Projects in wood that admit of artistic variation are subject to the same fundamental principles of design that underly all the space arts. The constant problem of the artistic woodworker is to familiarize himself with these principles. One way of doing this is the keen observation of their application by past and present masters in wood. Familiarity with the masterpieces of woodwork in other ages and lands will give additional zest and interest to the application of these principles. For instance, the hand workers in wood of Italy, Spain, France, England, Scandinavia, and Japan, have much to teach us in line, proportion, and construction.

The other way of learning these principles of the space arts is by repeated application of them in constructive work. Only in the latter way does the worker come to realize the limitations of his own medium. The production of beautiful objects acquires a much more lively interest when good taste and the ability to design are developed along with manipulative skill in execution. On the other hand, the acquisition of skill becomes of vastly greater importance if it is used as a means of creating things of beauty.

In a word, artistic judgment and skill of hand develop best when they develop together. Each justifies and ennobles the other.

In the making of the following projects, where ample opportunity is given both to design and to construction, the meaning of beauty as related to wooden structures should grow clearer as the articles suggested are worked out. Experience here, as elsewhere, is the best teacher.

It is not to be inferred, however, that one can safely hope to improve thru self-criticism alone. The dangers of going off at a tangent are too great. In design, even more than in construction, the critical assistance of a competent teacher is invaluable. The constant appeal for help to superior artistic judgment is the surest path to good taste.

The underlying principles of the visual arts have been clearly stated, tho not in identical terms, by several writers, and as the principles herein suggested for the woodworker are based upon the broader principles common to all space arts, the reader is strongly urged to familiarize himself with them. They are well analyzed and illustrated in the following books:

Arthur W. Dow: Composition.

Denman W. Ross: Theory of Pure Design.

Ernest A. Batchelder: Design in Theory and Practice.

George Lansing Raymond: Proportion and Harmony of Line and Color.

Lewis F. Day: The Application of Ornament.

The properties of the particular medium thru which art is expressed present to the artist certain limitations which he must recognize. This in no way suppresses creative expression, but rather disciplines it.

The following, then, are the possibilities and the limitations within which the woodworker may revel:

1. In the first place, the thing to be made should in itself appeal to the craftsman as something worth while and interesting to make. For instance, scrap-baskets, picture-frames, desk-trays, hanging lanterns, and such familiar objects as are frequently seen or handled, should call forth the workers best effort.

2. The article to be made should be so designed and constructed as to be structurally sound. Nothing is completely beautiful which is poorly constructed. The joints of a frame should not open with varying temperature and humidity. A chair should be so constructed as to hold the weight and strain ordinarily expected of chairs, for an indefinite time, or as long as the wood lasts. A hundred years is not too long to expect a chair to be of service. Many last longer.

3. The form of the article should frankly indicate the material; wood should not be made to look like metal or stone. Appropriateness of shape to material should be so obvious that there would be no mistaking a wooden candlestick for one of pottery or brass.

4. The structure of the article should be recognized or even emphasized, but not contradicted. In wooden structures this principle has to do primarily with the matter of joints. Joints may in many cases be made obvious, as in the decorative use of fastenings, so that there is no mistaking the form of construction. In cases where the joint is concealed, the principle stated would demand that there be no pretense of a form of construction that does not exist, as, for example, when a false keyed mortise-and-tenon joint is stuck on where the pieces are actually doweled together. In a word, the construction should be honest, and if it is obviously honest/it may be all the better.