is the synthesis of this dynamic inter-
action of all the laws, and therefore the all-inclusive
origin of all forms. If we try to conceive what it may
be which comprises in its own existence all the dynamic
principles, such as the centrifugal and centripetal
laws, movement, cohesion, unity, attraction, repulsion,
rhythm, harmony and so on, and if we try to form a
concept of this synthesis by establishing its analogies
and generalities in its purest and most primary form,
we arrive at an idea or concept of something which we
may call, for lack of a better word, a whirling spiral
in motion, or vortex, in which there is the possibility
for all the laws and principles to coéxist.
In such a conception we may consider the vortex
or whirling-spiral motion of the lines of force as the
synthesis of such lines, through which are produced
basically all forms of matter and diverse modes of
motion from the simplest to the most complex. Since
the universal lines, in which resistance, cohesion,
attraction, repulsion, movement, and so on have their
being in action, are known as mechanical laws, the
universe is therefore, according as we perceive its
156 CREATIVE DESIGN
aspects of form and motion, mathematically organic,
just as the laws by which its shapes and movements are
constituted are organic and subject to mathematical
law and analysis.
The whirling vortex in all its dimensions is for us
with our present limitations of thought an undefinable
form. What we wish to express by the name is a
noumenon, a one thing, which, however, is indescribable
since it is an infinite form, a cause, whereas we are able
to describe only finite manifestations or phenomena
within the limited sphere of our knowledge. The in-
finite form of the noumenon is manifest to us only in
the finite form of phenomena which are its phases or
aspects, for it has an infinite number of phases or aspects
which differ from one another. Hence we will take very
simple phenomena of the whirling spiral, so as to be
able better to understand and study them, and see
their relations to the phenomena of art. We will take
one portion of it, a single point 7m motion in the whirling
spiral, i.e., as if we were considering a particle of dust
in a whirlwind. Following its passage, or orbit in
space, we will find that it describes a whirling form of
motion. If this motion-form could be crystallized so as
to make it a form without motion, and its passage
fixed, such track would be a form similar to that of a
curl- shaped spring. ‘This curl will represent in space
the solidification of the run of one point in the whirling
spiral, the motion being thus, as it were, frozen.
Thoroughly to get in mind a structural conception of this
form, a similar form should actually be constructed
with wire. Such a coiled wire will represent a part of
the solidified form of movement in space of one point
of the vortex or whirling spiral.
Objects in full volume can be represented in the flat,
 PE WHiRitN GS PrRAaAL 187
as projections of their own shadows on a flat screen.
So the coiled wire existing in space gives a flat repre-
sentation of itself in its shadow and we have elimin-
ated the element of volume, or the third dimension.
Thus, we shall project the shadow of the coiled wire on
a screen in all positions, so as to get its most character-
istic aspects in the shadow, and we get now line-forms
as design with no volume. In so doing we have finally
reduced the most characteristic aspects of the whirling
spiral to simple lines projected on the screen according
to the different positions from which it may be observed.
As we see, this same form exists as motion, as structure
in volume and as line-form on a surface according to the
dimension in which we consider it.
We may observe that if the lamp is placed in the
center of one of the openings at the ends of the coil we
get in the projected shadow a spiral or scroll-form. If
the lamp is slightly moved to one side of the opening
then we get a series of tangential circles, touching one
another at a similar point; if a side projection is made,
it will show a zigzag form; and if the coil is slightly
stretched, then we get the projection of an undulating
or wavy line; seen more from the side we get a series of
half-circles like a script “m.’’ We must not yet con-
sider the combinations of these forms when their lines
cross, for they are confusing, being combinations of
front and side views. If we study these forms we find
that they correspond marvellously to the seven most
characteristic motifs which we have pointed out as ex-
isting in all primitive art expressions, considering that
the S-shape is a part of the wavy line, and the straight
line is a portion of an infinitely large conception of any
one of these motifs or a very stretched wavy line. So
these seven selected forms which are phases or aspects
158 CREATIVE DESIGN
(when lines do not cross) of the most simple conception
in the flat of the whirling spiral’s form, seem to show a
primordial reflection in the sub-conscious mind of man
of the cosmic abstract form. The greater part of very
primitive art sprang from emotive feeling, not from the
head. Such unconscious work must be considered as a
reflection of the motion-forms of the dynamic forces of
the universe acting on the subconscious mind of man
with its limited perception and understanding.
Likewise and at the same time, the source of the in-
spiration of these seven forms may have been nature’s
visible structure and motion. The mind of man has
always been enthralled by discovering geometric forms in
nature which subconsciously have always interested him;
and as the spiral form of the vortex is the simplest that
is produced by the joint action of all the laws upon
matter it naturally follows that we find its manifesta-
tions as the fundamental form in all shapes and struc-
tures, andin all modes of motion and their combinations.
There are certain common forms, of structure, motion,
and growth, that are easily perceived or conceived.
Observing nature we find this force at work in atmos-
pheric phenomena, as in the vortical movement of the
air and of water, visible in whirlwinds, whirlpools,
movements of all gases and liquids, clouds, smoke,
waves, flames of fire; in plant life, in the structure and
growth of vegetables, the arrangement of leaves and
branches, the growth of trunks and stems, the arrange-
ment of petals in flowers, the structure of pine-cones
and pineapples; in animal life, in snail and other shells,
antelope-horns, arrangement of feathers in birds, scales
of fishes, structure of nests and spider-webs and in
many other forms of natural growth.
Motion-Form as we have said before, is represented
 THE WHIRLING SPIRAL 159
in types of the Arch of motion, the whirling spiral.
Primitive man had perhaps established the concept of
the whirling spiral for motion-form from his observa-
tion of the natural phenomena of his environment. For
us nowadays there enter into that concept other im-
pressions of motion from our contemporary environ-
ment, so that besides impressions from nature, the con-
cept comprises such impressions as those received from
the dance, the forms of curves described by a whirling
top, the lines of the parcours of a rolling piece of money
which turns around in a logarithmic spiral, falling in its
center; in a wood shaving which curls in the same way;
a falling strip of paper which turns on itself and also
describes a spiral in space; the bouncing and other
motion-forms of a ball, the movements of machinery,
and an infinite number of other motion-forms in our
surroundings.
In astronomy we find the whirling spiral in the form
of nebulae and orbits of celestial bodies; it is also found
in microscopic structure and motion and in the pre-
sumed whirling-form of the motion of electrons in the
structure of atoms. All of these phenomena abstractly
convey to the same whirling spiral form.
Things sensed and emotions are connected with each
other when they are simultaneously experienced. So
the memory of things sensed may by association of
ideas awaken emotions, and vice versa. Perceiving the
lightning (zigzag form) man was frightened, and so the
memory of the concept of the lightning may have
awakened a subconscious emotion of fright and con-
versely, the emotion of fright may have awakened,
among other images, that of the zigzag, which was
then used to induce the sensation of fear. Similarly,
satisfaction and water (wavy lines) may have been
iGo CREATLVE DESIGN
associated. Hieroglyphics and symbols are created
in this way. Thus, each of the aspects of the whirling
spiral must have corresponded to certain associated
emotions, some of these being common to all peoples.
Spontaneously, forms of mental images will appear in
art manifestations as unconscious response to the emo-
tions and the impressions of the exterior world upon
the artist.
In the conceptual harmony of the universe of which
we have been speaking, we live and move and have our Lo
being. As its natural laws rule the universe, they
naturally also rule our arts. There must be a relation
between these laws and the plastic arts, which means
that there must be a natural law of plastic arts. To
sum up the whole point of this discussion, then, if we
relate the fact of the underlying dynamic of the whirling
spiral in nature to the plastic arts, this similitude will
be the basis for what might be called the natural law
of drawing or design. It can also be the basis for the
study of surfaces and volumes and for painting and
sculpture. However, as we are to confine ourselves to
the study of drawing we shall only consider the law in
respect to lines. As governed in its primary forms by
the principle of the whirling spiral, we find this natural
law to consist therefore of the phases of the whirling
spiral perceived in its projection in the flat which give
the seven lines, common to all primitive art.
In the preceding discussion we have endeavored to
arrive at the fundamental principle of design, which we
defined as the form of the whirling spiral. It remains to
find how art expression in design is accomplished within
this principle.
First we shall consider how to think about form. The
impressions of forms in the natural world which man
 THE WHIRLING-SPIRAL 161
has developed through the ages of his experience into
the generalized ideas or concepts of which we have
spoken, when they come to reach their utmost general-
ity are called archetypes.
Our stock or vocabulary of conceptual forms are arche-
types of forms of structure and of motion-forms in our
environment. Nevertheless, archetypes can not be rep-
resented in any form of plastic art, because then they
become types. The archetype being infinite and the
types finite, the finite types are only phases or aspects
of the infinite archetype.
At this point we have in mind, then, the conception
of the archetypes which the foregoing paragraphs have
set forth, and the conception of the whirling spiral as
the possible archetype of all motion-form and forms of
structure as was suggested in the discussion of the nat-
ural law of design. We come next to observe the
manifestations of this archetype and its relation to
conventional terms of design such as rhythm, growth,
composition.
Rhythm is perceived as repetition of events. Be-
tween every two events or expressions there is a relative
space or distance called their intervals. Rhythm is
the expression in relation of the space or distance be-
tween the events. In the track of the whirling spiral
motion-form each event or beat may be considered as a
similar point in each successive arc of the spiral. [See
illustration page 162.|
We have the sensation of rhythm in nature in the se-
quence of days and years; in plant and animal life as
structure.and movement; in music it is the lapse of
time between every two beats; in design, the space or
distance between every two units.
The factor of change in rhythm is called growth;
162 CREATIVE DESIGN
om
ami SS /

Sauber? ‘V
ae 7d eyye / ' /‘

je \aearie Nea ane

Ral pee bia A |
pe | \ | | |
| ey Sst yl
| in | ‘ar he
| | | | \ * ae

Re ath
! eee
Noe,

a represents the events, and the spaces

in between are the intervals.

there are two types of rhythm; one uniform, designated

as continuous growth, and one changing, designated
simply as growth.
ConTINUOUS GROWTH is the arrangement of events,
or units, and intervals, or spaces in between them, in an
even rhythm, in a sequence of continued even conditions
without any perceptible change.
GrowrTH is the rhythmical and harmonious change
of rhythm, augmenting or diminishing its events and
intervals. It is, like everything else depending on the
function of the whirling spiral motion-form, subject
to mathematical proportion. We must bear in mind
that all the spirals, in order to be perfectly shaped, must
have a mathematical logarithmic proportion in their
structure. Students who are acquainted with Dr. Jay
Hambidge’s Dynamic Symmetry are familiar with this
principle. Growth is the rhythmical and harmonious
structural way in which nature is built. There we
perceive the different steps of growth in the continual
change or development which life effects in living forms.
 THE WHIRLING SPIRAL 163
Perfect growth in art exists when the events and inter-
vals keep the logarithmic proportions having the rela-
tion of the size of the units and the space between each
unit and the next one in an augmenting or diminishing
sequence, as in a fern or palm leaf.
Confining ourselves in this discussion, among the
different phases of design, to that of form only, we leave
out of consideration those inner qualities of design
variously designated as feeling, expression or life.
We have not yet studied in this book the aesthetic
phase but only the form through which the aesthetic
function is performed.
It has been said that things more excellent than
images have been expressed by images. To the art-
ist this means that his own created types or symbols,
made to express something that is of his own soul, in
their aesthetic composition give an emotion to other
souls far more significant than the simple, separate
things of which the composition was composed. We
shall see later how the symbols acquire a new life when
used by our inspiration, and how the feeling gives
life and expression to the forms.
This is, of course, one of the most important parts of
the natural law of design and should be considered in a
special discussion; and we come last of all to find how
the student may grasp the potentialities latent in the
universe, and how in turn they act on him and reach
fulfillment in an art expression. To set forth how this
fulfillment may come to pass we shall discuss two
phases of the student’s development which we shall
call intuition and technique.
1 See Bragdon’s The Beautiful Necessity.
 PARACEL

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF CREATION

Our compositions, being ruled by the laws of order,

are in a sense mathematical and geometrical, but far
beyond the extent to which we can use geometry and
mathematics. Besides, there is something else, which
is mathematics related to the emotional and spiritual
element; thus we are not able to solve our problem
completely in this purely intellectual way, and the only
way left is to develop our growing intuition, by which
we shall be able intuitively to solve such intricate
problems. Intuition gives us the right solution for
what we feel is the best. When the student gets beyond
attainment-by-conscious-reasoning he is able to feel by
his instinctive sense of beauty or truth (his growing
intuition) and in proportion to his degree of evolution,
the action of the laws of the universe and to sense their
mathematical relations and unity far, beyond his powers
to prove.
We use “intuition”? not in the sense of the uncon-
scious reaction which is emotional or instinctive, but
in the sense of the action which is free, although it is
conscious. Intuition is the comprehension of the emo-
tional feeling, and through it a direct comprehension of
the harmony of the universe. This comes through
the self-development of the student. This growing
development brings with it the power of acting freely
within the laws, of being to a certain extent in harmony
164
 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF>-CREATION 165
with the universe. Knowledge gives a larger field to
our receptivity, making the universe more accessible
and bringing us closer to reality.
No other rule can now be given than to act within
the laws, using each separately and testing each one
as far as possible. This is more for the purpose of
getting acquainted with them, because the problem
becomes too involved when the simultaneous interac-
tion of all these laws in harmony is considered. Since
we are dealing not only with known laws but with others
as yet conceived only as presentiments or feelings, only
our sense of beauty or intuition can help us to use them;
and the more developed our intuition is, the truer will
be the perception of our feeling.
Finally, then, the student must of necessity ask,
“How may intuition be gained; what is the way of
attainment of this desideratum?’’ The answer is, by
the desire to comprehend the emotional feeling and by
developing that knowledge through the acquisition of
technique as an aid to expression.
For design, as for achievement in other activities,
technique is comprised of the mastery of the activity
by the comprehension of the laws that govern that
activity. From what we have said so far about the
conceptual view of the laws of design the student can
understand at this point that comprehension neces-
sarily implies an increasing synthetic knowledge of the
laws that form the harmony of the universe. This
answer may perhaps still seem remote, and it remains
to explain the way to the comprehension that gives
mastery or technique. This we shall find, as we have
suggested, in the individual development of the stu-
dent.
Development is the only way to comprehension. A
166 CREATEVE DESIGN
child would not understand how to run his father’s busi-
ness even if it were carefully explained tohim. He needs
to build up, to evolve himself, to go through his own ex-
periences of the why’s and wherefore’s, so as to get the
capacity and mentality and knowledge of a grown-up
person. Hence we have to build up our mentality toa
higher standard in order to comprehend what is now
far out of our reach. The hidden knowledge we seek
exists and manifests itself everywhere in every existing
thing, depending for its discovery on the fitness of the
seeker, on his degree of evolution, his capacity to feel
and to perceive the action of the laws and to apply
their generalization. We attain as much comprehen-
sion as we can grasp and the farther we develop mentally
and spiritually the more we are able to grasp. Curiosity
moves us to a desire for experiences to provide the
material for the establishment of generalities, the world
being for us a laboratory in which we make assays of
phenomena. These experiments may be real actions
in life, or exist only in our imaginative life — intense
thoughts rather than outward acts — giving us the
knowledge of a real experience almost as truly as if they
had been outwardly lived. The imaginative life is
obviously a broader field for experimentation, since
our imagination is shackled only by our intellectual
and emotional limitations and its experiences may be
contemplated and analyzed from a detached view point.
The field of experimentation in imaginative life with -
which we are concerned is art. However as we
develop further and further in this field the technique
which we have defined as constantly increasing syn-
thetic knowledge, we shall find its generalities common
to all other fields. Astronomy, medicine, chemistry,
physics, mathematics, political economy and other
 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF CREATION 167
_ lines of intellectual activity, as well as art, if they could
be studied to their utmost depth, would come in their
final analysis to the same basic fundamentals of the
laws of the universe. Thus all activities are good ways
to attain the ever increasing knowledge with which in-
tuition is to be supplemented.
In the end, then, we see that art is one of the many
ways by which man attains knowledge and builds him-
self into a superior being. Through his endeavors in
this field he works toward his own evolution. Each
design is an experiment, each line a problem to solve,
where all the universal laws are in function, and from
these experiments he gathers knowledge which is
universal and which quickens his intuition. Through
aesthetic emotions he realises universal generalities.
The simple fact of considering the possibility of the
existence of yet unknown analogies and laws acting in
our world will help toward their discovery. Self-effort
and experimentation helped by our growing intuition
will approach to the hidden order with its, for us, new
analogies and laws.
Self-effort is the only way to self-development, and it
has to be wrought through one’s own experience, by
thought and meditation, by striving and suffering.
These practices develop in us the faculty for knowledge
just as gymnastic exercises develop the faculty of
physical force. Discoveries acquired by our own ex-
perience are the everlasting ones, and the effort they
‘cost is necessary for the development of our mental
and spiritual life from which comes intuition.
Such self-development is the attainment of the char-
acteristics of the superior man, endowed with faculties
of deeper comprehension. There is an unconscious
human necessity, an instinctive, emotional or intuitive
168 CREATEVE DESIGN
tendency to act within the harmony of the universe,
known as the desire for beauty, perfection, rhythm and
so on; and so human evolution reaches out toward the
comprehension of such laws. What we call beauty and
perfection is a deepened perception of the action of
those laws.
The increased knowledge of the superior man makes
him a master of his instinctive and emotional nature
and he is thus more consciously able to act freely.
Guided by his intuition, his work in art is of a superior
kind, and the message he has to give through his work,
in the form of higher beauty, gives to others that high
aesthetic enjoyment which he experiences in creation.
The evolution of forms and their expression make the
evolution of art. Art is ever changing, evolving and
developing its fundamental forms. The fundamental
expressions and forms in their infinite stages of evolu-
tion and in their combinations are what produce the
different arts of different times and peoples. Present-
day expressions of art are the evolved ideas and feelings
of yesterday; and the efforts, desires, feelings, dreams
and fancies of our creative imagination are building the
New, the Art that is to be.
The aesthetic function or the function of art is rela-
tive to the state of evolution of the artist or observer.
It comprises a different reaction in each different case.
We find the aesthetic function in primitive man as
instinctive as play; in a higher degree of evolution,
as a sensual and emotional outlet, as a field of experi-
mentation for his desires and emotions in the form of
beauty. Then afterwards it becomes a speculative
field for investigation of knowledge and for the develop-
ment of his intuition, and then only does art reveal to
man the inner life of nature.
 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF CREATION 169
So it is that art has very different meanings, depending
on the standpoint of the active artist and the passive
observer and on their degrees of evolution. Certain
aesthetic experiences are sometimes attained through
psychological states artificially induced by stimulants
and narcotics. Aesthetic comprehension which, in
comparison to this sporadic type of experience, depends
on a certain degree of cultivated and attained develop-
ment of intuition is what has been called by phi-
losophers “the musical state” or the “lyric state,” or
what is known as “ecstasy” in the practices of mysti-
cism. Similarly it is known by many as induced by
love, perhaps the most potent emotional experience of
all. These variously known aesthetic experiences some
philosophers have held, are not subject to conscious
purpose or to any laws. They are the usual ways by
which man escapes the fetters of this lower life. The
fact remains though that they give him no control over
feeling; they do not come when he wishes and he can
not direct them in the way he would. They are in fact
but an unconscious outreach to a higher realm of which
we are only occasionally aware. Yet we do not need
to be satisfied with that degree of attainment. One who
has highly developed his will power, through self-effort,
is able by his own will to maintain a state of intuition
which he can master and through which he can com-
prehend his feeling and to give to this world aesthet-
ically, through symbols, the expression of his feelings of
the inner world, which, being universal truth, reaches
everyone’s soul.
 PARSE LL

THE INNER AND OUTER CAUSES OF CREATION

We have studied in this work given forms and their

exterior causes or forms, but we have said little about
the other part which rules the form, the inner cause
of form, the inner cause of creation, the life or expres-
sion within the form. This being a subject to be treated
in a special work we shall give in the following pages
only a synthesis of it.
In the period in which we are now living, a new form
of art expression is to appear. It will correspond to a
social group more highly evolved than any other hereto-
fore, the flowering, we might say, of this period and
what we might consider as the forerunner of a new race
of beings endowed with superior characteristics.
This does not mean that all previous art expressions
will disappear, because they all have their right to
exist and have their place in the ladder of human evolu-
tion. They are characteristic of the different cultural
categories into which, broadly speaking, humanity
falls.
The modern movements of art have revised the
ways of expression of nearly all the existing and past
forms of art expression. Through them, we are finding
the possibility for a new expression. In the discovery
of new forms in our modern surroundings we are finding
170
 CAUSES OF CREATION 171
the means for a complete expression of the true spirit
of our times. This re-creation of the old forms and
interpretation of the new by the modern artist will,
under the illumination of his vision, achieve a syn-
thesis of forms as a basis for future expression.
This new form of the future art, of the real Futurism,
is not based on any particular style or exterior aspect
of art, but on its inner quality which has been developed
or awakened in the artist who created it. Skill, and all
the matters related to styles or different schools of art,
which have so disturbed and divided so many artists
and which are only exterior factors, have no great im-
portance in the new way of art.
The important part in the new conception will be
the work, its aesthetic function. Being no longer cir-
cumstantial but transcendental, and of a higher cate-
gory, the work of the artist will comprise conscious
knowledge of its causes — its function and its purpose.
It will have passed the experimental stage.
We begin to realise that the actuation of this new
period of evolution in which we have entered, is going
to manifest itself in comprehension of the feelings and
their functions and this is going to be the characteristic
by which this future period will be ruled, as the char-
acteristic which ruled the last period which we are just
completing was thought. Thus it will be in this new
way that we shall pass from the knowledge of form to
the knowledge of its cause or genesis.
What corresponds to the emotions and feelings is
what we call Aesthetics. The function of aesthetics is
manifested by them, but man is not yet sufficiently
evolved to be capable of interpreting those feelings in
their corresponding thoughts.
It is on a superior plane to the mental one that feelings
172 CREATIVE DESIGN
engender thoughts, and only through developed intui-
tion is the individual able to reach such a plane con-
sciously. To lead, awake or develop our generation
toward such a state will be the goal alike of purposeful
artists and teachers. The creators will be moved to their
creations by causes which will depend on their degree of
evolution and their capacity to interpret their feelings.
The evolution of individuals or of their genius will be
easily measurable by the kind of feelings manifested
in their thoughts or ideas and expressed in their works. —
Whatever the evolutional state of the individual, crea- —
tion is arrived at through these most characteristic
steps:
The consciousness which makes us feel, the feeling
which makes us think, the thought which reveals the
special form of what we are going to create and the de-
sire of the creative act which makes us shape the thought
in physical matter.
There is already in our consciousness the form with all
its minute details exactly as we wish it to be later on
when it will have been shaped in physical matter, but
its fulfillment depends on our comprehension and
physical aptitude for it. (We understand by con-
sciousness the higher cause within ourselves, our inner
will, which, by means of the intuition, we must learn —
to be aware of and to use.)
Thus the most perfect creation depends on the com-
prehension and interpretation of feeling by thought,
conceiving in this way the real form which best cor-
responds to and expresses the feeling. When this is
achieved the shaping of that form is comparatively
easy.
The absolute comprehension of feeling can only come
by the unification of feeling and thought wrought to-
 CAUSES OF CREATION 173
gether by an effort of will—a deep desire for such
achievement. This will bring us to real comprehension:
the possibility of feeling the thought and of thinking
the feeling, both as one, is only reached by self-effort,
by the awakening of the intuition, and such achieve-
ment produces the comprehensive and creative poten-
tiality of the superman.
Until we do arrive at a complete development of in-
tuition, since through intuition we feel the forms which
are coming to the mind later to be expressed as ideas
or thoughts, it is not possible for us to get a perfect
interpretation of our feeling in corresponding thoughts
or ideas, and naturally impossible to get perfection in
our creation.
Genius is the higher state of the individual in human
evolution before reaching that perfect comprehension
of the feeling which turns him into a different being
far beyond all that we have thus far known. Thus in
this ascending course of evolution there are infinite states
with different degrees of comprehension in which al-
ready there are in different ways the reflection of the
superior qualities of the superman in man. When quite
developed the reflection of such qualities makes him
superior to his fellows and he is considered a genius;
but his creations are yet only the reflection of the super-
man within himself, and to reach his total unfoldment
must always be his aim. Our future quest will be genius,
but our ideal will be the superman.
While we are not dealing with the reality of the super-
man who has achieved the unification of feeling and
thought, we shall use the term feeling-thought to define
a quality as yet only relatively formulated, conceiving
it to be caused by will power and itself to be the cause
for creation; remembering that the comprehension of
174 CREATIVE DESIGN
the feeling and the feeling of the thought are at their
beginnings manifested in the individual only as a grow-
ing intuition.
This perfect unification or comprehension of the
feeling and thought achieved by the intuition is in-
describable under our present limitations but we shall
try to explain it as far as possible. This presentation
of the conception can be no more than a mere outline,
but it will help us toward its further comprehension.
We know that in this world there exist two opposite
forces and that they are maintained not in perfect
equilibrium but that, as one or the other has the prepon-
derance, different phenomena are produced. Those
two forces are the centripetal, which is characterized by
attraction, integration, conservation and designated
as feminine or negative, and the centrifugal, which is
characterized by the action of radiation, disintegration,
expansion, and is designated as masculine or positive.
Those two forces correspond to the two we have
being studying, the feminine factor to the feeling and
the masculine factor to the thought. Thus the problem
is to destroy polarity, fusing those two poles in one. In
separate state each pole needs the other; that is why
they are attracted to each other; ,they are their own
complements, and when the two are unified in one by
mutual comprehension they reach perfection.
In the same way, the three factors, will, feeling and
thought, when they combine, establish a new vibration
which makes possible the state of the superman, in
which the struggle between the feminine and masculine
natures has been balanced and wrought together, fused
by the will in the form of mutual comprehension, so
that duality exists no more.
All existing things are governed by the immutable
 CAUSES OF CREATION 1
laws of nature. Each existing thing in our manifested
world is the expression of an idea transmuted into
physical matter and thus is subject to its laws. The
existence of forms, and the action and movement of
matter, are only possible when subject to these essen-
tial laws and conditions. We all have a conscious or
sub-conscious knowledge of such laws, as well as of
the manifested forms developed under them, and this
knowledge is gained either experimentally or intuitively.
An idea can be manifested in matter only by being
formulated within the laws of matter, and this essential
basic form is called the archetype of the idea.
Let us now examine, in its several stages, the process
known as creation. In its fundamental aspect, this
process arises out of the creative impulse. The com-
bined action, on the one hand of the feeling, resulting
in an inspiration, and on the other, of the knowledge
of the laws of the universe and their existing forms of
manifestation shaping that inspiration, together pro-
duce the conception of the essential idea, or arche-
type. More precisely, our examination of the creative
process reveals this constant plan: The will wants to
create and transmits this desire to the feeling, which in
turn produces the inspiration. The inspiration, driven
by an inner necessity to find a thought as a medium for
its expression, with the assistance of all our knowledge
searches the fundamentals of the problem and so
arrives at the essential idea or archetype, from which
it develops a type until it (the type) is fully revealed.
This revelation takes the form first of abstract motion-
form and then proceeds to forms of things or symbols,
from which we are able to give concrete expression to
the type in matter.
A detailed analysis of the process may render it more
176 CREATIVE DESIGN
easily understandable: The consciousness or will wants
to create something and gives its command, which is
transmitted to, and acts upon, the feeling, making it
vibrate, and illumination or inspiration is thus attained.
This awakens the desire for expression and we then try
to formulate our inspiration in terms of its essential
conditions; and with the assistance of our knowledge
of the laws of the universe, and of its manifested forms
(created under those laws), we search for an essential
thought or idea. Intuitively, as a response, we find
the essential idea, or archetype which corresponds to
the requirements of our inspiration within the range
of our knowledge. From this archetype, the inspira-
tion visualizes a determinate idea of a concrete form
which best symbolizes the original command of the
will. The achievement of this symbol through in-
voluntary but precise reasoning, is the revelation of
the type which we wish to create. Thus we have found
the basis for its future manifestation in matter. Then,
through the thought process, this concrete symbol is
seen in all its details: first, as abstract motion-form
(Fig. A.) which seems to be its expression as movement
only; then as the concrete form or symbol (Fig. B.),
built up from the line of motion which gives the ex-
pression to the symbol. Both motion and symbol
correspond to each other and are different aspects of
the same expression of the inspiration. With this clear
conception of the form of the symbol in our mind, the
desire for its materialization is aroused and moves us
to develop it to its final form in physical matter, the
ultimate expression of the will’s original command.
In this way, the creative process has been brought to
its fruition. [See also illustrations on pages 142-143. |
The more knowledge we have, the more perfect arche-
 CAUSES OF CREATION 177
types we are able to find and thus the more perfect types
or symbols we are able to create for our expression. The
unexpected difficulties which bar our way when material-
izing our creation will give us new knowledge onwhich to
oohee,

Fig A ria.

a Fig C
The motion-form (Fig. A) has to be represented through material symbols as
the type of structure of the object, (Fig. B) or as a representation of the
movement of the object (Fig. C).

base future creations; but from the new creations we

shall gain new experience and new knowledge, so mak-
ing evolution possible. Thus, what we now know and
approve, after the experience of creation we shall come
to reject, because we shall have learned more and will
178 CREATEVE DESIGN
know better, and this evolutionary process within our-
selves will move us always on to new action and to new
creation. At the same time, we are always likely to use
some particular laws or forms in preference to others,
knowing or liking some better than others, and this
will always give a certain individual stamp to our crea-
tions, or what we term the characteristic mark of
personality.
Thus we see that the will to create the form as it exists
in matter after being manifested with all its details as
far as we are able to express it, existed from the very be-
ginning in the consciousness. The different and infinite
forms of matter of our world are but manifestations of
the consciousness. When we understand this we shall
see that our creations already manifested or yet to be
manifested are the expression of the consciousness and
will of the creator. Every thing that is created is a
part of the creator — it is of his own nature. Such cre-
ative function may be unconscious and instinctive or on
the other hand conscious and intuitive. So we realise
that all that exists or is going to exist is or was wrought
by different beings in their different states of evolution,
and all works of art have their place in the complete
plan of evolution, from the most primary instinctive
unconscious creation, to the intuitive creation of the
superman.
In this the vital fact is that everything has in its
being or inner essence (or vibration) the feeling-thought
of him who created it, it is a part of its creator. In the
case of artistic manifestation we find that the action
of feeling-thought through the manifested thing (the
work of art) acts upon our being and impresses us or
awakens in us a feeling-thought similar to that of the
will, of the feeling-thought of the being (the artist) who
 CAUSES OF CREATION 179
created it. This is what we call the expression of the
thing, which has the specific faculty to awaken in one
the feeling of its creator by means of its expression.
The comprehension of consciousness, expressed by the
feeling-thought and manifested in created forms, is Art.
Each thing that we create is a form of our feeling-
thought and we call it a symbol or image, understanding
as true symbols the types which best express our feeling-
thoughts. The things that we use as symbols irradiate
or awaken in others vibrations similar to those of the
feeling-thought of the one who brought the symbols
into being, and this is the power of expression of the
symbol.
The artist uses this and makes a language composed
of symbols or images, using all kinds of forms and by
means of them, through the work of art, contacts and
synchronizes with the souls of others. Thus we get
through the work of art the reaction of a spirit in
the presence of the creation of another spirit. What
we create must be the symbols of our feeling-thoughts.
The work of art is the expression of our feeling-
thoughts and we impress in it those two elements in
their forms, colors, sentiments, symbols, composition
and so forth, each of these corresponding to the expres-
sion of the feeling or of the thought. Thus they express
our masculine and feminine nature interwoven in the
different parts of the composition.
_ When the artist makes a composition combining those
- two elements in the right way, he gets their unification
as a chord, producing the sensation of the higher
harmonic vibration of their unification in the being of
the observer, which is the quality called life, peculiar
to master-pieces. The comprehension or consciousness
of this and the fact of being able to fuse feeling and
180 CREATIVE DESIGN
thought in the work of art through its expression is the
achievement of a genius.
As the evolution of art is worked out by the evolu-
tion of its forms and its expressions, so the artist who
is able to create more perfect forms and expressions is
helping the evolution of art. By the means of such
more perfect expressions the higher feeling-thoughts
may be expressed; or life in its higher forms and aspects
manifested.
We have said that by the development of intuition
the comprehension of the feeling and the feeling of the
thought is possible. This is the link to the higher or in-
ner region. Intuition makes us conscious of it, makes the
feeling and the thought one, and thus the connection is
formed, and the way opened to the inner world of causes.
The being who has awakened in the intuitive plane is
conscious of the kind of thoughts the feeling awakens in
himself and thus accomplishes with all perfection the
thought-forms which correspond to his feelings. When
he has also developed his will power, he is able to main-
tain that state, and is able to accomplish bringing into
physical manifestation, through his thoughts in form of
symbols, the expression of that inner world which is the
purer manifestation of consciousness. The nature of
his will and consciousness which moved him to create
will be expressed in his creation.
This is the nearest reflection of the possibilities of
the superman’s action and it is thus that the genius is
inspired for his action, attaining this state of recep-
tivity or inspiration in a greater or lesser degree, depend-
ing on his state of evolution, but always incompletely.
It is thus that the artist or the inventor or any other
creator solves his creative problems, being more or less
conscious of the part he takes in the evolution of forms
 CAUSES OF CREATION 181
and their expressions while incidentally he works out
his own evolution and so creates the new bases of the
form, expression, and feeling of the future.
The superman knows his place in the plan of evolu-
tion and his actuation is conscious, when all this is
brought to perfection. The perfect state of intuition
is of absolute perception and comprehension of the
consciousness.
Summing up we may say that the development of
the intuitive faculty to its utmost degree will make each
being able to interpret and afterward to unify his dual
nature. He will then know the part in the evolutional
plan which he must perform and which corresponds
to his achievement, being in its essence to help the
unfoldment of all life. Art is one of the ways to fulfill
such aspiration, for those who have a preference for that
way. He will approach the goal, using of the strength
of his will power, discriminating wisely and acting under
the laws of order, selecting, destroying and building
anew, each time that he knows or conceives something
better. With this continued effort we shall unfold until
we attain the unified action of our duality and reach
consciousness, the perfect self-consciousness through
intuition. And so, we shall achieve the goal of all
life, Metamorphosis and the Superman.
 A NOTE ON THE TYPE IN
WHICH THIS BOOK IS SET

The type in which this book has been set (on the Monotype)
is based on the design of Caslon. It is generally conceded
that William Caslon (1692-1766) brought the old-style letter
to its highest perfection and while certain modifications have
been introduced to meet changing printing conditions, the
basic design of the Caslon letters has never been improved.
The type selected for this book is a modern adaptation rather
than an exact copy of the original Caslon. The principal
difference to be noted is a slight shortening of the ascending
and descending letters to accommodate a larger face on a given
body-size.

SET UP, ELECTROTYPED, PRINTED VAND

BOUND BY DHE PL Mee TON sh Reb slo
NORWOOD, MASS.: PAPER MANUFAC-
TURED BY TICONDEROGA PULP &
PAPE REICOn sll CON DIE ROG AmEN@ tsYas
AND FURNISHED BY W. F. ETH-
ERINGTON & CO., NEW YORK.
 A Book of Delicious
Caricatures

THE PRINCE
OF WALES
And Other Famous Americans

By Micuet CovarruBIASs

“Some of the drawings in the book

are good. The rest are superb. They
are all vastly and seriously amusing and
will stand being looked at a thousand
times, so full are they of the meat that
caricatures should be full of. They carry
forward the banner of the Paleolithic
caricaturist gayly and nobly and reassure
us that, since we can laugh at ourselves
so well, the end of the world is not due
yet.”
—RatpH Barton in the
New York Herald-Tribune.

The drawings include:

Calvin Coclidge Will Rogers
The Prince of Wales Mary Pickford
Joseph Hergesheimer Babe Ruth
Miguel Covarrubias Willa Cather
Al Smith H. L. Mencken
and many others.

reece
$3.00
ALFRED A, KNOPF
Publisher New York
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-AMETHOD FOR (
CREATIVE DESIGN" ong
. By Adoifo Best-Maugard_ . a 2 . \
\ These lessons afford, in the simplest x
possible terms, the most direct road to-
complete self-expression through the me-
dium of graphic art. The method is _
primarily for those who love drawing and —
design but have abandoned their hopes of =~
| individual creation because of the diff-
: cult years of study ordinarily required.
What is perhaps of pre-eminent im-
portance in this method is the fact that its
study becomes not a matter of stupid
drudgery, but a delightful game that will
prove to be as great a diversion for the
busy man of affairs as for his children.
The first part of the book is purely ex-
pository and deals exclusively with the
actual method. The second part consists
of a discussion of the main theories un-
derlying and justifying the method. For
schools and students everywhere, this
book is indispensable. 3