Back to search

Virginia Tech

A Teaching Toy: Free Forms in an Abstract Landscape

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

As a young student, I enjoyed a passion for the studio arts and an interest in art history. I ardently pursued these areas in college, continuing their exploration in graduate school in the field of Industrial Design. For the thesis project, my objective is to foster in children an appreciation for art and, possibly, to help them develop a critical and appreciative eye toward their environment. In my research, I find inspiration in child psychology and the toys of child's play, in 15th-century Islamic art and 20th-century Abstraction, and in naturally occurring events such as ivy twisting up a knotty tree trunk and soft ripples in a pond. The assimilation of these elements, together with the ideas that they generate, evolve into the foundation for my project. My intent is to design a toy which provides children ages six to twelve years with insight into both the world of nature and the realm of art. Further, the toy will heighten each child's visual vocabulary to acknowledge the organic, natural line that exists in nature and which is, perhaps, represented in abstract art. These goals are the guiding principles for my work.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Science
Level thesis:degree_level
masters
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Architecture
Department dc:contributor.department
Architecture
Grantor dc:publisher
Virginia Tech
Year dc:date.issued
1998

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Tankel, Jesslyn Elise
Chair dc:contributor.committeechair
  • Vernon, Mitzi R.
Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
  • Marshall-Baker, Anna
  • Goff, Richard M.
  • Braaten, Ellen B.

Subjects

dc:subject × 3

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • In Copyright
Language dc:language.iso
en

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Dc Identifier Other
etd-102098-153608
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/45220

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Virginia Tech
Base URL
vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
related terms
citation

Tankel, Jesslyn Elise. A Teaching Toy: Free Forms in an Abstract Landscape. masters thesis, Virginia Tech, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/45220