Shown is a drawing for a steam engine patent. Image provided.

By Darla McCammon
and DeeAnna Muraski
Guest Columnists

Darla McCammon and DeeAnna Muraski

WARSAW — For the next few weeks in our Art in Action: Art on the Road series, we will be traveling around the area to elementary, middle school and high school classrooms. You will have an inside view of their instructors, the subjects they are studying and their artwork, which is very worthy of a prominent place on the refrigerator if not framed and hung on the wall.

But before we start this series, it will help draw appreciation and context if we commence at the beginning. We can easily assume art education has been around since one-room schoolhouses. The first American one-room schoolhouse started in 1750 in Southington, Conn. However, our assumption would be incorrect. Art education started very precisely in 1821; to do the math for you, that was 203 years ago. Initially, schooling was only provided to a very privileged class of children. So why did it take 71 years for art education to finally be introduced? And why very precisely in 1821? Two words: industrial revolution.

The industrial revolution (1760-1840) was a time of great innovation. The very first application for a patent was filed with the United States patent and trademark office in 1790. As a sidebar, the application was for a mixture of pearl ash and pot ash (or potash). The mixture of fire ashes soaked in water created lye and could be mixed with pearl ash, a leavening agent, to make soap and fertilizer. This was also a time of a chemical revolution. The conflux of both the industrial and chemical revolutions required other non-typical ingredients for success: renderings/drawings of the items (to provide on patent applications, etc.) and marketing designs. Both of those required an influx of artists quickly able to draw sketches and advertisements to market the product to the masses. Society also required book and magazine illustrators as well as architectural sketches. Back then, these were lucrative trade jobs that could quickly be attained at the completion of a rudimentary education, thus equipping the young adults to be economic producers. Next week, we will continue the journey traveling forward in time 200 years.

To Go

Warsaw City Hall. Current artist Elizabeth Wamsley’s beautiful pottery is coupled with a metal works display — great interplay on the textures. Location: 102 S. Buffalo St., Warsaw. Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, except holidays. All on the first floor, handicapped accessible.

Darla McCammon is an artist, columnist and author. DeeAnna Muraski is executive director of Operation Read USA Inc. Send an email to the mother/daughter team at [email protected].