Rudolf Kutzli

_ CREATIVE
FORM DRAWING

WORKBOOK 1
 Rudolf Kutzli
CREATIVE
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Creative Form Drawing Workbook 1 © 1985 Rudolf Kutzli

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First published in Germany by Verlag die Kommenden GmbH under the

title Entfaltung schopferischer Krafte durch lebendiges Formenzeichnen
This edition © Hawthorn Press 1985
Translated by Roswitha Spence and William Mann

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data applied for

ISBN 0 950 706 28 0

 CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ROSWITHA SPENCE

SECTION I INTRODUCTION TO EXERCISES

PRACTICAL PREPARATIONS
A SPECIAL TASK
EXERCISES — SECTION I

SECTION I VERSE FOR FORM DRAWERS

INTRODUCTION TO EXERCISES
EXERCISES — SECTION I

SECTION Il INTRODUCTION TO EXERCISES

EXERCISES — SECTION Il

SECTION IV VERSE FOR THOSE STUDYING FORM

INTRODUCTION TO EXERCISES
EXERCISES — SECTION IV

FURTHER READING
 INTRODUCTION

What is form drawing? An activity of drawing related to form, so let us ask; wetsis form?
and look for its origin and process of development.

Form is a manifestation of our spatial world, and surrounds us in an infinitely rich number
of ways, especially in the natural world. Take first a rock or crystal: if you hold it in your
hand you can immediately feel its weight and solidity, compressed as though moulded from
without, but eons ago - the formative process has apparently died and come to rest. Not so
the plant world; here quite different forces are at work, life forces of renewal with a vigour
and variety exceeding our imagination. Here you can begin to sense the element of rhythm,
for example in the changes of leaf form at different stages of a given plant. The plant world is
also a manifestation of the rhythm of the seasons of dying and being reborn. These rhythms
are particularly visible in the movement of water, be it a bubbling brook, a raging river or the
ebb and flow of waves on the shore. Watch closely how the water pulls back and condenses
itself into a force of energy that is able to curl over the top in the most beautiful form as it then
crashes and spills itself on the sand, and having reached the ultimate expansion, contracts
again for the next wave, an endless activity of creation and disintegration. What about the air
which surrounds us and which we breathe? The most common daily experience of form in
this realm is in the cloud formations, a wonderful gift to phantasy! Who hasn’t as a child seen
‘elephants - no, camels’ in the sky? The clouds are also a mediator of the interplay of light and
shadow, and as such have an influence upon our mood. Form in this realm is constantly
being dissolved and is much more a manifestation of movement. The last of our elements is
fire, where we experience even more movement, so much movement in fact that it is better
described as activity, so alive that one can hardly speak of form any more.

From crystal to flame we can discover an astonishing progression: the finished static form,
then the enlivening rhythmical element, followed by movement within form, and finally the
fire of activity, which by its very nature destroys form. One can see an analogy between the
four elements described above, and the creative process in the human being. First we are
‘fired’ by an inspiration, and where before the physical fire destroys, in ourselves it becomes
a creative force enveloping us in a warmth of enthus.usm for action. Then, we move freely
through the many choices open to us, and when the direction of purpose has revealed itself,
the rhythmical element comes into its own to transform the substances, until everything
comes to rest in the finished form.

Finished forms surround us on all sides: dwellings, the tools required to make them, and
the contents once we have moved in. Turning to the latter we will have objects which are
purely ornamental, and others which are useful as well as aesthetic. In Greek times such
objects could have very expressive and rhythmical forms both in their shape and in their
decorations. For example vases containing sweet smelling substances and placed upon
graves were painted with forms expressing the process of the soul as it expands into the
universe. In modern times forms have quite other criteria, and in each case it is the
craftsman/designer and his process of creativity that interests us in the question of form
drawing. Take for example the chair, run your eye mentally over the many examples of
chairs you have seen and sat on. What process did the designer go through in order for the
chair to have all the desirable qualities such as strength, comfort and appearance? To start
with he needs to build a mental picture through the activity of imaginative thinking, then he
will call upon his feeling for purpose and form, and finally those two will combine in him to
give him the will to set to work.

So how does all this relate to form drawing? Rudolf Kutzli sums it up beautifully with the
sentence ‘Die Spur einer Bewegung’ - the course or ‘spoor’ of amovement. It is like a journey
from one thought or experience to the next through logical stages and rhythmical
enhancements, all expressed in a linear form. When form drawing, your effort of will is
engaged in drawing carefully in clear and decisive movements that are free but not loose,
held but not rigid; your thinking is engaged in concentrating on the accuracy of the drawing
process, whilst at the same time imagining the complete form; and your feeling for balance
and harmony is actively engaged throughout to make the form beautiful.

Looking at form drawing in relation to the four elements mentioned earlier: the physical
substances have to be mastered, the crayon and the frighteningly empty space of white
paper. The rhythmical element helps us to step into that space giving us confidence and
making the forms grow. When the rhythm is established, the freedom of movement can
come into play and the drama of artistic creativity can find expression, like the cartoon which
with the greates. economy of strokes can create a world of imagination and feeling. The
quality of fire is the catalyst that brings it all together permeating movement and rhythm,
finally arriving at a true and harmonious form which is physically visible. During this
process, our soul forces of thinking, feeling and willing have all been not only engaged, but
integrated.

Rudolf Kutzli has addressed himself quite particularly to the question of how form
drawing can be a path of development for the adult, available to anyone, in total freedom.
We are led from simple forms to exciting and complicated tasks, both from historical and
modern sources, warning us of dangers and encouraging us towards triumphs. He has
broken new ground in an amazing richness and variety of examples and exercises, and it is
with deep appreciation for this that I chose to translate his work.

Roswitha Spence,
Emerson College 1985.
TRANSLATOR’S ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like especially to thank the late John Davy for his unceasing support and encour-
agement, my colleagues at Emerson College for their willingness to be happy ‘guinea-pigs’ in
my early trial and error days of form drawing, the friends who have helped with corrections,
typing and publishing, and my parents without whose help this translation could never have
happened.
 SECTION I

The following pages will show, in well balanced steps, a way of practice that can be followed
by anyone searching for inner development, regardless of intelligence or ability. The series
of exercises lead to an activating process of unfolding creative forces, that lie dormant in
every human being. Form drawing speaks to the inner rhythms that bring harmony to the
forming and dissolving, challenging and quietening, cosmic and earthly in the human being.
It thereby strengthens the very centre, the ‘I’, between the constant threat of tendencies to
sclerotic thought, the crampedness or barrenness of soul, and the aimlessness or apathy in
the whole sphere of the will. Just in a time which is paralyzing the motivating power of our
‘I’, trying to starve the soul, whose anti-rhythms threaten to make us ill, such a way of
practice can become a source of healing, enlivening and activating forces in the soul.

When in September 1919 Rudolf Steiner founded the first Waldorf School (or Rudolf
Steiner School) he inaugurated a new pedagogy, the teaching methods of which were
orientated in his newly researched ‘Knowledge of Man’, anthroposophy. He introduced into
the curriculum also two new subjects that are both concerned with the elements of
movement and form: Eurythmy and Form drawing.

The artistic element of form drawing, in contrast to sketching, is: the line as imprint of a
movement. Form drawing, ‘Ars Lineandi’ of the Middle Ages, is one of the oldest art forms of
mankind: think of the Neolithic or Bronze Age stone carvings. The Lombard and Celtic arts
of masonry and book illumination are expressions of the ‘Ars Lineandi’.

Rudolf Steiner opened up new possibilities in understanding the ‘language of the plaited
or braided band’.' In the Seal drawings leading to the capital forms of the first Goetheanum,
he created a new pointer for the art of the line.?

The task of these exercise books will be to indicate a systematic path of practice to enter
into the art of form drawing, making you familiar with simple and fundamental forms
echoing the art of the Lombards and Celts. (These will be gone into more closely.) It is the
intention to progress to more complicated forms, with the aim finally to work with Rudolf
Steiner’s Seal forms, built up out of the basic elements of form drawing. Those who practise
regularly and thoroughly will begin to experience that not only is something new being
learnt, but that they are creating a journey of transformation for themselves. Form drawing
can become a path of schooling.

Rudolf Steiner’s pedagogical suggestions for form drawing in the Waldorf schools - as
illustrated by Rudolf Niederhduser in his commendable book? will be taken up and

1 Rudolf Kutzli, Langobardische Kunst, Verlag Urachhaus, Stuttgart.

2 Carl Kemper, Der Bau, Stuttgart. 1966
3 H.R. Niederhauser, Formzeichnen, Zbinden Verlag, Basel.
enlarged. Special emphasis will be laid on the methods and age groups, and the effect on the
working within the bodily, soul and spiritual organism of the student. Ultimately, the
possibilities of therapeutic drawing can be systematically built up, through the varied
experiences.

The artistic medium for form drawing is the Line, the line as imprint of a movement. Let us
recall what the neo-Platonist philosopher of Athens, Proclos (410-485 AD) says:‘Ars
Lineandi (form drawing) is the recaptured memory of the invisible ideas of the soul, and this
is its achievement: it gives life to its own cognition, awakens the spirit, purifies
understanding, and brings the formative element, which is part of our being, to light. It
eliminates the baseness and ignorance that cling to us from birth, and liberates us from the
bondage of unreason. It rouses the soul from sleep and impels it towards the spirit. It makes
us a true human being, allows us to behold the spirit and guides us towards the Gods.’

Filippo Brunellesch (1377-1446) builder of the dome in Florence, also speaks in profound
terms of the line: ‘The lines and forms are visible signs of divine gestures. Learn to
understand them and you will comprehend how God created the world.’

Such words can be the guide to our inner attitude, when we begin our exercises.

PRACTICAL PREPARATIONS

Provide yourself with a smooth surface on a large table. There should be good, but not
dazzling light, if possible coming a little from the left. One should have plenty of paper at
one’s disposal, but cheap quality can be used to begin with, for example: unprinted
newspaper offcuts, or re-cycled paper. Avoid any satinized surfaces, and the size should not
be smaller than Din A3, if possible larger. The best ‘line drawer’ is a soft pencil, HB or B, or
Conté; coloured pencils are not suitable to begin with (for reasons which will be gone into
later). Wax crayons that are so good for creating pictures, are less suitable for form drawing.
Rubbers (or erasers) should not be used at all if possible. Sit relaxed, not as though for
resting, but as if you were about to play an instrument. As in all artistic practising, the best
results will be achieved by working at regular intervals, rather than for long stretches at a
time. Gradual progress will be enhanced by returning to the basic elementary steps of the
exercises again and again. How one brings children and patients to form drawing, will be
dealt with later in connection with questions of pedagogy and therapy.

EXERCISES

Draw a straight line — as imprint of a movement - first in front of yourself ‘in the air’. The
movement should be neither too fast (mechanical) nor too slow and hesitant. When
repeating it, try to be ‘utterly involved’ (this term will be fully explained later), surrender
yourself to the stream of the movement in quiet activity. Do you have the same experience, a
like quality whether you come from the left to right, or right to left? This we will leave open
for the time being. Where does the movement begin, and where does it end? Try to become
aware of the impulse which really comes from infinity (© ), to anticipate, sense, accompany
it, and finally let it go, but attentively. Feel as though you were carried in the flow. And now
allow this line to touch the page first lightly, then more firmly, coming out of the movement,
into the form 1.

Always searching anew out of the movement, form the ‘imprint’ more and more surely,
without fettering yourself, and without retracing previous lines. A ‘field’ of straight lines
comes into being 2.

After a while one is able in this field to discover ‘straightness’, to condense the visible
tracings of the movement 3. It should so arise as the Chinese calligrapher demands of his
letters: “They should touch the paper in the same way as a falling cherry blossom petal
touches the spring snow’. (Lu Bu We)

Lines arising in this way need not be checked with a ruler; ruled lines are geometrically
exact, but dynamically dead. The living ‘straightness’ is obviously not crooked or slack, it is
taut like the string of an instrument, inwardly resounding.

The developing process of each line in form drawing should fundamentally arise as has
been described - out of the movement into the form even when the student, through
progressive practice achieves greater confidence. Every resultant line in its essence should
still reveal the process of ‘Becoming’.

In giving yourself to these exercises, you can observe how first the flow of the movement
gives you joy, but this soon begins to fade. You are taken over by the inexorable laws of the
flow, becoming passive: ‘I’ have a tendency to doze off. What can ‘I’ do to counteract this?

Where the arrows are indicated, I direct my ‘I’ consciously to a new impulse of movement
4. Into the passive flow and binding law of the straightness, ‘I’ bring an active impulse
towards it, ‘I’ become creative, I practise freedom. In doing this I feel - though not
consciously as yet - how different in quality the initial impulse for a, b, c and dis.

To ‘Straightness’, a new element enters in: ‘Roundness’ 5. In the rounding, ‘he

movement impulse becomes slower, more intense and concentrated, the form gains
expression. Develop this motif further 6.

In his ‘Mathematical fragments on the straight and curved line’ Novalis states as follows:
- ‘every line is a world axis’
- “a straight line: law’ ~
- ‘a rounded line» Victory of free nature over the law.’
 The sequence of movement is rhythmically structured, the relatively ‘dead’ straight line
comes alive. The phases of ‘releasing’ alternate with the ‘holding back’, the binding 7.

This binding is then increased until it touches and crosses over itself 8. The contrasts of
awareness in the ‘binding ” and ‘releasing’ can be experienced in retrospect: slow-fast,
awake-dreaming, lighter-darker etc. The form 8 can be drawn as a knot alternately above
and below 9.

This knot can also be reversed 10. Try to tie a knot with a piece of string, first with eyes
open, then eyes closed, and then behind your back.

Interweave the first rhythm (a) with a second one similar to it (b) 11 like a musical canon.

Now try to draw out this rhythmical ribbon into one movement a) from left to right and
then from right to left 12. You clearly feel how this exercise demands a special concentration
corresponding to the ‘binding’ together, and a special loosening which corresponds to the
‘releasing’. In this alternation between the binding and releasing a third force is born, a
power of the centre: my ego.

Now reverse the direction of the same exercise 13 even from above downwards, without
moving the paper. Practise rhythmically and with patience as long as it needs to be able to
draw it by heart.

The constant aim of form drawing is endlessly to create that which has already been
formed so that it does not become ‘actively rigid’ (‘zum Starren waffne’ - Goethe).

The next exercise 14 is a variation of the previous ones. As it is difficult to grasp, you give
yourself a ‘framework’ 15, which must then dissolve into the flowing form.

The following exercises show variations and enhancements of the previous ones 16, 17,
18, 19. Don’t be discouraged if you cannot master them immediately. Go back to the earlier
and simpler ones at frequent intervals.

No 20 is a combination of 18 and 19. It is very difficult! Be brave! Allow yourself to be

inspired to ever new variations and combinations of the basic form, and see how it is enclosed
in itself, and can be developed into a beautiful, harmonious and decorative design 21.

It will be difficult at first to grasp the sequence of the forms in a general picture, and to
create them correctly. It is the patient sensing of this order that will school you to an inner
awareness of form relationships. This takes time - let it be said again: much patience. Return
to the same exercise again and again ‘...the development of the will depends on repeating,

10
and ever conscious repetition...’4. Having correctly followed the form sequence through, if
possible without referring to the given examples, it is probably nevertheless still far from
beautiful. The aim now in practising is to achieve a certain balance in the forms, a harmony,
at the same time taking special care to keep the flow of the movement alive. Finally you will
form the impulse of the line expressively, by a kind of touching.

Weighing up, moving, ordering, touching: going through these four stages, you will feel the
relationship to musical practising. A very important element of the art of line is in fact the
musical one: line in movement - visible melody.

Exercise 22 shows a further enhancement of this.

Let us now return to some simpler elements. The very first exercise showed us the
fundamental elements of the Art of Line: the straight - the round; let us freely deal with them
in practice.

Exercise 23: draw a circle - the round in its ultimate form. Again to begin with, create the
form in pure movement: form a circle ‘in the air’, not too fast (mechanically) and not too
hesitant. Be totally absorbed! Feel the turning, mysteriously measured working together of
the forces of left-right, and above-below (also in front-behind), constantly sensing the
invisible centre. Eventually allow the circle to be traced onto the paper. The aim is not to
create a geometrically exact (dead) circle, but a dynamically alive one. We do not wish to
deny the sublime beauty .of geometry; its qualities lie in a different area. Try to draw the
circle first anti-clockwise, and then just as attentively clockwise, and feel the difference in
qualities. (The circle will occupy us further later on.)

Draw a circle followed by a straight line 24. What happens when we connect these two
movements? A wave arises 25. In fact the wave combines the rounded with the straight,
inclining towards either, without in any way being drawn into one-sidedness 26. The wave
unites two worlds: that of roundness and that of straightness and corners.

Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) in his work ‘Harmonice Mundi’ (1619) speaks of straightness
and roundness as two archetypal principles of The Creation, the working together of which
gave existence to the world: ‘... The world of Lines is as eternal as the Spirit of God, before
ever objects were created. Illuminated in His Spirit, the line presented Him with archetypal
pictures for the artistic edifice of this world, in order that it become the best and most
beautiful, like unto the Creator.’ Kepler then goes on to say ‘...In the beginning God in His
ineffable resolve chose straightness and roundness in order to endow the world with the
signature of the Divine. Thus the Allwise originated the world of form, the total essence of
which is encompassed in the contrasts of the straight and the rounded line.’

Now ‘play’ with the wave 27!

4 R. Steiner, Study of Man 25 September 1919, Stuttgart.

11
 It is possible to draw many variations of this simple basic rhythm: rounding - stretching,
binding - releasing 28. Be very careful not to fall into idle fantasy or ‘lose the thread’ 1.e.
‘scribble’ 29. Be equally wary of the form becoming too rigid or too vague. The clarity of the
basic form should always be visible as a theme, whatever the variation.

It will become noticeable that the waves can, as it were, express different temperaments:
30 : choleric
31 : sanguine
32 : melancholic
33 : phlegmatic
34 : harmonious
We shall look into the question of temperaments and how to work with them later.

The simple wave 35 calls for its complement in a second rhythm running counter to it 36.
Out of the two waves a two-stranded ribbon arises, and by joining both lines at each end it
can be drawn in one form 37. This two-stranded ribbon is like an archetypal picture of the
‘living’. To a greater or lesser degree this form appears in the art of all races and ages. The
alternating between ‘rounding and stretching’, ‘unfolding and crossing’, ‘expanding and
contracting’, ‘releasing and binding’ illustrates the fundamental rhythms of all that lives 38.
Even when closed at both ends and drawn in one movement, it is still a two-stranded ribbon,
experienced in the alternating waves of 1 and 2 39. The exceptionally interesting laws and
patterns of the interlacing ribbons will be examined and practised later.

At this point the question can be asked: what is the simplest basic form of the two-
stranded ribbon?

If you reduce the number of waves of the two-stranded ribbon to two, you will arrive at the
archetypal form of a horizontal eight. From now on this will be called the lemniscate, in all its
variations, in accordance with the name given to a specific phase of the geometric curves of
Cassini 40.

The lemniscate is not only the two-strauded ribbon, but is in fact much more. It also
unites the round with the straight, releasing with the binding, in the simplest way 41. And
more than that: if you shade in one side of the lemniscate, it becomes evident that the one
wing faces outwards, whereas the other faces inwards, and vice versa 42. The crossing point
becomes also the point of inversion.

Continue with the lemniscate exercise and try to enhance your experience of the polarities.
A union of inner and outer, above and below, takes place, pulsating between the crossing
and unfolding, binding and releasing. It is not too much to say that the heavenly resounds
together with the earthly. During the course of the year the midday point of the sun
describes a lemniscate in the heavens, and this form varies from year to year. Only after
21,000 years does this living movement of the lemniscate return to the same form, in what

4
might be described as a majestic rhythm of cosmic harmony°®. Out of a possible 21,000 sun
lemniscates, eight are represented in exercise 43. These forms can be calculated in the
so-called “Time equation’®. And so it is an accurate statement to say: the working together of
sun-light and levity with earth-gravity, the creative field of all unfolding life on earth,
manifests in the form of the lemniscate.

Vary the lemniscate in many ways; with care even to the point of deterioration, and lead it
back again to a harmoniously centred form 44.

A SPECIAL TASK

Transform a lemniscate by turning it inside out: the crossing point must remain stable, while
the wings slowly curve inwards 45. Draw many intermediary stages in the continually
changing process, and you will arrive at the arbitrary stages A B C ...to P, in the given
example.

Stage H shows itself to be a particularly interesting form of the changing lemniscate

because it is not only symmetrical from left to right, but also from above to below. The
original crossing point has been joined by a new and similar one, resulting in a third crossing
in the centre. The form development from H onwards should now continue by holding the
lower crossing point stable, while the upper crossing should dissolve. The final form is again a
lemniscate identical in appearance to the first. However the outer part of the form has
become the centre, and vice versa. The crossing has unfolded, and the unfolding has now
formed the cross. A complete turning inside out has taken place. This whole process should
be experienced inwardly, not only in steps, but in a continuously pliant and mobile image.

The question arises: how few, or how many stages of the form development, are essential
to illustrate fully the whole continuous process in all its characteristic phases, though
theoretically it could be countless? It becomes apparent that no fewer and no more that seven
steps are needed 46. Begin with 1 as A; 2 encompasses B C D and E; 3 is the moment where
the two wings touch;4 represents the threefold crossing G and H; 5 is where the point of
contact dissolves; 6 represents K L M and O, and 7 is the final form.

It can be said: a transformation process in time can be represented by seven characteristic stages.

Let us look again at 46, the middle stage of the lemniscate inversion 47. In drawing this
form a particularly pleasing and harmonious rhythm comes about in the flow of the
movement. Draw the form really large 47, also at different angles 48, always bearing in mind
the recommendations at the beginning of this book: out of the movement into the form,
repeating it many times and always being ‘completely involved’. Now follow the form

5 Rk. Steiner, Penmaenmawr 31.8.1923

6 J. Schultz, Die Dre: Sonnen und die Zeitgleichung, in Mathematisch-astronomische Blatter.

13
 through in a dynamic and musical movement, sensing with care and as intensively as
possible, the essence of the line, experiencing the differences of quality in the alteration
between unfolding and crossing, binding and releasing (refer to example 48): above wide -
inside / inside - below wide - inside / inside - long - short / short - long - short / short -
loosening - binding / binding - outside - centre / centre...and so on.

By daily practice over a length of time, you will become aware of a definite effect, which
brings calm and order, whilst also being stimulating. Let us attempt to understand this: in
the human organism of body and soul we find two polar opposites, they are the head and the
limbs; one pole relatively restful and one in constant activity. The head mirrors the
nerve-sense process, whilst the other pole is an expression of the metabolic and limb system
of the human being. The one is organised for thinking, the other for will activity. Thinking
can rigidify into dead concepts, but can also be penetrated by the light of wisdom. The will
forces can disintegrate into chaos, but can also be permeated with the warmth of love. It is
the ego that can bring balance and create harmony between the two cosmic forces’.

It is the force of the centre which speaks to, and activates the human ego through form
drawing. The following verse sums up the experience of this:

I order
the chaotic flow of will
through thinking’s
Light of wisdom.

I resolve
the rigidity of dead thoughts
through willing’s
warmth of love.

So do I work,
in binding and resolving,
upon the meaning
of the world.

The form 48 can be varied in many ways. If you are able to draw it in one line, you will
discover that in 49 two are needed, whereas in 50 it is again only one.

The exercises 51, 52 and 53 are further examples of possible variations. The only
limitations to your inventiveness are that in all variations the theme of the form should not be
lost.

7 R. Steiner, Study of Man, Stuttgart 1919

14
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starting point
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38 \. binding binding SY r..

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mit HL |
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pd9
 SECTION I

Verse for formdrawers:

I order
the chaotic flow of will
through thinking’s
Light of wisdom.

I resolve
the rigidity of dead thoughts
through willing’s
warmth of love.

So do I work,
in binding and resolving,
upon the meaning
of the world.

This verse will link us again to the previous section; let us pick up the theme there and
explore further variations 1.

You may notice where there are 2 or 4 small loops, the chain-like form flows on; but where
1, 3 or 5 loops occur the form reverts into itself.

The law of number progression of even and uneven, which becomes manifest here, brings
an inner liveliness to the whole picture, in spite of its strict order.

We are reminded of the art of textiles, of weaving, plaiting and knotting. In the regular
patterns of these crafts, coming from very olden times, we can experience how cosmic
wisdom comes to expression in ordering and binding of the continuous thread.

Let us now return to the lemniscate. Bring the enclosed form, harmoniously resting in
itself, into movement (arrow). It pulls apart, and begins to make a kind of dancing
movement, with a lively swinging up and down and up again: a continuous figure of eight, or
‘the dancing lemniscate’ arises 2. This form mediates in a light rhythm between rounded and
straight, above and below, heaven and earth: the cosmic and earthly come to interaction.
These characteristic rhythms are to be found in the art of the Lombard masons, on their
altars, tabernacles, chancel barriers and capitals '.

' R. Kutzli, Langobardische Kunst, pages 30, 31, 32, 105, 190, 191, 192, 213.

34
 The lemniscate can also ‘dance’ in twos or threes 3,4. As two they are able to swing counter
to each other 5. You can also enclose the form in itself 6. This can lead you to a pleasing
discovery: depending on the number of loops, the form can be drawn by either one or two
lines. Counting above, the even number of loops needs one line 7, and the uneven number
needs two 8.

This motif with the double loops is a particularly beautiful and decorative design 9. The
Greek word for ‘decorate’ is ‘Kosmein’, meaning ‘bring into union with the cosmos’. This
form in fact shows a harmony between ‘heaven’ and ‘earth’ in a differentiated and lively
rhythm.

Draw this motif with your feet too; you can also model it in clay, cut it in slabs of plaster,
carve it in stone and hammer it in metal.

The following forms show characteristic and interesting distortions of this motif from
exercises out of a curative class.

In the first form 10 the sense of balance has not played in properly. The symmetry is
disturbed.

The second example 11 shows a disturbance in the flow of movement: cramp, blockage,
abrupt turns, overshooting the mark, and so forth.

The next example 12 shows how the student was not able to oversee the whole form. He
did not grasp the form organism, he was unable to produce the necessary form concept.

In the last drawing 13 the disturbance lies less in the movement of line, but far more in the
spaces between. The relationship of one line to another, the interval, is incorrect, and the
necessary sense of touch is absent.

By way of comparison, example 14 is a nearly harmonious form. In observing balance, flow

of movement, form regularity and the touching of boundaries we are active in an area of
perception which is deeply connected with our etheric or life-body and with the sphere of the
will in our soul forces. Form-drawing brings encouraging and regulating strength to this.

Rudolf Steiner impressively points to this effect: ‘When you penetrate such forms with
sensitivity, you will find your experience regulated in such a way as they could never be by
the world of sense alone, and a concept of spiritual music in the harmony of the spheres can
also be aroused in you.’”2

The following examples show possible variations of the basic form. Find more, and
carefully follow the flowing line again in its balancing, moving, regulating, sensing, binding

2_R. Steiner, Bilder Occulter Siegel und Sdulen. Berlin 1907

35
and resolving 15-21.

Let us return anew to the basic element: the straight and rounded 22. Allow the straight
line eventually to turn into a curve. An involving spiral begins to form 23. Practise it in
different positions and directions 24. Now draw an unwinding spiral to the right, and then to
the left 25. It is the involving spiral that ‘binds’, and the unwinding spiral that ‘releases’ 26.
Pay particular attention to the ‘jump’ in the centre, and use it as an impulse from the
involving to the unwinding. The zodiacal sign of the crab shows the two kinds of spirals
placed side by side 27. Intensify the process of inspiralling and the liberating impulse of
unwinding 28, and then enhance it in rhythmical repetition 29. In the next forms feel not
only the qualitative difference between the in- and outwinding, but also the difference
between rotating to the right and rotating to the left 30-31. The next spiral 32 leads us from
the circumference winding clockwise to the centre, whereas 33 is dynamically anti-
clockwise, spiralling out of the centre to the infinite periphery. ‘Dynamic’ in this instance
means: not an even winding in and out (archimedian), but the tendency to gather
momentum (logarithmic). In this way one is able to perceive in the finished form whether the
movement is spiralling in or out. These qualities of clockwise or anti-clockwise motion are
polarities of the fundamental principle of the curve. Most people experience the clockwise
motion to be turning inwards and fastening, the screw is usually tightened on this principle.
The anti-clockwise turning is experienced as unwinding and dissolving. Many plants grow
from weight towards lightness in an anti-clockwise spiral.

The following exercises 34-39 are variations on the theme of the spiral within the circle;
find more possibilities. The swirling movement in 35 is a particular example of the
archetypal picture of all that is living. Exercises 40, 41 are expressions of the rhythmical
harmony between the in- and out-winding spirals. Example 41 shows this in a horizontal
sequence, in a triangle and in a square. There are numerous examples of the spiral in the
already mentioned book on Lombard art 42-43.

Let us start again - out of the movement into the form - with ahorizontal straight line. This
time however we will develop the rhythmical impulse first gently and then more
emphatically downwards 44.

The ever increasing emphasis on the downwards movement forms points that ultimately
overlap into loops 45.

Now repeat the same sequence again from the straight line, but from below upwards 46.

The straight line at the top and the one right at the bottom, approach and encounter each
other rhythmically, and as it were, mutually ‘perceive’ one another 47.

The loops are also able to touch and intertwine 48.

36
 In this sequence of penetration a form develops that has a specially harmonious balance
between above and below 49.

We can draw this particular form in rhythmical repetition 50. When practising this
sequence again, breathing with it, you experience in an impressive way how the binding and
resolving is a working together of the forces from above and below. The countless examples
of this motif in Lombard art afford ample opportunity for the above experience.

‘Into the Whole how all things weave,

One in another work and live!
What heavenly forces up and down are ranging,
The golden buckets interchanging,
With wafted benison winging
From Heaven through the Earth are springing,
All through the All harmonious ringing!’
Goethe?

Through drawing, it is possible to carry out this meeting and penetrating of the loops of
the two lemniscates. A very beautiful, living and breathing form arises 51.

You can draw several such double lemniscates to form a kind of chain 52.

The simple basic form of the lemniscate appears here in yet another rhythm; it shows a
differentiation and enhancement, instead of the possible repetition of sameness that would
die into mere beat.

Now, instead of taking two similar lemniscates, draw one with a ‘triple-lemniscate’, and
allow them to intertwine. An even richer form arises 53.

This can also be formed into a chain 54.

It is up to the individual to recognise the basic form in the further development of the
chain 55, to draw it and form new ones.

Returning to exercises 6-9, the ‘dancing’ lemniscates are in fact enclosed in two (as it were)
open loops - open in that they move into other loops instead of closing themselves. The
contact and penetration of two such figures 56, result in a well-ordered form, balanced in its
“binding and resolving’. Draw this form large, and until it is not only ‘correct’ but also
‘beautiful’!

Exercises 57-59 show further possibilities of the interplay of this basic form. However,
beware of perpetuating the ‘crochet and knitting’ tendency in example 59. Mere addition

3 Faust Part One: Upon discovering the sign of the macrocosm. Translation: Albert S. Latham.

a7
does not necessarily enhance the quality.

The radial and circling double loops in exercise 60 have the quality of a Seal*. Follow the
interesting rhythm of the line. This form is very difficult!

The following exercises 61-66 show loops arranged in a circle. The resultant forms and
their relationship to the centre point, have a particularly strong effect in concentration.
Discover the variations and invent many new ones during practice.

True artistic work returns ever and again to the basic elements. It is just in the practising of
these that new experiences are opened up, new questions posed, and new answers found.

Draw a straight line - flowing out of the infinite, into the infinite. If you were to surrender
yourself wholly and utterly to the law of straightness, you would in fact lose your Self, and
completely dissolve into the infinite 67.

You can counteract this process by changing direction, and this requires a will impulse,
(in this example downwards to the right) 68. Intensify this impulse slowly but
unhesitatingly. The straight turns into the round and turns back; it touches, takes hold and |
crosses over itself 69. The gesture of this crossing can be experienced as a lighting up of
consciousness, an awakening. If I want to refer to myself - the ‘I’ - then I touch myself.

Whosoever crosses their arms over their breast in a gesture of self-concentration,

contemplation, reverence, touch themselves in three distinct places: each hand and where
the arms cross. This is an ancient gesture. The two arms together (Italian: bracelli) creat the
form of a ‘bretzel’, a knot. In a similar way I can draw a line that crosses itself three times to
form a ‘knot’ 70.

The ‘knot’ must be neither too loose nor too tight: this is its secret. In this way through
drawing, it will sustain the force of the centre, the ego strength between binding and
resolving.In pre-Christian times this secret was guarded in the Mystery Centres and only
entrusted to the Initiates - think of the Gordian Mystery Centre in Asia Minor ; the Gordian
knot. The Lombards, in many cases, created their stone-carved knots in a three-stranded
rhythm; this ribbon was a symbol of the Trinity, the Creation, the Logos, the Word. ‘In the
woven ribbons the creative power of the angel’s choir resounds’, this is a saying of the
Lombard masons. Try to draw a large knot in three strands, with special care where it crosses
ght

The knot can also be developed out of the harmonious centre-motif of the lemniscate
inversion (Section I, exercise 46). This form which is familiar to us as a metamorphosed
lemniscate, shows itself also to be a double knot 72. This knot can be evolved in two
directions, upwards and downwards 73.

4 ‘Seal’ is a term applying to the planetary Seals given by R. Steiner at the Theosophical Conference in Munich 1907.

38
 Draw the knot opened up, in all possible directions 74 and vary the form in every way,
always leading it back into the centre, into harmony. This becomes possible through
activity, strengthening the ego force.

Develop a harmoniously formed knot 75 in two directions: to rigidity on the one side, and
to uncontrolled formlessness on the other, and then again back to the centre.

A knot with two sharp angles 76 emphasises the will impulse needed for the change in
direction. This form too should be brought to an equilibrium between ‘ossification’ 77 and
‘dispersion’ 78. The way in which you draw your knots can tell you much about yourself!

When drawing these knots in sequence 79, you will experience more and more the rhythm
of the ‘clustering’ and ‘spreading’ quality. Draw the sequence facing downwards 80. Now
combine the two directions rhythmically 81, 82, 83. The double motifs 84, 85 stand as
though guarding in opposite directions: above and below to the left and right. Exercise 86 is a
variation of 82, 83, and 88 a turning inside out of 87.

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i 78
 SECTION Il

The third section embarks on a way of practice which will lead us step by step into the secrets
of the varied compositions of the woven ribbon.

The art of the Lombard masons, which occurred at a historically significant time in the
early Middle Ages, is an expression of a Michaelic impulse towards freedom, and was
practised in schools reminiscent of the Mystery Centres. We can discover how the art of the
line was practised in forms as though guided by the ego power, whose Christian character
becomes ever more apparent. The freedom of balance between the binding and resolving,
between the twofold threat of the adverse forces, had to develop within the framework of an
established order. ‘Lineare’ - the drawing of lines only entrusted to the masters, had to
happen according to the most strict laws of cult and art - ‘rite creandi’, ‘lege artis’. Within the
set pattern given by regular points which had to be respected, there was an area of freedom in
which the draughtsman’s hand could and should operate freely.

‘All fixation impoverishes’ (Christian Morgenstern)

The guiding power within the free space, which corresponds to our ego power, had to be
acquired by the master of the Middle Ages in a lengthy process of spiritual schooling.

The ‘pattern’ which has been referred to as a predetermined order, is a sequence of dots
1'. These dots follow one another just as the strict sequence of concept, judgment and
conclusion do; for instance as cause and effect follow one another logically. If I move from
one dot to the next I am acting in strict accordance with the law; no freedom is possible. Were
several people to move with me in a similar manner, a marching column would ensue, which
moves towards an aim under the same direction.

The wave also moves towards an aim, but its quality is totally different: law, order and
direction are taken into account, but the movement does not run in a linear rigid and unfree
way, but according to the higher law of all life, which is rhythm! It unfolds, swinging to both
sides without losing direction, breathing and pulsating freely. Ancient cult dances moved in
this manner.

Muft ins Breite dich entfalten

Soll sich dir die Welt gestalten.
Schiller
1 Siegfried Miller, Lajos Wiesner, Indirekter Transfer: ein friihmittelalterlicher Beitrag zur Heilpadagogik.

TRANSLATOR’S NOTE:
The book ‘Langobardische Kunst has been referred to in the previous two sections, and is also mentioned many times here, as
the subject matter is very similar. But as this book has not yet been translated, and is not essential to the course, I have the
author’s permission to omit further references.

63
 If the world is to reveal its forms to you
You must develop breadth in all life.

The free guiding strength within the law that is my self-imposed task, is now becoming my
path of practice 2.

With this basic exercise we are given a second wonderful insight: not only is there one way
of reaching our goal 3a but a second movement runs in a similar rhythm, always crossing and
recrossing the first 3b. If I move within the first wave, I sense the crossings as counter
movement. Something crosses my path, something goes against the grain. However, if I
come to terms with this consciously, something new arises: an encounter takes place, a
perception of something different. In spite of having my path crossed, as counter
movements together, a common goal is achieved. (A socially more fruitful development in
comparison to the picture of the marching column). Working with the woven ribbon is not
only setting free one’s own uninhibited ego power, but equally an expression of our social
interwovenness, the relationship of personal freedom with the freedom of the other person:
‘respect the ego of the other, as you are one yourself’.

Yet another possibility is apparent in practice; when moving in the direction towards my
goal, freely and rhythmically within my self-imposed structure, I am able on arrival to turn |
and complete the second wave. Outbreathing is followed by inbreathing; an act of
contemplation. I meet myself, I cross my own path, whereby a wholeness is arrived at: the
double woven ribbon 4.

This form can be drawn in one movement, but remains twofold in its essence; it conceals a
deep secret; a streaming forward - a retrospective contemplation, a becoming - a passing
away, a passing away - and becoming anew.

This twofold aspect can be enhanced 5. In one case the first wave is large, then the other
dominates.

The arrangement of dots itself can be brought into movement, for example in a wave 6 or
spiral form 7. Also into a circle, where closed in on itself around a centre point, the form is
particularly striking, acquiring the quality of a seal (see footnote 4, Section II).

If you place nine dots in a circle, the wave movement arises out of one line 8, whereas with
eight dots the movement separates into two lines 9. Reduce the number of dots, step by step
to two, and you arrive at the lemniscate 10.

The next two pages show drawings from children in remedial classes. In example 11 the
two-stranded woven ribbon was drawn several times back and forth in a free flowing
movement. Observe the difference of impulse in the two directions. If you vary the spaces
between the dots rhythmically or freely, you have a changing rhythm in the line 12,13.

64
 A turning back within the wave rhythm is also possible; it has a particular quality of
experience: arresting the flow, turning it in on itself, and then again allowing it to carry you
forward 14. Moving instinctively in a rhythm is a totally different experience from the
experience of a loop in which the circular movement is formed by the ego force 15, and again
how different is the experience of the double loops arising from the cosmic and earthly form
of the lemniscate 16.

In exercise 17 the dots were arranged in a triangle, giving the form its own dynamics. Out
of the many lines, (some wide of the mark) a whole ‘field’ has been created, within which the
ideal line is hidden. Observe point B where the pupil literally went off course and thereby
changed the direction in the movement.

Exercise 18 is very interesting where the pupil (about 15 years old), because she missed a
dot by mistake and worried about it, led the line back to retrieve the lost point (arrow) and
regain the proper order. In exercise 19 the same pupil built this new feature into the whole
rhythm.

Examples 20, 21 and 22 are remarkable examination drawings by two pupils', to which
this chapter refers in several places.

The turning and intertwining of the woven ribbon patterns are suggestive of the
labyrinths. Let us pursue this theme a little. W.F. Jackson Knight? draws our attention to
the healing and exorcising effect such intertwining forms have. ‘Evil spirits can only fly in
straight lines’. Janet Bord? tells us that the loop and ribbon patterns were painted onto
houses and thresholds in pipe clay, along with the scattering of ash seeds.
‘Seeds of ash and tangled yarn
lames the witches and brings them harm.’

Exercises 23 and onwards are a systematic introduction to the laws of simple woven ribbon
patterns, built up from the double strand to a six-stranded rhythm. The number of strands
could be increased indefinitely, but the Lombard stone masons never went beyond the
six-fold pattern. In fact continuing the number of strands would not bring anything
essentially new, merely an addition of the basic laws.

As already indicated, these basic exercises can be compared to musical scales. No

musician would stop short with scales, nor will he manage without a knowledge of them, and
mastery of their laws in practice. Equal patience and sympathy is required for the practice of
simple woven ribbon forms. The rewards will be rich in compensation, through increasing
skill in drawing, and interesting glimpses into the hidden laws and wisdom these patterns
can reveal.

2 W.F. Jackson Knight, Cumaean Gates, Oxford 1936.

3 Peter Fleming, One’s Company, London 1934.
4 Janet Bord, Jrrgarten und Labyrinthe, Koln 1976.

65
 If one row of dots forms the basis of the double-stranded pattern, it follows that two rows
of dots makes a triple-stranded pattern.

The second row of dots, however, should be placed beneath the spaces of the upper row,
to form triangles 23. 7 dots in the first row with 6 in the row beneath (7/6 or 7:6) begin at first
by moving quite freely through the spaces 24 as children do between the trees in a forest, or
arbitrarily choosing any ordered sequence across the keyboard of a piano.

But what happens when the laws of the whole structure are observed, not following any
random direction or artistic intention, but moving objectively (selflessly as it were) between
the dots?

The whole structure seems to stretch wider and longer, so ‘where do I go’, taking both
dimensions into account? The length ‘L’ and the breadth ‘B’ result in a ‘V’ shaped form,
which runs diagonally ‘D’ 25.

Move diagonally up and down through the structure 26. Starting at ‘A’ guide the line up to
the right, reaching the top boundary and going round the dot, move down again continuing
towards the right. At point ‘R’ you have reached the boundary, both above and at the right
and so you may now change both directions and return around the dot towards the left, down -
and upwards. Rule: Always bring the line to the outer boundaries before turning.

How to continue at point ‘Z’ therefore becomes a question, because you have not yet
reached the bottom boundary, so therefore cannot rise up again. Equally you have not yet
reached the end and so cannot return around the lower dot. So only a compromise is
possible: straight ahead right out of the structure. The three-stranded ribbon in fact is not
able to close in on itself, but always has two loose ends 27, ‘A’ to ‘Z’. This is the case for all the
odd numbered (strands in the woven ribbon patterns. Example 28 shows various possible
mistakes: at ‘Al the line goes vertically downwards instead of diagonally, ‘I have lost my
diagonal flow’, at “B’ the line returns before having completed the journey to the right, at ‘C’
the line came too close to the guiding dot (I knocked the post down!”).

If I systematically reduce the number of dots within the three-stranded ribbon structure,
interesting forms can be discovered. The structure 6 to 5 (6 dots at the top, 5 below) - not
arbitrarily but with the discipline of this form strictly observed - two separate lines are
required instead of one, ‘A’ and ‘B’. However, the two lines show a different quality of
movement: the one enclosed in itself, can therefore be drawn in one continuous line, whilst
the other one slips in one end and out the other.

The question could arise: how can this be called a three-stranded ribbon if it is drawn by
two lines? It really is a three-stranded ribbon, because basically it is built out of the three
waves running together (1, 2, 3 in the drawing). So this form 29 could be said to be the
‘three-stranded ribbon in the structure of 6/5 drawn in two lines.’

66
 Continue to reduce the number of dots, and exercises 30, 31 are again one line, whereas in
32 two lines are needed. You become aware of a law, which is a rhythmical one: whenever the
upper row of dots is 3 or a multiple of 3 a second line is needed.

Reduce the number of dots to the ratio 2:1, then the three-stranded ribbon becomes a
knot. Or to put it more correctly and turn it around, the knot is the seed form out of which
the three-stranded ribbon literally develops.

Now draw three rows of dots, the second row as before to form triangles, the third row as
the first to form squares 33. This concept dates back to the terminology of the old mysteries,
and is an expression of cosmic mathematics. So, for instance, the well-known theorem of
Pythagoras (a mystery secret in those days) describes the connections between triangles and
squares.

Three rows of dots form the structure of a 4 stranded pattern. It is actually possible to
braid this pattern in ribbons, hair, threads, etc., - even in dough! The ends, however, can be
joined in such a way that it is in fact one continuous line. Start anywhere 34, for example at
‘A’ and diagonally guide the wave movement as far as the boundaries right, left, above and
below 35.

By reducing the dots to 6/5/6, the pattern has to be drawn by 2 lines 36. In exercises 37-42
the dots have been eliminated step by step, to the point of cancelling themselves out, until in
41 you have the lemniscate and 42 the circle. With the 4 stranded pattern as aim, it is possible
to reverse the process and start with the circle as ‘seed or egg’ and develop it step by step.
Note that those structures with an even number of dots in the top row are drawn in 2 lines,
and those with odd numbers drawn in one.

In its balanced framework the structure 3/2/3 is particularly harmonious, in its breathing
and pulsating; and slightly altered in exercise 43 the two corners give a pause and new
direction, like interlacing hearts.

Four rows of dots create a 5 stranded ribbon 44. Begin with the structure 7/6/7/6 45, and
then reduce the number of dots step by step 46-54. Just as in the 3 stranded patterns, the 5
stranded ones cannot be enclosed within themselves — ends remain. The structure with 5
dots at the top 47 needs 3 lines to complete the pattern, each line having its own distinct
movement. Line ‘A’ swings from below up, over, and down again. ‘B’ goes through the
pattern from above down, up and back again, crossing in the centre like a kind of lemniscate.
‘C’ is even more like a lemniscate moving from above downwards. Example 48 shows the
three form patterns more clearly by the different shadings. This whole pattern evolves out of
an exceptionally interesting and balanced counter- and inter-weaving of three distinct form
principles. Again note that in the structure with 5 or multiples of 5 dots in the top row, three
distinct line movements arise — try it!

67
 Taking the line as my ‘I’ (ego as line) through the labyrinth of structural laws, I move
thinking in willing, willing in thinking, through the fabric of an order of high intelligence,
and can vividly sense its beauty: Goodness, Truth and Beauty weave together and work on
me.

The 5 stranded pattern can also, by a stepwise reduction of the dots, be brought to the
lemniscate and circle 49-53, 54. Again in reverse order, you can develop the 5 stranded
pattern from the circle. A person living in the Middle Ages would have put the above in the
following words: the circle is the symbol of the all-encompassing cosmos — a sign of God in
which everything is contained.

Example 51 is interesting: turn it 90° and you have a 4 stranded pattern 52.

It is noticeable that the 5 stranded pattern was rarely carved-by the Lombard masons.

The more dots you add to the structure the more intricate does the journey through
become, like the experience of entering a labyrinth.

The question of the labyrinth has occupied man since ancient times®. It is usually assumed
that the first labyrinth was that of Daedalus for King Minos in Knossos, Crete 56. According
to another version, the Cretan labyrinth was constructed near Gortis, and still today it is
possible to find the mysterious caves and complex passages.

The name of ‘Labyrinth’ comes from ‘labrys’ - the double edged axe, that is the symbol of
the highest and most secret Gods®, giving a picture of both earthly and godly order. Kerenyi’
calls the labyrinth the map of the underworld. Jackson Knight® points to the relationship
between cosmos and man forged by the labyrinth: the labyrinth is a microcosm of the earth
and a macrocosm of man. Jill Purce® regards the labyrinth as of all-embracing significance: it
is a picture of the cosmos, the world, the life of the individual, the temple, the city, the
human being, the lap of mother earth, the windings of the brain, consciousness, heart,
pilgrimage, journey, the path and the goal.

The Grecian myth of the Athenian King Aegeus’ son Theseus and the Cretan labyrinth is
well known; the labyrinth hides a secret order of cosmic intelligence not yet available to man
and the consciousness of that day and age. The secret is guarded by the Minotaur, a being
who represents a kind of transition from the divine apis bull of the past cultural epoch to
man. Every year seven Athenian youths and maidens are sacrificed to this monster, the
Minotaur. Theseus, the King’s young son, is the first who summons the courage voluntarily
to enter the labyrinth. Cosmic intelligence is to be taken hold of by man.

Janet Bord.
Hans Muhlestein, Die Verhiillten Gotuter, Mtinchen 1957.
Karl Kerenyi, Labyrinth - Studien, Ziirich 1950.
W.F. Jackson Knight, Myth and Legend at Troy, Oxford 1936.
oO
DWN
On
Jill Purce, The Mystic Spiral, London 1974.

68
 Very significant is the fact that Theseus has the good fortune to be given a ball of thread by
the beautiful Ariadne, daughter of King Minos. The historically old wisdom of the
matriarchal culture, the wisdom of the ‘great mother’!® passes over to the male, the
patriarchal order. On entering the labyrinth, Theseus unwinds the yarn and everything then
depends on Theseus ‘not losing the thread’. Theseus succeeds in finding the right way and is
thereby given the strength to overcome the Minotaur, and then to find his way out by the
help of Ariadne’s thread. So Theseus becomes the first human being within the Greek
culture to be able to comprehend cosmic wisdom through human thought. The
comprehension of wisdom, ‘the forming of concepts’ was a most significant and central event
of the Grecian epoch, and Theseus, through his deed, stands as one of its most important
representatives.

Illustration 55 is of an Etruscan vase, depicting this scene. Ariadne, standing behind

Theseus, fetched the thread from her head - from the region of thought. The thread winds
itself into a ball that has the form of a spiral. The spiral is the archetypal labyrinth! Theseus
places his left foot on the spiral, thereby in one way touching it, and in another way standing
upon it to show he wishes to walk the labyrinth in order to transform himself. His victory
over the Minotaur redeems the sacrificial youths and maidens. The macrocosmic secret has
become the innermost secret of man, central to human evolution.

The form drawer, by imitating and experiencing the orders of the woven ribbons,
becomes the new Theseus. He too masters the dark and wild Minotaur in himself by means
of the higher and brighter consciousness of the ever-strengthening ego power. For him also
‘not to lose the thread’, is what matters.

Labyrinths were also known, however, long before the Cretan culture, with examples of
palaces built around 2000 BC.

The megalithic stone circles in Ireland, England and Brittany, from the 4th to the 2nd
millenium BC, have the character of the labyrinth. The ‘alignments’ of standing stone
avenues and cromlechs (standing stone circles) are also archetypal examples of basic line
forms: the ‘straight’ and ‘curve’. The ‘alignment’ at Carnac looks like an immense woven
ribbon structure inscribed into the earth by cyclopean stones. Perhaps within these ‘rows of
dots’ cultic ceremonies took place, taking the form of a labyrinth dance.

We know of ancient Egyptian labyrinths in the tombs and on seals. The sanctuaries of
some Sibyls were labyrinths, and in memory of the Sibyl of Cumae, labyrinths are sometimes
called Cumaean Gates. It was under this name that they stood as portal to the world of the
dead, as threshold and link to the spiritual world, and they are often described as having
“Guardians of the threshold’.

10 Johann Jakob Bachofen, Mutterrecht und Urreligion, Leipzig.

69
 Labyrinths carved in stone, drawn in sand, laid in lawns and hedges, etc., appear
throughout the ages ®. Many were known as “Trojan Castles’. According to Jackson Knight
this name could have derived from a very old Indo-Germanic root ‘tro’, to turn or twist. He is
convinced that Homer’s city of Troy was so named because as a Mystery Centre it was built
in the form of a labyrinth. Geoffrey Ashe in 1977"' has proved that the cultic processional
path on the ancient Tor of Glastonbury was laid out to the basic pattern of the Cretan
labyrinth.

Also interesting are the labyrinths that appear in Christian churches such as S. Michele in
Paris, S. Martino in Lucca, S. Vitale in Ravenna, S. Giovanni in Florence, in Chartres
Cathedral and in others. Joseph Henderson’? describes his journey through the labyrinth of
Ely Cathedral, England, as a disturbing of his conscious rational orientation to the point of
confusion and giddiness. And then by sinking into the chaos his spirit opened to an
experience of new cosmic dimensions of a transcendental kind. The result was that he could
experience the beauty of the cathedral in a quite new and sensitive way; a new higher sense
awoke in him. The labyrinth would appear to be a preparation for entering into the
cathedral. So it has a similar function to the woven ribbon patterns of the Lombard art. Just
as the stone mason schooled himself for higher experiences before he could create those
woven forms, so too is the experience of these patterns - the labyrinth way and the woven |
ribbon labyrinth - a preparation for a capacity to experience spiritual relationships of higher
worlds.

Therefore woven ribbon forms and labyrinths conceal the same secret. In a Roman villa
near Seville, Spain, there is a labyrinth the passages of which consist entirely of double
woven ribbon forms®.

The following exercises show the build-up and laws of the sixfold woven ribbon. The
structure has 5 rows of dots 57. (5 rows of dots: sixfold band, 4 rows of dots: fivefold band, 3
rows of dots: fourfold band etc.)

Beginning with the structure 7:6:7:6:7 58, again as with the previous exercises, reduce the
number of dots step by step. A new rhythmical law becomes apparent: the structures with 3
dots in the top row (or multiples of three) need three separate lines to complete the form 59.

Note the differentiated gestures in the line movement. They have the quality of the
lemniscate: the first reaching upwards, the second downwards and the third uniting the
other two in a balanced harmonious centre form. In this step the separated but overlapping
forms are very visible, but in fact these forms are working on all the structures, only then
evenly interwoven with each other. Example 60 through the shading makes this visible.

"1 Geoffrey Ashe, The Glastonbury Tor Maze, Glastonbury 1979.

12 Joseph L. Henderson, The Wisdom of the Serpent, New York 1963.

70
 The sixfold ribbon can also be thought to arise out of the circle 67. What in the reduction
of structure becomes a rudimentary dissolving form into the circle, appears similarly in the
build-up as an embryonic seed form into the developing woven ribbon 61,62.

Exercise 63 is particularly beautiful. Three line movements give it a kind of seal form.
Exercise 64 is a somewhat stunted, or ‘embryonic’! sixfold woven pattern, because it has 5
rows of dots, of which the 2nd and 4th paradoxically have only one single dot. Turn it 90° and
it shows itself as a fourfold form 65.

You could increase the number of strands to seven, eight, etc., ad infinitum. However,
after all the practice of the basic forms, bring some variation to it instead.

An example of such a variation is exercise 68 as foretaste of the next section. The structure
is still that of the sixfold ribbon, but what joy to unfold freedom step by step! Study
carefully, practise attentively the formative movement of counter points and waving lines,
and then discover many new variations for yourself, but still within the law of the structure.

“The law alone can give us freedom’. Goethe.

ae
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56

Cretan labyrinth (coin, Knossos)

 58
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 SECTION IV

Verse for those studying form:

I am ordered,
within the chaotic flow of will
of world thinking’s
Light of wisdom.

I am released,
within the rigidity of dead thoughts
of world willing’s
warmth of love.

Thus works on me
the binding and resolving
of world meaning’s
forming power.

The above verse is like a turning inside out of the verse for form drawers that introduced
Section II. In the first verse, what should motivate the form drawer (the actively forming
person), came to expression. Every single motif should radiate from the force of the centre,
the ego force of the drawer; this should pictorially express itself, binding and resolving
within the line-form as ‘the imprint of movement’.

Through this, each form that I draw tells me something about myself, about what ‘I’ am.
The verse can help me to awaken this centre, if I practise it meditatively.

Every line-form also has an effect upon myself; it motivates and gives impulses when
drawing, and also when contemplating the forms. This effect takes place with the help of
sense perceptions, especially those which Rudolf Steiner calls: the sense of balance, sense of
movement, sense of life and sense of touch. Thus every line-form works upon my ego,
through my soul sensitivity. (This will be referred to later on.) In connection with the four
senses of will, mentioned above, the line-form also works musically, melodiously
resounding. They ‘speak’ to me, they disclose forms of order, comparable to the order of
thought forms. For now, this is only an indication, but later, closer scrutiny will be directed
at the extraordinary complexity of the process of perception working deeply within us, to
describe which we will use the term given by Rudolf Steiner: ‘form feeling’.

The line can be both ‘the tracing of movement’ as well as the motivator, director of
en our
impulse for my ‘I’. ‘Through line drawing we can solve our problems and strength
The drawing of
special gifts. Lines can be a token of our ego, and can help to transform it.

89
woven ribbon forms therefore can express our individual quality of destiny, as well as our
social interwovenness’ (Siegfried Miiller).

So much depends upon whether I am conscious in the wide awake clarity of my ego power,
whether I can judge from what area of spiritual motivation my form impulses stem, and to
what goal they are directing me.

We are constantly surrounded by such form effects that, in cunning deception of our ego
consciousness, set out to ‘in-form’, impress, move, motivate and manipulate us. Like
‘hidden persuaders’ they reach into our unconscious and subconscious.! The experts in
marketing and advertising, psychologists and politicians have always known exactly what
the possibilities of ‘magic’ influences upon man are, through signs and forms.

Active form drawing and equally active form contemplation (consciously), must
incessantly keep the question awake in us, out of which spiritual sphere the form impulse
originates: either from the chaos of unconscious will-streaming, the rigidity of dead
thoughts; or from the ‘warmth of love’ and ‘light of wisdom’ of my own soul forces and an
objective spiritual area of being. Or out of a suggestive power which, avoiding my ego, works
directly into my subconscious from a foreign will, or from the spiritual sphere which allows —
me to co-operate in the meaning of the world in freedom — to what imagination of aim they
direct me: to the egoless robot, or the free human being (Rudolf Steiner, Philosophy of
Freedom).

The first of the two verses is directed towards the forces to be awoken in myself through
creative activity, the second is directed towards the objective spirit regions that are revealed
to me through the perception of forms.

Form drawing, in the doing and perceiving, can become a path of schooling, which leads
‘the spiritual in man to the spiritual in the Universe’. The goal is the ‘free human being’
(Rudolf Steiner).

The exercises in Section III dealt with the prescribed order of dots according to the
labyrinth, explaining the woyen ribbon forms, after the ‘ars lineandi’ method of stone
masons and scribes of the Middle Ages.

He that has only a rudimentary grasp of mathematics will have recognised in the building
up process, certain laws and formulae which originate in higher mathematics. However, the
form drawer is in the happy situation of being freely swinging and rhythmically alive in the
activity and sensing of beauty unfolding within the realm of ‘cosmic intelligence’, even if he
is unable to understand the formula.

The freedom in guiding the line in Section ITI had, in the first instance, to be subordinate
to the law of structure. This way the ordered relationship of the woven ribbon form could be
Vance Packard, The Hidden Persuaders, Penguin.

90
experienced, and ‘form experience’ developed as fruit of the creating of the ‘centre’, between
the polarities of ‘binding and releasing’. Every form is in danger of degeneration, losing the
centre in two directions by either dissolving or rigidifying.

In the history of the art of the line countless examples of the above can be found. For
with
instance, compare these often incomprehensible convolutions of almost animal quality,
those of a more crystalline geometry, constantly repeating, in the ornament of Byzantium
and Arabia; and then experience the dynamic flow of the better examples of Lombard forms,
as strength of centre - ‘Between the devil and the deep blue sea’!

The exercises in this Section are to stimulate the free guiding strength within the
self-given law, Section III, and to enliven this further.
just as
The structure can for the time being remain the same, but the theme can be varied,
and
the musician can play many ‘variations upon a theme’. At the same time those drawing
danger of
studying form in the mood of the two verses will be able to counteract the
degeneration or rigidity on either side by once again enlivening the rhythm with untiring
attentiveness.

always
Do not lose your patience! The exercises in the following sections will certainly not
and by
continue to move through a structure of dots. As in music, only by devoted practice,
independent
repeatedly returning to the basic elements, will the skill be developed for
Rudolf
responsibility later on, either to work with the highly demanding art of line by
Steiner, or to find the way to your own individual creativity.
anded ribbon.
Exercises 1 to 10 are to stimulate a further rhythmical process of the two-str
with a circle 1.
You can emphasise the moment of crossing ( - the moment of ‘straightness’)
contraction and
Interweaving the two-stranded ribbon with a row of lemniscates, shows the
be achieve d with the
expansion of the basic rhythm in an enhanced form 2. The same can
threefold lemniscate 3.

back on itself to
Instead of simply allowing the pattern to flow on, guide it rhythmically
threefold lemniscate chain,
create a chain of lemniscates 4. This form can be enhanced in the
leads to the double
interwoven with twofold lemniscates 5. A further enhancement
lemniscate chain 6.

degrees 7, 8, 9. Instead of
The once-only moving forward and backward can be varied by
alternately 10.
waves of even size, large and small ones can ‘melodiously dance’
Regularly reducing
The rhythm in the three-stranded ribbon enriches the possibilities.
The same reduction in the
the number of dots in Section III produced interesting results.
rhythm. 11-16. The rhythm
number of waves makes a new rhythm possible within the basic
as a row of knots 16. Try
flows forward, holds back, dissolves, re-crosses and finally appears
further possibilities and variations.

91
 The rhythmical variations possible in the structure of the 4-stranded ribbon are even
greater. Exercises 19-23 show some of these possible varieties of the basic forms practised in
Section III. Here again, it is surprising to find that some forms (17, 18, 22, 23) are drawn in
one line, whereas 19, 20, 21 are drawn in more than one.

Large and small waves play melodiously together 24. Within the same theme, vary the dot
number in the structure, for example, instead of 8:7:8, 7:6:7 etc.

Exercise 25 gives us a form that was achieved in Section I in quite another way. Vary it—as
for example in exercise 26, and consciously experience the building-up of the form in the
enhancing of the flow by the movement from left to right that arises through the counterflow
from right to left.

The next exercise 27 is harder. Carefully feel the build-up of the forming process through
the differences of the flow and counterflow of the line 28. At the corners, knot forms arise
that we will get to know later as ‘callixtus knots’. They are also to be found in exercises 29-31;
these are woven forms from the Celtic book illuminations. Again, as with the practising of a
melody, do not leave it with the satisfaction of just getting it ‘right’, but through progressive
practice also make it ‘beautiful’. Sense the quality of movement in the line, its dynamic:
heavy, light, crossing, bending - ‘piano’, ‘forte’; its ‘tempo’: slow, fast ‘ritardo’,
‘accelerando’; attend to the proportions, to the interval, the ‘in-between’ spaces, between
one line and its neighbour.

Within the structure of the 5-stranded ribbon, exercises 32-38 show the simple rhythm of
the form, through self-enclosed groupings of the dots: from 5 dots or waves 32 over 4 dots 33,
to 3 34, to 2 35, to 1 37. Compare them to the 5 stranded forms in Section III. These groupings
provide a great number of rhythmical variations, for example 36. In their rising and falling
sequence, it is possible to draw them in one movement 38. Like a knot form with a loop at the
top 39, and alternately above and below 40. Never forget: out of the movement into the
form, flowing forward and back, always out of the centre, and eventually becoming free of
the example: ‘play it by heart’. The dynamic element of the rhythmical flow demands great
concentration. Make sure not to analyse the complicated form in thought only - i.e. to
understand it, but try to avoid separating the thinking and the willing, understanding and
doing. ‘If in the thinking and the doing you become one with the line, you will feel differently:
not about the line, but within the line. Becoming one with the form, its framework and
gesture, its journey, relationship and quality...it is a question of ‘slipping inside’ the life of
the line’.2

Whilst form drawing ‘I’ bring my thinking and feeling into my willing and thereby into
germinating creative life. Exercise 41 is an example for the ego to experience this: in the
wakeful pursuing of the single movements down, up, left and right. ‘In formdrawing, by

2 Carl Kemper, Der Bau, Stuttgart 1966.

92
means of the physical body, which in reality is spirit, we gain the strength to remain mobile
in our thoughts’.?

Exercises 42, 43 show further variations.

The Celtic form in exercise 44 is built up out of the elements of 36. The ribbon form
particularly emphasises the crossing over, bringing in a greater degree of consciousness and
giving the appearance of being three-dimensional.

The following exercises are based on the six-stranded rhythm 45. In a similar way as with
the previous exercises, the rhythmical groupings of dots have been reduced from 6 dots 45 to
one dot 50. Experience, while drawing repeatedly, the alternating from one line in 46, 49, 50
and three lines in 45, 47, 48, 52, 53 the quality of movement, weight and order.

Compare exercise 49 with exercise 18 in Section I; in this variation you can enjoy the
recognition of the already well-known ‘running’ lemniscate.

The individual rhythmical groupings can also be combined in one line 51. 52, 53 are
further possibilities and variations.

Exercises 54, 55 are forms from the Lombard art, and through its rhythmical flow,
symmetrical forms arise.

The next exercises take up the knot theme that was started in Section II, now in the
structure of the six-stranded ribbon 56. It could well be that the flow of the form in 57 is at
first very difficult, so begin by drawing the 6 curves (——---— ) of the knots, Then ‘dare’ to
swoop from one knot to the next. Naturally, as soon as possible, try for the sake of the
continuous flow, to do without this artificial aid. This form, made of callixtus knots,
produces very interesting variations when the number of dots in the horizontal is changed.

The following three difficult examples 58-60 are from the art of the Celts and Lombards.
First sketch the flow of the movement in faint pencil, then build it harmoniously. You will
feel that as well as the actual flow of the line, the intervening spaces between one line and
another are of great importance. Now, using a rubber, erase most of the pencil line, and with
Conté or coloured pencil emphasise the alternating crossing points.

After these elementary preparations let us attempt something more difficult.

Take two 6-stranded ribbon structures and intersect them at right angles to each other. A
cross arises 61. Count the number of dots exactly. These rows of dots emphasise the vertical
and horizontal, and thereby the ‘stillness’ of directions in space. Here the form appears as a
symbol of death.

3 Rudolf Steiner, Bilder Occulter Siegel und Sdulen, Berlin 19.10.1907.

93
 Now move within the ‘labyrinth’ in the direction of the diagonal; this works as dynamic in
comparison with the static vertical and horizontal. A dynamic element weaves into this static
cross 62 - the effects of the diagonal enliven the form - a recognisable feature in the creative
art of the Lombards and Celts. Out of the cross of the dead, a new cross of life, of
resurrection arises! This is the language of the woven ribbon crosses at Chur, Ravenna,
Tuscania (Italy); this is also how the high cross at Ahenny, Fahan Mura, and the burial slabs
at Clonmacnois (Ireland) affect us.

Into this simple and new motif, weave in the knot forms 63, and a beautiful new formation
comes about 64; a cross resounding like a melody emanating from the force of the centre 65.

An enhancement to this cross form is the Lombard cross in the cathedral at Chur
(Switzerland) carved in three parallel lines. Exercise 80 shows a variation in the same
structure, drawn in one continuous line. Try to vary this form further, also by changing the
number of dots within the structure.

Let us further pursue the theme of the cross in the direction of the examples given us in the
Celtic book illuminations. One cross, out of the ‘Book of Lindisfarne’, is built up in the
following way 66: count the rows and dots exactly. The craftsman has woven three quite
distinct motifs into this structure. They are grouped rhythmically around the middle of the |
cross, and thereby weave a great ordered completeness around its centre.

The first motif is like a self-opening loop 67, moving from the centre, crossing over itself
and then opening out into all four arms of the cross 70.

The second motif appears as a kind of ‘vessel’ 68. Each pair of ‘vessels’ seems to receive the
outward streaming that the first form brings toward it 71.

The third motif 69 is particularly interesting: a long straight line has been curved into a
sort of ‘clasp’. Whilst drawing this, direct your whole attention not just to draw a
geometrically exact straight line, but to move it gently and vibrantly. A geometrically
straight line is at one and the same time dead; a dynamic straight line is however like the
vibrating string of an instrument. Just as the architrave of a Greek temple looks dynamically
straight to the eye, when in fact it has a light.curvature - just as the weight rising to levity in
the column ‘resounds’ dynamically, because it too is slightly curved in the so-called
‘entarsis’.

A dynamic and organically live straight line contains the swinging strength of the curved line
concealed within 1t - a dynamic and organically live curved line contains the guiding strength of the
straight line concealed within tt.

The four ‘clasps’ repeatedly cross over each other, joining the other form groups in the
most beautiful way, and holding together the whole order of the form in diagonal tension
123] 3%

94
 The whole cross can eventually be drawn without the dots, and by carefully taking
account of the crossing points, be worked in the so-called ‘alternations’ 74.

With continuous and patiently repeated practice you might build this form freely, without
copying. However, it is already healing and beneficial just to experience the wonderfully
harmonious order of the form, its expansion and contraction, its strengthening of the centre,
by merely following it through.

The next cross is taken from ‘The Book of Kells’. First carefully build up the structure 75.
In the vertical arm of the cross a sequence of knots will be discovered 76; the middle knot of
the five in each row opens out to the horizontal arms.

The motif that weaves into each side of the cross is very beautiful, but also difficult at first
77. Experience how enclosed yet vibrant its strength is. Guide the line consciously and wide
awake, so that it has character; do not draw dreamily and sleepily only out of your wrist.
‘Ductus’4 — meaning: guide the line expressively, i.e. guiding the pencil as though it were a
violin bow, moving it fast, slow, with more pressure, less pressure, wider, more pointed — try
to let the line ‘sing’ 78, 79, 80.

The next Section, number V, will take up this motif again and enhance it further; and the
numerous and intricate secrets of the knot motif will be dealt with in greater detail.

of the
4 Translator’s note: The German text here inserts the Latin word ‘Ductus’ three times, meaning ‘expressive guiding
line’.

95
bringing the double-stranded ribbon into rhythm

structure - m
 k ao Ganme eyo > Der treet shee Be mae eaeae
Lae Gol ’
were Na ES AER can P Brae ni , : ys Sets OS Ca H-: set FEO AED Chery. oy,
i eg wer Fo

65
Nee
eee a
bringing the triple-stranded ribbon into rhythm

2 rows of dots set to form triangles

% oS, . 7
w,

structure ors \ “ ae al .
Se Oras BA Oo Ms Me Fat ;o nares a et
bringing the four-stranded ribbon into rhythm

structure

7
Celtic forms
 bringing the five-stranded ribbon into rhythm

met enw erro aT gs Meanie senate mete mre

structure ee
ta’ as
RE Perens a. meee ae ASN rat! Sa NTI, a Me gn ns

4 rows of dots set to form triangle and squares

32 5 waves 5
bringing the six-stranded ribbon into rhythm

par) aaa ad On, a) re) o ° 9: °

Sy hee : ; :
a me ! ° o ‘oe ) 9 °

structure a *,=) : ee q ;
ie ° ee a?) 9 8 9 “4
5 rows of dots set to form triangles and squares
6
Celtic Lombard Lombard
(Book of Kells) (Aquileia) (Aquileia)
61

62
63

64
65
 structure

66

\Oi
70

71
CMN

73
 structure
ths)

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 Ve

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80

fe
4
 FURTHER READING

Keith Albarn, Jenny Miall Smith, Stanford Steele, Dinah Walker, The Language of Pattern,
Thames and Hudson.

Anke-Usche Clausen and Martin Riedel, Zeichnen Sehen Lernen, F. Ch. Mellinger Verlag,
Stuttgart. (This book is almost entirely drawings, therefore an understanding of German
is not essential.)

H. S. Crawford, Irish Carved Ornament, Mercier Press, Dublin & Cork, Ireland.

Ernst Haeckel, Art Forms in Nature, Dover Publications Inc, New York.

Herman Kirchner, Dynamic Drawing, its therapeutic aspect, Mercury Press Fellowship
Community, Spring Valley, New York.

Rudolf Riitzli, Langobardische Kunst, Verlag Urachhaus, Stuttgart 1974.

Lindholm-Roggenkamp, Stave Churches in Norway, Rudolf Steiner Press, London.

Hans R. Niederhauser and Margaret Frohlich, Form Drawing, Rudolf Steiner School,
New York.

Jill Purce, The Mystic Spiral, Thames and Hudson.

Theodor Schwenk, Sensitive Chaos, Rudolf Steiner Press, London.

Jacob Streit, Sun and Cross, Floris Press, Edinburgh 1984.

The Book of Kells, Thames and Hudson.

Ordering books

If you have difficulties ordering Hawthorn Press books from a bookshop, you can order
online at www. hawthornpress.com or you can order direct from:

Booksource
32 Finlas Street, Glasgow, G22 5DU
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2

120
 CREATIVE FORM DRAWING ——™
Rudolf Kutzli

Form drawing is an artistic activity using the art of line. It dates back to the ancient mysteries
and found its flowering in the early Middle Ages as manuscript illumination, as well as wood
and stone carvings all over Europe. It can also be found in many tribal cultures as 4
ornamentation of body, clothes and architecture.

In Creative Form Drawing the author leads us to discover what the art of line can mean for us & if
today. Through a systematic series of exercises, not only is a skill for drawing developed, but _
also a growing awareness of quite other faculties and capacities within us, such as self- _
confidence and equilibrium. Hence the activity of form drawing pe Be eas a path of Ca
self-discovery.

ISBN 0 950 706 28 0

Bem Hawthorn
Press