DESIGN. Design is Planning.


* A well rounded concept of design includes considering the intent
or purpose of the artist (or child), the nature of the material from
which the article is to be made, its visual appearance (governed by
aesthetic laws), and the utilitarian purpose for which it is intended.
Design can be structural (three dimensional) or decorative (two
dimensional).


* When using design projects in an art experience, there should al-
ways be a purpose for the design at any age level. The child should
choose his own object to be made, whether for his own use or as a
gift. He should invent a way of building it with wise guidance from
the teacher, never resorting to patterns which will cripple his ability
for structural planning.


* Each material has its own limitations. A period of "playing with
the material" or experimentation to find its potentialities is recom-
mended in order to see how clay, wood, metal, cloth, paper, etc., each
differ from one another in appearance and structural possibilities.


* While the visual appearance aspect on the aesthetic is very im-
portant in art, in fact one of its most distinguishing features, in child
art we must remember that we cannot expect an adult project. Aes-
thetic values are not taught to children, they are discovered through
trial and error and intuition. When aesthetic qualities appear in a
child's work they can be pointed out in simple fashion and praised
by the teacher. Some of these qualities are:


* LINE PROPORTION: Not too much sameness of sizes nor so
much difference that the parts fail to "hang together."


* RELATIONSHIPS OF PARTS: Does one thing seem to be sim-
ilar to another one, yet different from it? This may be in shape, size,
color, texture, etc.


* RHYTHM: Do the directions of parts of the object go well
with the whole?


* An intuitive sense will tell a child when it is "right" if he thinks
about it. It is finished when it satisfies him. The teacher should be
happy with the result. She must remember that if she keeps his con-
fidence he will improve in future projects.