On Techniques for Teaching Composition of Ornament at Sergey Andriaka Academy of Watercolor and Fine Arts

Abstract

Techniques for teaching composition of ornament at the Academy of Watercolor and Fine Arts are developed on the basis of Sergey Andriaka’s methodology and consist of a number of original exercises, for example, staging a still-life as a trompe-l'oeil watercolor ribbon ornament. We employ the best methodical approaches of the classical school of fine arts, first of all, of the School of Baron von Stieglitz and the Imperial Stroganov School, for example, we use life studies as a basis for ribbon ornaments. The work on the composition of ornaments is accompanied by a multifaceted theoretical training, the study of ornamental styles of different eras and peoples. Ornamental sketches by the students of the Academy are further used by them for mastering various techniques of decorative and applied arts (mosaic, stained glass, painted ceramics and porcelain, jewelry), as well as book illustration, icon and monumental painting.