3Notan - a Japanese term meaning dark-and-light.

3. Color. Thirdly, there is the consideration of color. The natural hues of the woods give a considerable variety, ranging from the light yellow brown of oak, chestnut, and ash, to the reds of mahogany and the purples of walnut and sweet gum. All of these can be greatly modified artificially by stains or by chemical processes. (See the author's Handwork in Wood, pp. 209-214.)

The problems in color, both in hue and value, is that of harmony with surroundings. No piece of furniture, however small, should be considered as a thing by itself. It is to be treated as one element that will enter into the composition of a beautiful room, and upon its harmony therewith will depend its own beauty.

As regards the color of furniture, it may be said in general that the esthetic tendency is away from yellow tones. These are all the harder to avoid on account of the yellowness of the common finishes, varnish and shellac. The best that can be done by amateurs is to gray the yellow by fuming or staining. On the other hand, a frank yellow tone may be appropriate and effective, as, for instance in a blue setting.

4. Finish. The fourth element of beauty in wood is finish. The simplest and oldest process is rubbing with or without oil or wax, which only emphasizes the quality of wood as wood. The more modern finishes, varnish and shellac, succeed in "bringing out the grain," but at the expense of making a surface that looks, not like wood, but like glass. Unlike glass, however, varnish is easily marred. To keep the shining surface perfect, demands constant protection and care, and suggests that such pieces are made, not to use, but to look at.

It may frequently happen that in order to secure a desired effect of mass or line or color, the design or construction originally adopted may have to be reconsidered and something else substituted that will give a satisfying harmony. Each feature is thus to be decided tentatively, subject to such modifications as other features may demand in securing unity of design for the structure when complete.

Altho the steps mentioned seem to give the logical procedure in building all sorts of things, whether foot-stools, chairs, or thrones, trussed, arched, or suspension bridges, dog-kennels, cottages, or castles, yet a little reflection and observation will show that one or another of these steps has frequently been omitted. The library of one of our famous universities is a good illustration of a beautiful.

building poorly planned for its use. Utility is sacrificed to good proportion. On the other hand, the so-called typewriter chair is a model of convenience and comfort, but it will never find a place in a museum as a thing of beauty. Utility has not yet been cast in pleasing line and tone.

The following, then, is suggested as a logical method of procedure in designing simple wooden structures. In actual experience it is not necessary to decide these points in this order, or in any order, but in general these are the items that should receive deliberate consideration at some time between the conception and completion of an artistic structure.

I. The fixing of essentials, or of those points that make for an article's convenience in use. Under this head, such matters as the following are determined: a. The approximate or definite size.

b. The kind of wood to be used. Each has a quality that makes its characteristic appeal for certain constructions. See Chapter I (Wood), also Chapter III (Equipment), Wood and Forest.

c. The construction, including:

(1) Kind of joint or joints.

(2) Methods of opening and shutting or locking.

(3) Appliances for lifting or moving or hanging, and so on. II The refining of proportions.

a. Of the mass as a whole.

b. Of each part to the whole.

c. Of each part to each other part.

d. Of each line within itself, if it curves or is a broken line, or is turned on a lathe. III. Decoration. This relates to the decorative treatment of the surface.

a. Carving, border or surface (all-over) patterns in gouged lines or modeled.

b. Panels, carved in, or constructed in.

c. Inlay or veneer.

d. Designing of accessories - handles, knobs, key plates, escutcheons, etc.

IV. Finish.

a. Stain.

b. Paint.

c. Oil.

d. Wax.

e. Shellac, including French polish.

f. Varnish.

In general, the order in designing suggested above has been followed thruout the making of the following articles. The illustrations used are largely photographs or sketches of articles designed and executed by my students.

However, the possibilities for original design that lie within the range of these few objects of household use still invite the designer. There is here no intention of a cut and dried series of models, but rather such a presentation of what some of the possibilities of these projects are, that others to whom wood appeals as a medium of artistic expression will be stimulated to create still more varied and beautiful objects for our common every-day life. Or, feeling not too sure of his ability to create, the beginner may choose from the following suggestions the ones he likes best, in itself an exercise of artistic judgment, and copy them. And so, little by little in the effort to re-create others' designs that are known to be good, he may come to create good designs of his own. Or, at the very least, which is also much, thru this thoughtful copying of good things, he will be helped in his desire to appreciate beauty in wooden structures.

Fig. 6. A, Mortise and-tenon construction in frame of bench; B, Draw-bolt construction.