Yesterday I posted Ralph Kiggell’s Temple Dogs series of woodblock prints, and quoted excerpts from his blog that described his process. Today I’m sharing his Sacred Shapes series of 12 woodblocks. They also have a simple concept, repeated in iterations, in which the subject is abstracted to the point it is a compositional element. Similar to yesterday’s dogs, these Sacred Shapes also have a bit of humor included. A while back I wrote a V.Note about how difficult it can be for art to be humorous. Fine lines, so to speak.
Bonus: This post includes a very nicely written artist statement, a rare thing. Notice how his writing is similar in tone to his artwork, and how he avoids inflated and indirect flippity-floppity wishity-washity art speak. He does not even use the word “juxtapose.”
Kiggell’s website is quoted below:
TWELVE SACRED SHAPES
Sacred Shape – Topiary
Sacred Shape – Cypress
Sacred Shape—Windsock
“In Twelve Sacred Shapes, a group of apparently unrelated international objects from science, geography and nature translate the kranok shape. These shapes mimic the upward curving forms and pointy flicks seen in, for example, temple decoration, Thai writing and in the long fingernails of temple dancers, all of which rise auspiciously toward a better, more sacred, place than the earth on which our feet stand.”
Sacred Shape – Pinecone
Sacred Shape – Shell
Sacred Shape – Rock
Do you enjoy the look of the woodgrain? Do you enjoy these simple compositional shapes? Woodblock is an excellent class for painters and designers. It strengthens our compositions, and our ability to think through an artwork so we don’t end up in the weeds. If you enjoy curls of wood shavings, and meditative processes with clear steps (unlike painting), try our new Contemporary Woodblock class. I thought I’d be sick of woodblock after carving that giant steamroller Rhino but I only got more interested. The house spent carving were very pleasant, and I liked the result quite a bit. I discovered I actually kinda like this stuff. I’m taking this Fall Contemporary Woodblocks class on Monday mornings. Want to join me? Sign up now! Don’t wait! This class starts September 17th.
When we first went online in February 2020, I thought it would just be for a few weeks. Now here we are 18 months later, still online. I thought online would be cold and distant. I thought there’d be no way to teach anything specific. Turns out there’s a lot we can do from our …
A Supermoon happens when a Full Moon or New Moon coincides with the Moon’s closest approach to Earth. The moon has not been this close to the Earth since January 26th, 1948. The next time a Full Moon is even closer to Earth will be November 25th, 2034. [image_with_animation image_url=”3045″ alignment=”” animation=”None Clouds come from time …
Welcome another selection of faves from our January 30SAL Creative Challenge. Day 7 the challenge was to transcribe Manet’s Luncheon on the Grass. A transcription doesn’t have to be a copy, it can be a way to take an element or concept and reimagine it in another form. Some of these images were borrowed from …
Exquisite Corpse is a collaborative, chance-based drawing game invented by the Surrealists in the mid 1920s. Each participant draws or collages an image on part of a sheet of paper, folds the paper to conceal their work, and passes it on to the next player for their contribution. This is the first week in a …
Ralph Kiggell: Sacred Shapes
[image_with_animation image_url=”11536″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”]
Sacred Shapes – Accordion Book
Yesterday I posted Ralph Kiggell’s Temple Dogs series of woodblock prints, and quoted excerpts from his blog that described his process. Today I’m sharing his Sacred Shapes series of 12 woodblocks. They also have a simple concept, repeated in iterations, in which the subject is abstracted to the point it is a compositional element. Similar to yesterday’s dogs, these Sacred Shapes also have a bit of humor included. A while back I wrote a V.Note about how difficult it can be for art to be humorous. Fine lines, so to speak.
Bonus: This post includes a very nicely written artist statement, a rare thing. Notice how his writing is similar in tone to his artwork, and how he avoids inflated and indirect flippity-floppity wishity-washity art speak. He does not even use the word “juxtapose.”
Kiggell’s website is quoted below:
TWELVE SACRED SHAPES
Sacred Shape – Topiary
Sacred Shape – Cypress
Sacred Shape—Windsock
“In Twelve Sacred Shapes, a group of apparently unrelated international objects from science, geography and nature translate the kranok shape. These shapes mimic the upward curving forms and pointy flicks seen in, for example, temple decoration, Thai writing and in the long fingernails of temple dancers, all of which rise auspiciously toward a better, more sacred, place than the earth on which our feet stand.”
Sacred Shape – Pinecone
Sacred Shape – Shell
Sacred Shape – Rock
Do you enjoy the look of the woodgrain? Do you enjoy these simple compositional shapes? Woodblock is an excellent class for painters and designers. It strengthens our compositions, and our ability to think through an artwork so we don’t end up in the weeds. If you enjoy curls of wood shavings, and meditative processes with clear steps (unlike painting), try our new Contemporary Woodblock class. I thought I’d be sick of woodblock after carving that giant steamroller Rhino but I only got more interested. The house spent carving were very pleasant, and I liked the result quite a bit. I discovered I actually kinda like this stuff. I’m taking this Fall Contemporary Woodblocks class on Monday mornings. Want to join me? Sign up now! Don’t wait! This class starts September 17th.
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