SCHOOL ON SHOW

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 131, 30 November 1939, Page 15

SCHOOL ON SHOW

& VARIETY OF WORK

EXPEfiT CRAFTSMANSHIP

if^lTae\ -compreherisivendss of the edu-. catiohai.' facilities' available to young :Nevir Zealariders is . displayed to great

r- ''advantage, in the Education ' Depart--i'' imeht's section '6t ;the: " Government

' -Cquyt "at the. Centennial Exhibition, "whereexamples of -work from kin- : '/de£garten- ta J university; are shown. ': Those responsible for the exhibits \have ■ Vcdncehtrated on the" arts and crafts, ?as" these naturally lend themselves to .^exhibition, but there is also, an indica--tio'n or what the youth of the country "is^being "taught in the sciences. ' "The section; devoted to kindergarten ',:. work illustrates more of t the material used to awaken educational interest than the actual work of the children; • "but from the primary schools a \ '-•.. wealth: of mater4al has been collected . A;li-bm allVciasses. Girls of six t>r seven •%e^r&?have made with loosely-woven ■ '■'"^iriaterial 'and wool, needlework articles' ' -ihii would do credit to adults, and :-ffbM the.older children a variety of. work has been obtained. ■: itArticles of apparel and household linen .are displayed in" a wide variety, and jail are; neaily, done. Papier mache iafticles, weaving, and moulding have been attempted at all- ages, and the older children, have..shown skill in simple bookbinding, basketwork, arid ,/tKe shaping and carvings of-wooden : -articles.: ' ;.'••• ; ."■:'■"■■'■-. •■'■ '■ ~ '■'■' ■ • . S WORK OF jftiAOßr SCHOLARS. . '-. ! ■■Work equal, to .anything.'.from Ihe European schools is displayed ;by -.'-.-^Mapri^scholars, and in; this .section -there ..is an astonishing amount of cvi- . ; dence of' enterprise arid the develop- .■.'.■; : nient of individuality. The natural art -, fof the Maori has not been. neglected '■j by the teachers, and .there is a splen- ',;. ;'did display of Native patterns in [I : .needlework alcmgside a number ,01 ; . 'articles rijade in tfie traditional Maori ,':. -s.style. The -latter articles, include class ■.".. "work, children from the ages of ten , 0 thirteen having combined their 'ef-.j :■ forts.to build a complete whare whaka- | lira,'or "superior house." One pupil .., ..has given clear indication of artistic ,:,V|m6rit'.by carving ai}d colouring Snow! ... I/shite and the Seven Dwarfs from .. of pumice'obtained near the • school. This set was made by a child " of only twelve, and the varied outlook , of the,dwarfs has.been carefully portrayed in their features. . ;r ; -The few. intermediate schools in the v Dominion - have produced" sufficient ; •vybrk to show the development of ..the pupils at the stage between prim-1 '.. '..ary and secondary .work.. The hand- , I .•r.Aydrls'from these'schools is, therefore, '■ T, more advanced than that from the '/: 'primary schools,, and there is more . cc of- the development' of apprecmtion. ; £'$ ¥i SCHOOLS. ' • .'■ 'rieWbrlc' frpm the, secondary schools V[. and! colleges falls into two divisions, :f fand as. liandcrafts play an important part in the exhibits. . the \J -'technical schools haVe a larger share than the academic schools. The ability of

pupils in working both wood and metals indicates that New Zealand will not lack craftsmen in the future. The metalwork shows that boys can not only do tradesmanlike work but can also manufacture many of the tools required in the trades. The majority of these tools show -excellent workmanship, and there are stocks and dies, pulleys and sheaves, planes, vices, and a host of other tools that could easily .be mistaken for articles manufactured in engineering shops. Advanced work in this section includes bench lathes, shaping and milling machines, bench drills, electric clocks, model engines, and motor nar bodies in wr-od and steel.

From the non-technical schools articles of great artistic merit have been collected. The girls' colleges prove that art in needlework is not decadent. A feature of their display is a pageant of women's dress during the century, and older folk will find much to interest them in a study of the dresses worn when they were young. TEACHING OF ART. Comparatively youthful students at art schools have produced creditable work for-the display. There are examples of sculpture in stone and wood, art needlework -that is reminiscent of ■the days when women spent weeks and months at a tapestry frame,.^and paintings of still life,- portraits, groups, and landscapes. Work of particular merit by a scholar of eighteen is displayed in a book bound in* leather and pewter, and completed with pages of illuminated lettering in the style of the monastery scribes of the pre-print-ing age. Another student has expressed his art in a necklet in 'gold and enamel that would do credit .to a goldsmith. Still another has practised in New Zealand's youngest industry— the manufacture of articles of adornment from paua shell.