The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, July 19, 1903, Page 11

ARAH COMSTOCK. over the heads of to one of the this city of the 1 walls dwellers eap price. There you 180k ead of Chinatown, of the com- t, of the shipping. There, y and the water and the cities beyond the water for their pros- pect, ten women and girls sketch the world beneath them. SUNNYy D/:'/{ ¥or they are all artists, these merry ten, and they need no other studies than the ones offered at Sophie Terrace. They could sit in revolving chairs and paint for tha rest of their lives without ever moving the chairs from their original spots. On the one hand the world and the water; on the other, the weather- stained, rickety old buildings backed by @ jungly mass of green and clambered over by such wanton greens and pinks and crimsons as only California can produce. In one of the old houses the Scratch Club makes headquarters when it at- tends to the more serious business of ex- bibiting its sketches and serving formal AT WORK ON A THE SUNDAY CALL, TWo PICTURES UNDER ONE UMEBRELLA . tea. But if you are smiled upon by for- tune and the merry members, you may find yourself a guest at one of its own outéoor luncheons served plenie fashion in the front seats of the roofless gal- lery. A Wednesday never passes that the active members do not gather to sketch and to criticise each other’s work and ac- cept each other’s criticisms in Spartan style. “No knocking” is an unwritten law; you can say anything to the other fel- low’s face, but nothing behind her back. It tukes two years of probation for any one to become a member and during that period there is much to be learned. The “by-laws” of these original artists are. annourced as “bought with expe- rience.” The second, on the subject of fines, reads: “When the Chief High Light finds that the members are appearing to lose their fine sense of duty or obligation, she will endeavor (for® their good) to REFORM them and DRAW THEM OVER to a PROPER SENSE OF VALUES.. If heart to heart talks reveal a lack of sensitive- mess in that organ she must then address i ZosTuE gt 5 herself to that most sensfiive of il or~ gans—the pocketbook, and by bleeding them at that source endeavor to counter act the lethargy which threatens te de- stroy them. Experience has proven this “remedy to be a great restorer of the ap- preciations of VALUES. Duty once agaln assumes {ts proper and prominent PLACH IN THE FOREGROUND and the TONE of the subject is much improved.” The Chief High Light is the presiding officer. Others are Reflected Light, Fore- ground, Crayon, Color Schemer, Eraser, Color-Box, Varnish and the Masses. These offices are to be held for life, although others may be added. In the “Points of light” you may learn that “the membership shall co classes, viz: life and orname: The life, lively member; of those who are working on art. All those who are Interested in the club and wish to be exhibited with it, but not as tvely members, shall constitute the orna~ mental still life.” Although the chief purpose of this club is “to develop the study of art practi- cally,” it also intends “to create & social and artistic atmosphere,” and it attends to the soclal atmosphere In the most orig- inal ways. Any one who has had the good fortune to be invited to & Scratch Club entertainment knows that The place is an !deal one for giving any sort of a party. With Sophie Terrace for & background, there have been some of the prettiest scenes there that any original and enterprising members of the fair sex ever treated one to. Thers have been amateur plays, written by Miss Lucla Thomson; thers have been all kinds of clever exhibitions and there. have been jinks galore, aithough only the ten of the inner circle know what those Jinks may be. Even the honorary members are ex= cluded when Sophie Terrace sees these high revels. “Once we attended a jinks all dressed to live up to our nicknames,” one of them told me. “I was always called ‘Ah Sid® because I used to wear & big Chinese hat when I went sketching in Monterey. An- other of the girls was Trilby because she had posed once for her feet. Oh, those costumes—weren’t they wonderf takes no more than an allusion lke this to bring chuckles from under every um= brella. The largest affalr was the costumse par ty at which they tried to reproduce & So= phie Terrace affalr of ‘52 Guests arrived to find their fair hostesses dressed as be- fitted the ladles of and they were served to seed cakes and Banbury tarts. “I can’t make out whether I'm dream= ing or whether the calendar really has been moved back balf a o ury,” was the great compliment of & ploneer guest. The only caricature exhibition that this city has ever seen was held in their cozy rooms. Mrs. Hardisty's keen sense of hu= mor found full vent in this, and the others worked in harmony. The catalogue was kept as & souvenir by many of our well known artists, who thought it great fun to see themselves “joshed.” Ome plcture was listed as “After Joullin, the Mexican Pottery Vender.” (We do not intend te infer that the lady in the picture is aftes Mr. Joullin). Another which Mr. Lati- mer did not mind at all was, “Let him, ma. Marin County Redwoods. Spare that tree, touch not a single bough—old Poem." Peter's moonlight was made by placing & lamp behind a hole above a toy house, Under “Cameo In Red” was the explana- tion, “The artist’s wife is trying to pose as if she were used to the lap of luxury, but her anxious expression shows that she’s thinking of the dinner she has te get.” Another number was “Willlam the Conqueror. The discovery of the oute skirts of San Francisco by Mra, Casey's goat. This was painted for & competition, but never entered the contest, as It was seen and snapped up for an immense sum by the California Soclety of Historical Research.” Others named are mentioned as “pot bollers and all sold, but not se much so as the people who bought them.™ But when the club is not given over ta hilarity ltke this its maln room shows some striking studies made by its clever members. There are bits of the old Ter- race itself framed on the walls, and views of the city beyond. An especially good sketch of the ramshackle entrance is by Miss Kate Thomson, the president, ‘When the summer comes with its wiles and even Sophie Terrace feels shut in, the members often wander off inte the great open world beyond. Several of them took & Monterey cottags once and spent all their time between meals under umbrellas. Another outing was at Lake Tahoe. They have wandered and camped together In the true spirit of good fellowship. p On the sunny Wednesday morning that I happened up there a row of umbrellas greeted me, lined up along the ralling of the terrace. Miss Downing was the first sketcher ‘n the row. She was studylng & mass of pink geraniums against & dark wall and she was so absorbed that any one might have walked off with her gay Japanese umbrella. Miss Dalsy Kittredge was trying to make out whether a sun- dappled old chimney was light or dark against the green and after much consul- tation it was decided to be both. Miss Jean Beach was struggling with a vista of glittering city and water beyond. Mrs, Goodrich was almost lost to view be- hind the tiit of her umbrella, but she was evidently hard at it. The others worked and chattered, while Tommy, the great tawny cat who, as club mascot, considers himself scratcher in chief, moved eritically about from sketch te sketch. When the morning’s labors wers over the lunch was announced and the club turned housewife as one woman. Out from & dapper little cupboard came tea and cups and plates. lunch boxes were opened and an array of good things was spread outdoors In such an air as would have shamed a confirmed dyspeptic inte an appetite. And If you were ever served in such & place with such a lunch sauced and seasoned by such a company, your teacup toast must be, “May the Scratchy Club live to make merry when the coss tumes of 103 shall be antique.”