The Shape of a Leaf (1967)

I like oldtime art very much, especially this art of way back thousands of years ago. >> What is it? >> What is it? >> But I And there's a kind I dislike very much, which is pop art because it's got too much food and Coke bottles in it. I see enough food three times a day and it looks to me as if it hasn't got much thought to it. But those artists are expressing themselves in their own way. >> M [Music] a K. [Music] All right, spell it again. L A >> E >> E >> Maple. >> Good. All right. Now, David from here and you have to go and get your little wire in because you have a song. >> Little little. >> Where's your this one? What is that? >> Art begins in seeing. David and Tommy are learning to see proportion and design and the shape of a leaf. Tommy is discovering that not all leaves look alike, that they have different shapes and different names. >> To help him tell one shape from another, Tommy has built a simple perception box. >> When he puts his leaf inside the box and looks at it, its structure is clearer and it's easier for him to identify it. [Music] >> Ellen already knows the name of her leaf. She is learning that names are made of letters and letters have their shapes too. >> Two left. >> P U L I P. >> Good. Come on. Good. Okay. Put one in your box. >> Maple. >> Oh, good. Maple. All right. >> Why did you make Why don't you try to make the leaf? >> In a structured art program, training and perception is only a start. To Ellen, the challenge is not to identify the leaf, but to express how her leaf looks to her and how she feels about it. >> Blue and yellow. >> Ellen's perception of visual order is unique. >> And with these paints, she is communicating the uniqueness of her vision. >> Ellen, like any artist, is engaged in the struggle to discover herself through her work. It demands creativity, skill, and effort, but deep pride of accomplishment will be her reward. She is making an artistic statement in a style that is her own. >> A girl. A gale. >> A girl. >> Yes. >> Oh. All right. You want to make a girl? >> Yes. >> Okay. >> Oh, I made orange. >> Well, that's all right. What did you use to make orange? >> Yes. What? What? >> This and this. >> What are they? >> Red. >> Red and yellow. >> To make orange. And what did you want to make? Oh, I'll make orange. >> You make an orange leaf. Why? >> I use blue, yellow, red, blue, yellow. >> And then what colors will you use? >> Black, red, yellow, blue, and red and blue. >> A big big big hound balloon. >> A big what? >> Big hound balloon. >> What is that? That is a >> something that blows up. >> In this film, order and proportion in the shape of a leaf motivate children to seek balance and harmony in their creative expression. >> These children are mentally but they learn and they grow like boys and girls everywhere. This is their story. >> Oh, you mixed the lovely brown. How did you get that brown? >> Blue, red, and yellow. A what? >> A what? >> A tree. >> Yeah. What kind of >> Okay. [Music] [Applause] [Music] The teeth was done so long ago and into the islands of Java. All the girls there, they do it. They mique um beautiful designs for their wedding dresses. >> My design is um different than the other girls. Some of the other girls had their designs going straight up and down. My design is um of different leaves, small and large. Big ones on the outer edge and gradually going toward the middle. One big one and then some small ones around there. Is that what the white paper is? >> Yeah. painting with them the wax. You have to keep the wax very hot >> or you would have >> if it gets too dry will make them funny mark on your scar or where you're painting >> a lot of different colored trees. >> Now, let me see. [Music] green with all this >> Nancy finally got brown joy. >> Good. You're all set. [Music] >> That's nice. [Music] down a little. >> My um colors are yellow and then I dyed it a blue and this made them my second color turn green. My final color was brown. >> There we go. >> After taking it out, we hang it. We ring it out. Not too hard, but nothing getting color out. And we >> put it over a frame to let it dry. >> A little yellow. >> Um, orange. You don't you know how? >> Tell me. [Music] >> My final when I'm ironing on the ironing board, you have to iron out, Joyce. >> As much as wax as you can get off and change papers. Well, I'll probably give it to one of my friends at home or maybe my sister. >> Some one of them or maybe two I'll leave here. >> So other people when I leave may see the work we do [Music] and the [Music] before the wind. [Music] The wind [Applause] up and the field on the shine. [Applause] [Music] It's like a Hindalism mask and a South Sea Island mask and a an American Indians mask all rolled up in one. The uh shape of the face looks like a uh Hinduism. It looks kind of like happy and also some life in it. And the mouth is so wide and it looks just like the mass is gonna burst out in laughter. >> It was quite hard to put on the plastic pass because it didn't fit just right. You had to dip in all the water and it just gked up and the the mouth was kind of hard to make. The next step was to make the uh nose and kind of fitting it around is quite hard. >> But I think the hardest thing is is trying to figure out where you're going to put the paint. >> But the colors are something like people don't usually make. Like the uh brown is kind of brownish and not brown. And the red is like red, but it isn't red or orange. And the leaves >> is gives it a whole different outlook on life itself. >> All three colors. Yes, >> I got it all three colors. >> And I got onto something real hard, which is this rug. I put the warp on a warp board and I had to make a cross. >> I thought it was yellow, red, and blue. And then I got purple. >> I um was watching Mrs. Perkins make this rug and she made a bigger one which I than I made and I got interested in making one. So I thought I'd make one uh something like hers but she made uh squares in hers instead of strips like I did to mine. Yellow, blue, >> then I put it on the loom and I had to tighten it up. Then I uh started weaving with these flosser knots and the rug got boring once in a while because I really wanted to go out and play most of the time. It looks like >> now when that when that when that dries I'm going to put in the house I'm going to put the leaves and the trees in the background After that dries. >> Well, I can't do it. >> It's going to dry. Make an interesting effect. Why don't you try it? >> Okay. Okay. >> I finally got through it and I braided the uh bottom of the rug. And um in Switzerland, Sweden, they make these uh most of all >> and they sleep on some of them. And I might sleep on mine, too. [Music] together. [Music] Here we sit all weaving weaving friends to and fro and purple and yellow. [Music] [Music] >> Now, what color am I making? I don't even know what the colors I'm making now. >> Apple. >> That's very good. [Music] I'd like to see a nice bright fall tree. [Music] [Music] That's cute. [Music] >> Um, >> I made my design. >> Um, I first I arranged them on a piece of paper and then I uh then I drew it. >> Yes. And then after that, um, I drew my design from the paper onto the material and we arranged them all. So they, um, wouldn't all be together. We put them some in groups and some we spread out. >> No, you put it, you arrange them like you want them. You just don't spread all over the place. You make a picture out of it and you put them where you want them. >> Like you put them you make um you don't put them in one place, you spread them all out. >> I made French knots in some of them too. >> And I did the satin stitch a couple of years ago when I did it. There was lots of material showing and it didn't look good. But you know when you keep on working at it, it looks better every year. N >> why don't you try a lighter is. >> Yeah. >> Well, why don't you look at mine? >> That's a girl. That's wonderful. [Music] It's not [Music] back in the summer time. >> Yes, this is really in the fall summertime. A little close to the summer. [Music] [Music] [Music] We were making a lot of things for Canada. The boy I write to is Mana. It is a French name. One day we were making some things out of clay and we sent that up and we got something very different from our crush and it was very pretty. It was all about the kings and I got a king and a camel. I made a shepherd. I made it by I first took some clay and I had to shape it. And then I took a little coil and co put it around his head. And then we had to let it dry. And when it dried, after it dried, we put it >> we had to glaze it. And the girl >> and when it was all glazed, we put it in the kill. [Music] Jesus. [Music] >> I The first thing I used to make my puppet was was a gourd. We hollowed out the gourd. Then after that, we start putting plaster around it and around it. Then we decided to squeeze the sequence by putting the eyes, nose, and mouth on with coils with little coils and shaping them out like we shaped them out just by putting them in. And for the nose, I used a round circle. And for the mouth, I used two long long strips of plaster. [Music] Everything [Music] here. [Music] >> Oh, you mixed the lovely brown. How did you get that brown? blue, red, and yellow. >> Oh, that's fun to get your own, isn't >> it? [Music] 8. What kind of leaf? >> 3 2 1 zero. This is the >> Okay. What color? >> Uh um looks like purple. Mix it up a little. >> After that, we started working on the costume, which was hard. We for m for mine I used a cape w with with with black stitches on on in it on it. And then the cape and then came the gray uniform with patches sewn on on the back and the front and the red leather belt. >> And I used a blanket stitch for the patches. On some of the patches, I just used a regular stitch. And on one of my patches, I used a blanket stitch, which I thought it would bring which I thought it would be very interesting. My puppet is named Abraham. In the show, he took part of a poor shepherd which he came to visit the Christ child. He and he gave the Christ child a hickory leaf and some nuts. >> I'm not gonna have any. >> And then the boys and me open the killer and it looks so pretty. I almost cried right there. green with all this >> finally got brown joy of loveless and grace as prophet sung for knowing it springs from Jesse's face and bears one little leaf in midst of coldest winter at deepest midnight hour. Isaiah hath fortold it inwards of proise sure and Mary virgin meek and pure through God's eternal will this child to her is g at midnight And still many years ago in France, people sang Christmas carols around the crush just like the one we sent to Canada and movable figures were added and little Christmas puppet shows developed. The showmen added funny parts to the Christmas story. [Music] Look, Joseph, at the little cradle I made for Jesus. I used tulip leaves. Now at least he is out of the hot sun. >> I am glad we found this sassifrass tree. The shade is welcome after our long journey. Mary, let us lie down and sleep. It is cool and we shall rest well. What is this? A family sleeping in a field under a sassifrass tree. How peaceful they look. They will be hungry when they awake. I shall leave my hickory nuts and milk for them. I must hurry past now before I awake the baby. I wonder who they are. Sweet night and g now high in the tree of yonder bright music we make for yay mild him God gave us for to save us he forgave us sing and praise the holy child Joseph wake up we must hurry Now I need to find a house for little Jesus before another night. How I wish I had some food for the baby and for you, Joseph. Oh, look, some lovely nuts and some milk. How good someone has been to us. >> What is that bright light? >> I have come to lead you to a resting place. Follow me, and we shall go to a stable in Bethlehem. >> Thank you. You are kind. Come, Joseph. We shall follow the angels. 3 2 1 zero blast off. I wonder what is wrong with the rocket. Milky, we decided this was the easiest way to get to Bethlehem. Now we can't get the rocket off the ground. Casper, come out of the rocket and help us. I just called the tower. They don't know what is one. >> Well, I guess we will just have to go by camera and we won't have to worry about getting them off the ground. How I wish I had a gift for the Christ child. I wonder perhaps the Christ child would like a hickory leaf. I have one more left from fall. I must run quickly and get my last hickory leaf. Shepherds come running into Bethlehem. Merrily they sing and play their pipes with deeply theyary wondering how to greet the child. Yay zoo deeply they bary wondering how to greet the child. Y shepherds come running into Bethlehem coming into [Music] the gift from the wise men and the shepherds are the welcome. Jesus is gay and happy. My name is Abraham. Uh uh. I am a poor shepherd, but I do want to see the Christ child. I have a tiny gift, only a hickory leaf. Maybe the baby would like to play with it. >> Why, Abraham, you must be the one who left milk and nuts for us. >> You fed us when we were so hungry. And of all the gifts, the gold, frankincense, and myrr, little Jesus loves the hickory best. Behold, kind shepherd. You and your family will be blessed with a long and happy life. Rock my soul is treasure. Rock up by my love knows no measure. Rock up by sweet close I will hold thee. I hold thee as my loving arms. I'm falling.