Lanterna Rally

Author: Lewis F. Day

Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Published: 2016-12-09

Total Pages: 138

ISBN-13: 9781541035065

From the INTRODUCTORY. 'The Anatomy of Pattern' concerned itself with the lines on which repeated pattern is built. It is proposed in this second textbook of the series to discuss the order in which ornament not necessarily recurring may be distributed. And it will not be difficult! to show that, illimitable as those lines may at first sight appear to be, they too allow themselves to be classed pretty definitely; and, moreover, that the classes are not by any means so numerous as might be supposed. The first step in design, or rather the preliminary, to all design, is to determine the lines on which it shall be distributed - to plan it, that is to say. The more clearly the designer realises to himself the lines on which it is open to him to proceed, the better; and if it can be shown (as it can) that these are, comparatively speaking, few and simple, so much the easier will* it be for him to make up his mind promptly and determinedly which of them he will in any given case adopt. The shape of the actual space to be filled will oftentimes determine for him, more or less, the distribution of his design. That is to say, it may very likely render certain schemes altogether unavailable, and perhaps even limit his choice to a single plan; but at his very freest he is limited, in the nature of things, to certain methods of procedure presently to be defined. Plainly it would be out of the question to discuss at length the relation of every possible plan to every possible shape. I purpose, therefore, to take the simple parallelogram (which may stand for panel, page, floor, ceiling, carpet, curtain, wall, window, door, facade, no matter what), and to show the possibilities with regard to the distribution of ornament over its surface. It will then remain only to explain how the same principles apply, no matter what the shape to be filled.