Missal Stand c. 1940

William Kieckhofel made this drawing of a Missal Stand, and you can see how the object is built up through layers of delicate hatching. The soft, muted colours create a real sense of depth and texture. I love the way the wood grain seems to ripple and flow, especially on that shelf. It makes me think of the process of building, how each layer informs the next. And the way he's used the pencil, it feels like he's feeling his way around the form. The drawing almost has a sculptural quality, a little like the work of Vija Celmins, but softer, more dreamlike. You get the sense that Kieckhofel wasn't just depicting an object, but really trying to understand it, to build it from the ground up through a kind of slow, meditative process. It’s a reminder that art is often about the journey, the act of seeing and feeling and making, not just about the finished product.