Preface I hope that this book will inspire you to begin painting and stenciling. Most of us are hesitant to begin a new craft which looks difficult without the aid of a teacher, yet the failures that beset beginners in this one may easily be avoided by using the right methods and materials. Except for raw- materials, a good design is the most essential item for a lovely stenciled or painted object. This book contains man- designs complete with detailed instructions. If you follow the directions carefully you will have no difficult- in producing a finished piece, even though you may never have used a paintbrush or stencil before. Specific information is given on each kind of decorating, whether it be fine brush-stroke painting., bold primitive painting, stenciling, delicate bronzing in gold or silver or applying gold leaf. Read the general instructions on the type of decorating you wish to do, pick out one of the easier patterns at first, and then go to work. Within a short time you will begin to take liberties with the patterns, and before you know it wilI be designing variations of your own. Collecting designs has been one of my constant pleasures since I first began the study of Early American decorating. Most of the designs in this book have been collected over the past decade. Friends have been very generous in allowing me to copy designs from old pieces of tin and woodenware. A number of patterns will have been found on old family pieces from Termont farms others on objects acquired in out-of-the-way places. museums are excellent sources for designs of all sorts. There is a section of design motifs which can be used in combination to create your own designs and which you may even carry over into other crafts such as textile painting or block printins . These have come from the widest variety of sources- from early French and Spanish embroideries, from old Chinese porcelains, from Indonesian costumes, from carvings in wood and stone, from printed European textiles, from French inlaid or painted furniture, from mosaics, and, of course, from nature. Once you begin to paint or stencil, you will be design-conscious, and you will find designs on all kinds of decorative objects, on wallpaper, china, and textiles, on everything, where-ever you go. Record designs on paper, if possible at the moment you see them, for it will help you both to feel good design and to keep the motif from slipping away from you. To enjoy designs, think of the symbolism expressed by those who have created them. For example, in Pennsylvania German Dutch art, two large leaves at the base of a floral design stand for the idea of God creating and upholding life and growth. Similarly, a group of three leaves together is a reminder of the Christian Trinity. The wavy lines which are the beauty of so many Pennsylvania German designs tell of the Spirit of God moving in the world, while the lily often also the tulip is the symbol for purity. As you use designs from different parts of the world and from different periods, seek to know their meanings, for such a study will enrich your art. I wish to acknowledge my gratitude to the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, Boston the Essex Institute, Salem, Massachusetts to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and to their staffs, who have been unfailingly helpful in enabling me to gather so complete a portfolio of Early American designs. I am also indebted to the Smithsonian Institution, Iyashineton. for the cooperation of its staff in providing me with materials from their collections from many lands, from which I sketched man- design motifs that appear in the portfolio...