Choir Rail 1939

William Kieckhofel made this drawing of a choir rail, probably with watercolor or colored pencil on paper. It's the kind of drawing that reminds me that art making is always, at some level, about process and planning; it's not all just spontaneous expression. Look at the way he's meticulously rendered the wood grain, using thin, precise lines. It feels really controlled and deliberate. The color palette is earthy, but those little red flowers pop against the wood tone. The precision is striking. You can almost feel the texture of the wood, even though it's just a drawing. The way each element is carefully placed really emphasizes the idea of design and intention. It reminds me a bit of some of the architectural drawings of the early modernists, but with this handmade, folk art sensibility. Ultimately, art is always a conversation, right? It's about taking ideas and pushing them further, or turning them on their head. The beauty here is how Kieckhofel embraces a kind of useful ambiguity, where form and function meet.