Sacred Geometry: A Primer

This week, the quadriagon. Start with a square as usual.

Find the center of the square.

From that point arc from the corner of the square to the opposite corner.

Extend your lines to the top point of the arc and finish it off.

Piece of the Week

This piece of the week is from the Hex series, I saw a picture of this design on a youtube slideshow about the Prince's School of Traditional Arts. The design was done on colored paper and was just a line drawing but I've loved it and been playing around with it.

Watercolor

9x9in

2012

Series: Hex

Genesis

In Genesis an account is given of how God created the earth. In reading the account my interest was captured by how simply such complicated processes were described and I felt inspired to illustrate the account for myself and create a better picture of the events. For a time I struggled with how to visualize such lofty and well known material so I looked to the work of several artists including Dürer, Michelangelo, and da Vinci. Though my style significantly differs from the styles of those artists, I did follow their examples and use of symbolism and geometry in the composition of my work. The watercolors in this series are all square; the square is the most basic and diverse of the geometric shapes and it is also symbolic of the earth, I feel that such incorporation of symbolism and geometry enriches the work.

This is a trip through the series as it currently stands. The first piece I made for this series, taken from Genesis 1:1-2 and Abraham 4:2. The color red is a symbol of the earth, as is the square, blue and circles symbolize heaven.

Genesis I

watercolor

9x9in

2012

Series: Genesis
Photo by Hawkinson Photography

Tools of the Trade

Pens and nibs, I don't use them much but they can offer a wide range of line qualities, also mine are dirty...

Sacred Geometry: A Primer

Today, how to make a spiral, there are several ways to make spirals, this is just one. I learned this from a book by Albrecht Durer, The Painter's Manual, I believe.
Start with a straight line and mark off increments. This spiral works around two points which I've labeled A and B.

Set your compass to the distance between A and B with the stationary point on A. Arc the compass until you reach the line again.

Next set the stationary point of the compass on B and set your compass until it lines up where the spiral leaves off. Arc the line until it returns to the horizontal line.

With the compass back on point A set the compass again to where the spiral leaves off.

Repeat on B and until the spiral is as big as you want.

To finish the spiral you can continue on the the same point after crossing the horizontal line.

Piece of the Week

This is a piece from Genesis, I used the spiral for the first time, I'd see diagrams on how to make the spiral but it took some additional figuring to figure how to actually draw it. The picture of the whale that I modeled this after was so beautiful.

In the Deep

watercolor

9x9in

2012

Series: Genesis

Tools of the Trade

An essential tool for any drafts-person or just anyone who uses a compass a lot, is extra compass lead. Sadly, compass lead doesn't stay sharp forever and it reduces your accuracy when it gets dull, so new sharp lead is a great thing to have.

Sacred Geometry: A Primer

This week, how to draw a dodecagon/do-decagon (a twelve sided polygon). Start with an axis.

Draw a circle around the center point.

Make the vesica piscis on either side of the circle.

From there make circles on the pints of the vesica picises (sp?).

When this has been completed it should look like this:

Then go around and connect the points in the inner circle to create a hexagon (this is the sort of thing that I've used a lot in the Hex series).

When that's done, make lines through opposing sides, I don't really know how to explain it well but I hope the pictures will help show better what I mean.

It should look like this when finished, note the six sided star.

The center rectangles are and orthogon shape I believe, the double square if I'm not mistaken.

Then connect the lines on the outer circles.

There you have a dodecagon.

Piece of the Week

Here's the piece of the week, a different pattern direction from the majority of the Hex pieces. Thoughts?

watercolor

6x6in

2012

Series: Hex

Tools of the Trade

This is a pastel pencil, and I don't remember what the color name was, or the number. I just have the one which I use sort of in the same way that I'd use a charcoal pencil, only a colored one. I'd like to get into pastels someday though.

Sacred Geometry: A Primer

Today's how to is the Auron or the golden section, probably the most famous/well known of the orthogons. The auron is the most beautiful proportion there is and very prevalent in nature.

To begin you start with a square.

Find the half way point on your square.

From the half way point arc up.

Repeat on the other side and top off the line.

The golden section can repeat infinitely.

You can also make the golden spiral.

Piece of the Week

This piece is a bit different, have I mentioned that I also do book binding? I do, I found out about it in college, it was a class that filled up overnight and it kept being filled up before I could take it. I eventually got in and was able to take it twice and I loved it. I love books and being able to make my own is something I love.

This book is a Coptic binding, it's my favorite binding and it's about the oldest book binding there is I believe.

Tools of the Trade

 This weeks tool is a kneadable eraser. They're great for working with charcoal because you can make them into whatever shape you need and when they get dirty you can clean them by kneading them.

Sacred Geometry: A Primer

Since it's the 4th of July/Independence Day, this week: how to draw a five pointed star. Start with a line and a circle on that line.

Then make a vesica piscis.

Draw a straight line between the points of the vesica piscis.

Find the vertical half line of the original circle.

 Draw the vertical line.

Set your compass for the distance between the intersection of lines in the vesica piscis and the top point of the circle.

Arc down from the top of the circle to the horizontal line.

Set your compass from the top point of the circle to the new point and arc from one side of the circle to the other.

With your compass at the same setting, arc down from the point on the right side of the circle.

Continue from point to point until there are five points.

 Then connect all the points to form a pentagon. Come to think of it you could just make a star just then and there but that's not what I did.

When you have the pentagon you can connect the lines like this (ps, this is not a great example of a pentagon).

and continue on to form the star.

 The star has an inner pentagon and you can continue the stars as far as you can before they get to small.

Ta-da