INDUSTRIAL DESIGNING.

A great many women have, or think they have, a taste for art. They can make a pretty sketch, or draw a landscape quite fairly, and so they think they will "take up" art as a profession. And nearly all of them fail of success. The trouble seems to be that they lack originality; they are mere copyists, and too often very poor reproducers of the things they copy.

One branch of art—that of industrial designing—offers golden opportunities to make an excellent living in a pleasant way, but, before deciding to enter it, a woman should be very sure indeed that she has the necessary qualifications to pursue the study successfully; otherwise her time will be wasted, and probably her heart will be so discouraged that she will be sadly unfitted for any kind of work for a long time to come.

It is industrial art of which I am speaking. A few introductory words may be necessary, for the benefit of some persons ignorant in the matter, to show what women are doing, or rather successfully attempting to do, in that line at the present time.

Industrial or technical designing means designing for wall-paper, lace, silk, chintz, calico, oil-cloth, linoleum, book-covers, embroidery, wood-carving, silver-ware, jewelry, silks, handkerchiefs, upholstery goods, and carpets of all grades, from ingrains to moquettes. Up to within a very short period all this work has been done by men, principally foreigners; but talented and enterprising women saw that they were able to do the work equally well, and it is only a question of time when women will entirely monopolize this field of industry.

It will be seen at once that the woman who is ambitious to become an industrial designer must have, first of all, originality. She must have good taste and an eye for color. Drawing must come natural to her. The mere ability to copy pictures, or make sketches from nature is not enough. She must be full of ideas, and for some of the work mentioned (notably carpet designing) she must have what might be called a combining mind—that is, the ability to get ideas from several designs, and by combining them together, make something new. It must be confessed that this kind of ability is rare. Very few men possess it, and fewer women. Manufacturers of carpets and wall-papers say that they have to import nearly all their help of this kind from Europe; they cannot find in this country the right kind of men to do the work.

But because a woman has not this talent for originating largely developed, she should not be discouraged from becoming an industrial designer. If she has even a little talent in that direction she may find, after taking a few lessons, that the study is very congenial to her, and that she has more ability than she imagined. The kind of designing of which I am particularly speaking in this chapter is designing for carpets, oil-cloths, and wall-paper. That seems to be the most popular at the present time, though there is a good chance for skilled workers in the other branches to which allusion was made.

It is surprising what a demand there is for new designs in carpets, wall-paper, and oil-cloths. One would suppose that a single design would last for a long time; but such is not the fact. The demand of the public is continually for novelty; the fashion changes in these matters, just the same as it does in bonnets and dresses, and each manufacturer is competing with his neighbor to get something pretty and original. A good design can always be sold at a good price; an ordinary or a poor design has no chance at all.

There are two schools in New York where industrial designing is taught to women. They are both carried on by women, and both present their claims to the public under very favorable auspices. Some of the instruction, however, is given by men—practical workers in the various branches of art—who lecture on the special subject with which they are familiar. Here are some of the subjects of these lectures: "Conventionalization in Design," "Practical Design as Applied to Wall-paper," "Principles of Botany" (delivered by a lady), "Historical Ornament in Design," "Harmony in Color in Design," "Design as Applied to Carpets," "Geometry in Design," "The Influence of Color in Design," "Purity of Design," "Oriental Influence in Design," "Plant Forms: their Use and Abuse." This last lecture was delivered by a lady. But the pupil gets most of her learning in the class-room, the lectures being considered simply as adjunct to the regular system of instruction.

In one school the first term begins October 2d, and closes December 22d. The second term begins January 4th and closes March 30th. The post-graduate course commences April 2d, and ends May 25th. Those pupils who have no knowledge of drawing are obliged to enter the elementary class. Those who enter the advanced classes are obliged to present specimens of free-hand drawing, such as flowers from nature, ornamental figures or scrolls. During the year each pupil in the elementary class must complete nine certificate sheets, of uniform size (15 x 22 inches), one each of geometrical problems, blackboard and dictation exercise, enlarged copy in outline, conventionalized flowers in a geometrical figure, applied designs, outline drawing from objects, outline drawing from flowers, historical ornament, botanical analysis. In the flower painting class, three outline drawings, and four paintings of flowers from nature. In the carpet class, one each of a two-ply ingrain on the lines, three-ply ingrain on the lines, tapestry sketch, body-Brussels sketch, moquette sketch, optional sketch (for either stair-carpet, rug, chair back and seats, hall carpet, or borders, body-Brussels working design on the lines, tapestry working design on the lines.)

The terms of tuition in this school per term are: for the elementary class, $15; the advanced class, $25; the teachers' class, $15. Ten lessons in wood-carving and designing for book-covers cost $12. Six lessons in embroidery cost $5, and for a course of instruction in flower-painting the charge is $15. The materials used in the elementary class cost from $7 to $10, and for the advanced classes from $10 to $12. The elementary class studies an hour and a half a day three times a week; the advanced class the same length of time twice a week.

According to the prospectus of this school, it takes three years to become thoroughly proficient. One year is spent in the elementary class, and in obtaining a knowledge of flower-painting and making simple designs for calico, muslin, stained glass, inlaid woods, jewelry, etc. The second year is devoted to making advanced designs for oil-cloth, linoleum, silk, and carpets. The third year is spent in doing practical work under the supervision of the principal and her assistants. It would not seem to be necessary for a pupil to return to the school the third year for this purpose. After her first two years' instruction she ought to be able to put her knowledge to business use, and seek to sell her work among the various manufacturers.

In the other school to which I have referred the terms for tuition in drawing are $12 for a term of three months—thirty-six lessons. In the design class the fee is $20. The method of instruction is substantially the same as in the school first mentioned.

And now comes the interesting question, How much can a woman make in this profession, after she has become thoroughly qualified? I do not think she can hope to get a permanent salaried position, at least just at present. For this profession, albeit a good one, is a new one for women; it is less than two years since the first school was started. Men still hold the best positions, and they receive large salaries, from $1,000 to $4,000 a year. In the present condition of affairs, hedged in as the female industrial designer is by the masculine doubt of the employer as to her ability, and the masculine jealousy of the employé whose work she seeks to do, it would be the best plan for her to do piece-work at her own home, or office. Her earnings, under this plan, cannot even be stated approximately. The pay for a good carpet design would be $20 to $30, and the design can be made in two and a half days. Wall-paper designs bring $10 to $15; an oil-cloth sketch, $8 or $10—the technicalities to be mastered in this latter branch are not so great as in the others.