The ancient artist's influences can still be felt in today's craftsmen. For example, the contemporary weaver Sheila Hick's prayer rugs are an assimulation of the textile techniques of ancient Peru, Persia, and India, and the macramed forms of the contemporary Spanish artist, Aurelis Munoz, are suggestive of the woven huts of many primitive cultures. Because of this influence upon the current investigation, the evolvement of weaving and its techniques, as well as the three-dimensional techniques of basketry, in different parts of the world and in different historical periods are reviewed briefly.

The problem of this investigation is to determine if the shrinkage resulting from water loss, which causes cracking in polymer-acrylic emulsion artists' paints, can be controlled to produce a predictable variety of surface textures useful in painting. Preliminary information on the behavior of polymer-emulsion paints was taken from published material such as Mayer's Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques, Woody's Polymer Painting, and various manufacturers' technical publications. Experimental investigations were conducted to observe the media under varied methods of application and conditions of drying. The information gathered in the experiments was used to develop techniques producing a variety of predictable textural alterations, which were used in a series of experimental paintings.

This study deals with an analysis of facial characteristics and expressions and their interpretation through drawings. Through the past several years of teaching in a Dallas school where so many nationalities are represented and where the various peoples of the lowest privileged groups are segregated, the writer has become deeply interested in what is to be seen in the faces of children. The second problem of the study features an analysis of facial characteristics and expressions and their interpretation through drawings, modeling in clay, and papier mache.

This study, "Surface Textures of Unglazed Pottery," will record and evaluate a series of experiments performed that can be achieved on unglazed ceramic ware....The problem will be limited to experiments using a red clay from Horatio, Arkansas, a buff clay from Trenton, New Jersey, and a tan clay from Athens, Texas. The specimens will be fired at the temperature of 1643 degrees Fahrenheit...Experiments performed with the three clays will fall into three categories: (1) textures resulting from introduction of foreign matter into the clay (2) textures resulting from surface treatments of green ware and (3) textures resulting from surface treatments of bisque-fired ware. The experiments will be described and the fired clay specimens -- tiles 2"x2"x1/4" will be evaluated according to esthetic and practical standards.

The study being undertaken was to ascertain the effect or effects of different firing conditions and colorants on glazes composed of wood ash from two trees indigenous to Texas. The problem was divided into two parts: first, to identify the best mixtures using the selected vegetable ash; second, to alter successful glazes with set percentages of colorants. The main objective of the study was to evaluate findings resulting from the variation of elements, firing conditions, and colorants used and to select successful glazes.

This project was designed to afford me the opportunity to work with the possibility of combining painting and music through the creation of narrative art. I endeavored to produce a body of work in which the individual paintings and songs would also stand on their own as autonomous works, and still function as components of a work that was larger in scope. The challenge was to develop the visual and verbal elements into a unified whole.

I decided to simplify the composition of my work in subject matter, color, size and style without destroying its visual impact. Experimentation in surface quality gave variety to the simplified content. My main commitment to the accomplishment of this problem was to avoid complexity in any form. I wanted to give as much information as possible using minimal means.

There were no restrictions as to style or technique, and since my previous works had been realistic, this direction was to be continued during the entire investigation. The primary objective was to create a series of drawings and paintings which would concentrate on the basic facial topography and idiosyncrasies of a constant model with variations in color, scale, medium, and expression.

The problem of investigating the possibilities of direct design transfer from plant to fabric and paper was divided into two parts. The first part is concerned with the exploration of the mechanics of the transfer. Invloved in this process are the technique of manipulating tools, of selecting suitable fabrics and paper, of determining chemicals that would facilitate the printing process and of experimenting with ways to preserve the finished design. The evaluation of the usability and durability of the finished print was based on a series of color fastness tests. The second part of this problem is concerned with the exploration of the design possibilities of the medium. The plants were tested and rated according to their visual attributes relative to the elements of design. Combinations of the successful plant prints were used to produce variations of pattern and texture. The results of the investigation were evaluated to determine the versatility of the medium as a design tool and the usefulness of the technique as a practical printing method

The miniature furniture cataloged is considered to be of the second size, i.e., miniatures which could have been used as traveler's samples, cabinetmaker's models, or toys. The entries are selected from collections of Louisiana and Texas museums and historical societies. They were located through use of a questionnaire sent to the institutions listed in the Official Museum Directory as having furniture and decorative arts collections. Responses showed five institutions owning miniatures of the second size, as follows: Louisiana State Museum, New Orleans; Anglo-American Art Museum, Baton Rouge; Harris County Heritage Society, Houston; Witte Memorial Museum, San Antonio; and Dallas Historical Society.

In this limited survey, nineteenth-century cast-iron facades in Texas were recorded and compared to iron-fronted buildings in New York City. It was found that generally, the still existing buildings in Texas cities and towns were similar to those in New York in style but differed to the extent to which the cast-iron elements were used. It appears that nineteenth-century builders in Texas knew of New York trends in cast-iron but had definite regional preferences.

In this creative project, I investigated the combination of photographic images with more spontaneous visual elements in collaged drawing and monoprints in order to produce both visually strong and personally meaningful works.

In selecting a thesis project, my interest and experience with fibre-tip pen drawings suggested that further investigations would be profitable. Fibre-tip pens provide a fast and convenient means to draw under outdoor conditions. The pens make dense black and consistent lines at whatever speed they are moved. The ink supply is automatic; not requiring a separate container for dipping and not requiring cleaning. Fibre-tip pens designed to make lines of different widths are commercially available at low cost.

This study is concerned with an analysis of twenty paintings by Western European artists from the thirty-five-item segment of the Anthony Denney Collection on permanent loan to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. The paintings were considered separately in a two phase visual and verbal analysis accompanied by visual diagrams. Phase one described the primary visual qualities of each painting through examination of the art elements and principles. Phase two was a verbal description of each painting. The purpose of this investigation is to provide an analysis format suitable for abstract and non-objective works of art.

The problem was to investigate illusionary space as affected by dark surfaces using the elliptical and spherical shapes from previous work. I explored the potential of visual tension, movement, pattern, and various degrees of space on surfaces of opposite tonalities from those previously used. An investigation of space on dark surfaces was undertaken and ten works completed.

The Untidy Story of Goldie Showers is a collaborative paper written by Lee Murray and me with the approval of the Graduate School and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of both degrees. Chapter Four is different in each of the two papers which we have submitted to the Graduate School. Since this chapter contains the overall conclusion to the project we considered it best to present our individual impressions rather than to attempt a joint statement. The video tape produced in connection with this project is on file in the North Texas State Art Department slide library.

This study concerned the methods in which fourth and fifth grade teachers in one of the larger suburbs of Dallas, Texas, prepared themselves and their classes for a visit to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. Twenty teachers who had visited the Dallas museum in the last two years were interviewed using a validated interview questionnaire. The majority of teachers were concerned with both visual and written resources. Although, additional materials were requested, many teachers were uniformed about preparation resources provided by the museum. The teachers' idea and attitudes were found to be supportive of the museum and its programs.

To investigate this process I selected, as my creative project, the execution of a series of drawings. The objective of my creative project was the synthesis of additive/subtractive procedures of a drawing from its inception to its completion. A written journal was utilized to gather data pertinent to the investigation.

The purpose of this study is to examine the development of a series of paintings and drawings confined to the subject of trains and the derailings of trains. This creative project includes a descriptive study which documents the development as it occurs in the series. The written material is utilized with regard to its relevance in uncovering pertinent conditions and events that contributed to the drawing and painting processes during the execution of the series.

This study examines the dye plants in the Texas plains region and the extent of their dye-producing qualities. It describes the interest in handicrafts, lack of information on vegetable dyes in plains region, and a variety of other dye details.

In the monotypes I have done, a third figure has emerged in the spontaneity of the process as a simple face shape and element of composition. Virtually ignored by the others the third figure becomes a puzzle as to its complete role. As this third figure came about from a natural development in the monotypes, I have explored its meaning in my paintings for the creative project in lieu of thesis. I have investigated the role of the third figure in meaning and content as I introduced it to the interaction of the two figures in my paintings.

An exhibition catalog was chosen as the problem for this study, for it provided a practical means for an art historian to experience the problems associated with assembling material for an exhibition and catalog. These problems included researching background material, locating and coordinating a unified collection of artifacts, working with museum and research center staffs, plus the experience of photographing, editing, arranging lay-outs and writing in the format of an exhibition catalog.

In this study sixteen early stone buildings at Fredericksburg, Texas, are described and evaluated as examples of indigenous architecture. Chapter II presents a brief history of the founding of Fredericksburg. Chapter III presents a description of the town site and a discussion of the native materials as used by the pioneer immigrants in the construction of residences and other buildings. Chapter IV is devoted to a detailed description of fourteen buildings as specific examples of the indigenous architecture. Representative photographs of the buildings as they now appear, as well as floor plans, illustrate the text. Two early churches of the indigenous type, accompanied by photographs and floor plans, are discussed in Chapter V. In Chapter VI a summary of the study is given and conclusions are presented.

With the rising tensions and strains created by modern America, historians have sought diligently to discover the answers to industrial America's problems. One answer lay in American reform movements, and as the New Deal reforms came under fierce attack in the 1950's, liberal historians sought diligently to give to reform movements historical authenticity.