Tag Archives: The Grammar of Ornament

Savage Tribes – Day 20 of 30 In 30

Primitive postcard. 4 x 6 watercolor and pen on 140 lb. cold press paper. © 2014 Sheila Delgado

“Man’s earliest ambition is to create. Man appears everywhere impressed with the beauties of nature which surround him, and seeks to imitate to the extent of his power the works of the creator.” These two statements start off Chapter 1, Ornament of Savage Tribes in The Grammar Of Ornament by Owen Jones.

Hands in the air if you agree.

OK, you can put them down now.

Owen Jones might not have fully appreciated the ornamentation he found in each culture, but he did understand the shared need for expression.

I may not agree with all of his suppositions, but I am so thankful that he felt the need to produce this collection of design elements. What a fun (and work!) it must have been, to visit each locale, collect the specimens, and then produce each sample. I mean really, I would have volunteered in a heartbeat!

The Grammar of Ornament, Owen Jones

Each postcard I have created feels so incomplete to me. There is just no way to capture the essence of a culture in a 4 x 6 inch area. I want to include them all. I had some fun with this design in Photoshop. Just by changing the Hue/Saturation setting, I came up with several different versions.

What do you think?

What hue are you?

Looking at this now, I think I need to go back in and add some color in the “woven” section. I didn’t get that quite right.

Owen Jones and The Ornament of the Savage Tribes

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

Moresque Ornament – Day 19 of 30 in 30

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Moresque Postcard. 4 x 6. Watercolor and pen on 140 lb. cold press paper. © 2014 Sheila Delgado

Owen Jones considered the Alhambra unsurpassed perfection. His chapter on Moresque ornament in The Grammar of Ornament shows designs from only this location. He devoted more attention to this one building than he did to many of the entire civilizations he addressed in the book.

The Moors followed a strict set of principles in their constructions. This same was true of their use of color. The laws of nature were observed, and color was used to further define architectural features. Literal depictions of living forms were forbidden by their faith. They focused on geometric patterns. Written inscriptions were ever-present as a reminder that no matter how inspiring the building created, “there is no conqueror but God.”

I love the warm, earthy tones of the plates in the book. I added a bit of the coast to my palette. I started this design in Photoshop, creating the pieces as I would for a fabric repeat.

Pattern pieces

My awe for complicated repeating patterns remains intact. I spent more time trying to duplicate this pattern, than I did painting it. And this is simplified from what appears in the book. Once I had the pattern set, I transferred that to the card, and applied color.

This painting lacks perfection, but it is pretty.

I was hoping to get ahead on the challenge today. I should have known better than to take on a mathematical design and think it would be quick. Oh well, I still had fun!

Pomegranates – Day 17 of 30 in 30

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Chinese postcard. 4 x 6 watercolor, pen on 140 lb. cold press paper. © 2014 Sheila Delgado

I can not take credit for how pleasing this is. There is no credit given to the artist in The Grammar of Ornament by Owen Jones. In fact in his first book, he has almost nothing good to say about Chinese ornamentation at all. Regarding their design abilities he said, “they do not appear to have gone beyond that point which is reached by every people in an early stage of civilization; their art such as it is, is fixed… they are totally unimaginative, and all their works are accordingly wanting in the highest grace of art,”

Huh?

The book was first published in London in 1856 and was huge success. Owen was a product of his time, and his opinion was shared by many. This attitude can be attributed to a lack of knowledge and exposure, as travel to the Far East was still quite hazardous and limited.

Jones later published a volume entirely dedicated to Chinese ornament (1867), The Grammar of Chinese Ornament. I guess there was grace and imagination to be found after all.

I am thrilled to tell you, that much of the book is available for viewing online. I have followed John Hopper’s The Textile Blog for at least a couple of years. But I only just discovered the articles on this subject. You really need to visit this blog if it is new to you. Each article is loaded with information. A look at the Article Index, well let me just say It is a dangerous thing. If you are a creative, you will find yourself pulled in by a force stronger than the lure of Tom Selleck in beach shorts, handing you a box of chocolates!