Symbolism in cemeteries took center stage for Anita Shikles and an audience of two Saturday morning.
Shikles, whose art show “In The Garden,” opened Sunday in the Mary L. Martin Art Gallery of the Bowlus Fine Arts Center, spoke Saturday at an up close and personal workshop about cemetery art for Iolans Barbara Chalker Anderson and Pat Howerton.
Shikles is a Kansas City artist who specializes in — among other things — etching designs onto gravestones.
She spoke briefly about religious symbolism — hands rising up, for example, indicates a soul has risen to heaven; hands pointing down are a sign of God reaching down — before handing a few of her tools to Chalker Anderson and Howerton, who etched small granite tiles for themselves.
Shikles also spoke about life in the times of Egyptian kings and how units of measurement were based on who was in charge at the time.
Cubits — measuring devices used in ancient Egypt — were created by measuring the king’s arm from elbow to fingertip, and divided into digits by using the width of the king’s fingers.
Each time a king died, the cubits of that era were destroyed, Shikles said, and a new cubit was made with the measurements of the new king.
Egyptians didn’t dare use an old cubit. If caught, the punishment was death, Shikles said.
So accurate was the measuring system, Egypt’s Great Pyramids are within four inches of being perfect, Shikles said.
Her artwork will be on display at the Bowlus gallery through May 10.
Lessons in symbolism
