Key to terms used in physical descriptions
cover | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8
The project is contained in a green card envelope-folder. The folder shows some signs of wear and tear: it is a bit bent at the corners, torn along the left hand edge, and slightly soft and fluffy along the top edge; on the front, there are a few tiny ink marks, a small scribble in yellow crayon, a grease or glue stain, and a stain that looks like a watermark. When it is opened, the hidden surfaces become visible; they are slightly darker than the outer surfaces, indicating that these have faded in the light.
The folder contains seven loose sheets of white, A4 paper, containing writing and drawings, all produced by hand, usually on one side of the sheet. These ‘pages’ are generally fairly smooth, showing little sign of wear and tear, but there are black smudgy marks on the reverse side of some sheets, where the wax crayon in the drawing on the following page has rubbed off onto it.
Apart from the title page, the writing is in blue biro or fine felt tip pen. Lines have been ruled across the page in biro, to guide the writing. The letters vary in size, and are not joined up, indicating a lack of fluency, and suggesting that writing may be a slow process for this child. Most pages contain a few crossings out, or heavily worked alterations to individual letters, in the same material as the writing, indicating that a lot of effort has gone into checking and correction. Each page of work is numbered, using fine blue felt tip, in the top left hand corner.
The drawings are outlined, quite thickly, in pencil, using a fairly heavy pencil stroke, which leaves an imprint on the other side of the page; on most pages the pencil does not appear to have been sharpened before use. Some parts of the drawings have been roughly coloured in, using different kinds of crayons (possibly wax, pastel and pencil crayon) or pencil; other parts have been left white. Very occasionally felt tip is used for specific features. The crayon or pencil shading often extends over the edge of the outline; there is a strong contrast between very loose sketchy marks, and more heavily worked areas. These features suggest some difficulty in controlling the materials, but at the same time a concerned with creating the right effect in terms of density of colour.
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The child’s name is written in biro, in small capital letters (it looks like an adult’s handwriting). The title is written and underlined in pencil; the underlining has been ruled, but not the letters.
page 1 [ next page ] [ previous page ] [ top ] [ SJ53 index ] (title page)
The letters of the title are outlined in pencil, coloured in with what appears to be wax crayon (purple and yellow), and underlined in pencil. In the drawing, white wax crayon appears to have been used for the wing on the right but is smudged with the grey pencil marks; the surface is shiny ( as it is for the words, and the red beak and foot of the bird on the left). There is some evidence of accidental damage: streaky black lines across the page (reflecting a sweeping movement) may have been caused by the side of a pastel crayon; also the page is a bit creased, showing signs of handling.
page 2 [ next page ] [ previous page ] [ top ] [ SJ53 index ] (not numbered by child)
This is the reverse side of the previous page (it’s the only sheet with work on each side). The eye of the bird on the right has been drawn in blue felt tip. The chest appears to be in white wax crayon over blue pencil crayon, but it’s not too clear (the surface is shiny).
page 3 [ next page ] [ previous page ] [ top ] [ SJ53 index ] (child’s page 2)
The first few lines across the page have been ruled in black biro, and then reworked in blue. The writing is in blue biro (notice all the corrections). The bird’s chest has been very lightly shaded using pale blue pencil crayon. The wing appears to have been done in brown wax crayon on top of pastel, white wax crayon may also have been used, on the back (it’s shiny). The picture extends slightly over the bottom line of writing; it looks as if the lines were ruled first. There are black smudgy marks on this page, indicating where it has come into contact with the drawing on page 2, and also on the reverse side indicating contact with the drawing on page 4.
page 4 [ next page ] [ previous page ] [ top ] [ SJ53 index ] (child’s page 3).
The ruled lines and writing are in blue biro (notice all the corrections). In the drawing, the heavy crayon work on the upper part of the duck contrasts with the very light work in the lower part (the same crayon appears to have been used). Along the back of the duck, the shading extends way over the pencil outline, but note the careful attention to detail in the pattern around the neck. The pattern on the lower part of the body is depicted using tiny, flecky strokes in blue crayon (these may not be visible in the scan). Indented marks over most of this page (and particularly visible where the crayon has not taken to the indented surface) indicate that before the work here was completed, the page had already been part of a surface used for physical support during writing.
page 5 [ next page ] [ previous page ] [ top ] [ SJ53 index ] (child’s page 4)
The lines have been ruled in blue felt tip; notice the blobs, and thick lines, indicating breaks and repetition in the process. The writing is in the same felt tip. In the drawing, white wax crayon appears to have been blended with the brown crayon along the edge of the wing and down the side of the neck, where it is particularly shiny. Very, very light, squiggly pencil strokes are used in the lower body, below the wing.
page 6 [ next page ] [ previous page ] [ top ] [ SJ53 index ] (child’s page 5)
Lines and writing are in blue felt tip (notice all the corrections). The drawing is very small, compared to the others, and the fine pencil lines suggest that the pencil has just been sharpened; the eye has been drawn in blue felt tip; the red beak and feet are heavily worked.
page 7 [ next page ] [ previous page ] [ top ] [ SJ53 index ] (child’s page 6)
Lines and writing are in blue felt tip. In the drawing, the edges of the tail are coloured, in yellow, using a heavy, repeated stroke. Notice how the drawing extends slightly over the lowest ruled line in the section of writing; it appears to have been drawn after the lines were ruled.
page 8 [ previous page ] [ top ] [ SJ53 index ] (child’spage 7)
Lines and writing are in blue felt tip (notice all the correcions). In the drawing, different kinds of strokes are used to apply the brown crayon: more heavily on the neck, but much more lightly on the rest of the body. The beak is roughly and heavily shaded in black (brown crayon is visible beneath, indicating that the black crayon was added later). The back of the head is heavily shaded in pencil, causing deep indentations on the paper. There are smudgy marks in the bottom right corner of the page.