--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had stopped making figures, and then I…" description: "\"I had stopped making figures, and then I began making images of animals in nature, which was a way to introduce the figure.\" — Kiki Smith" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea6/kiki-smith-10643_animal_i-had-stopped-making-figures-and-then-i_2081233.jpg" --- # I had stopped making figures, and then I began making… ![“I had stopped making figures, and then I began making images of animals in nature, which was a way to introduce the figure.” quote by Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea6/kiki-smith-10643_animal_i-had-stopped-making-figures-and-then-i_2081233.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea6/kiki-smith-10643_animal_i-had-stopped-making-figures-and-then-i_2081233.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea6/kiki-smith-10643_animal_i-had-stopped-making-figures-and-then-i_2081233.jpg) > “I had stopped making figures, and then I began making images of animals in nature, which was a way to introduce the figure.” [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Shifting from drawing figures to depicting animals helped integrate the human form into natural contexts. **In simple terms:** Moving from human shapes to animals blends art with nature. Key Takeaway Use animal motifs to explore human themes. Themes art nature transformation Mood inspired thoughtful Type artistic conceptual When to use this quote - art education - illustration - studio practice Key Concepts figure drawing animal imagery creative process Questions to Reflect On - Why choose animals over figures? - How does nature influence your art? A Different Perspective The approach may not suit all artistic styles. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Animals in nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals-in-nature/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) ## Related quotes > [I began MAKING changes in my life. Not being content with what changes life MADE in me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-began-making-changes-in-my-life-not-being-content-with-what-changes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Many things that human words have upset are set at rest again by the silence of animals. Animals move through the world like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-picard/many-things-that-human-words-have-upset-are-set-at-rest-again-by-the/) [Max Picard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-picard/) > [I was very into animals and nature, and really obsessed with cats and monkeys. I used to play in the woods, wander off into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tig-notaro/i-was-very-into-animals-and-nature-and-really-obsessed-with-cats-and/) [Tig Notaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tig-notaro/) > [“For the animals in nature, everywhere is their houses! When we touch anywhere in nature, we must know that we knock their doors!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/for-the-animals-in-nature-everywhere-is-their-houses-when-we-touch/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I think I have a lot of empathy for animals and nature in general. Those things just make me comfortable. I grew up in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neko-case/i-think-i-have-a-lot-of-empathy-for-animals-and-nature-in-general/) [Neko Case](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neko-case/) > [“That’s what nature teaches you: the inescapable cycle of birth, life, death. We are part of it, like the plants, and the animals. Nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-rthe-binkert/that-s-what-nature-teaches-you-the-inescapable-cycle-of-birth-life/) [Dörthe Binkert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-rthe-binkert/) > [When we return wild animals to nature, we merely return them to what is already theirs. For man cannot give wild animals freedom, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-yves-cousteau/when-we-return-wild-animals-to-nature-we-merely-return-them-to-what/) [Jacques Yves Cousteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-yves-cousteau/) > [The policy of man consists, at first, in endeavoring to arrive at a state equal to that of animals, whom nature has furnished with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/the-policy-of-man-consists-at-first-in-endeavoring-to-arrive-at-a/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [“Animals are by nature while Humans are by thought”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/waqas-haider/animals-are-by-nature-while-humans-are-by-thought/) Waqas Haider > [“Those of us who are in tune with nature and animals know it is our way of life, Bram. There is a connection to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-helfer/those-of-us-who-are-in-tune-with-nature-and-animals-know-it-is-our/) [Ralph Helfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-helfer/) > [My best source of grounding are animals and nature. Animals live more in the moment and don't worry so much! And nature is proof…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-bauer-van-straten/my-best-source-of-grounding-are-animals-and-nature-animals-live-more/) [Kristin Bauer van Straten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-bauer-van-straten/) > [I enjoy animals. Their nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-jokic/i-enjoy-animals-their-nature/) [Nikola Jokic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-jokic/) > [Everybody loves animals, but there is this special bond that few people have with animals and with nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-banerjee/everybody-loves-animals-but-there-is-this-special-bond-that-few/) [Abhishek Banerjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-banerjee/) > [The purpose of life is to stay alive. Watch any animal in nature--all it tries to do is stay alive. It doesn't care about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/the-purpose-of-life-is-to-stay-alive-watch-any-animal-in-nature-all/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [While cares will drop off like autumn leaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/while-cares-will-drop-off-like-autumn-leaves/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) ## More by Kiki Smith > [ It was a very economically depressed time \[the 80s\] and because of that, there was a lot of space. Everything was relatively dilapidated, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/it-was-a-very-economically-depressed-time-the-80s-and-because-of-that/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [I first had no interest in figuration whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/i-first-had-no-interest-in-figuration-whatsoever/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [I got into animals by drawing hair follicles. I liked drawing hair, and from that I got into feathers and fur, then into images…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/i-got-into-animals-by-drawing-hair-follicles-i-liked-drawing-hair-and/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [Artists live in unknown spaces and give themselves over to following something unknown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/artists-live-in-unknown-spaces-and-give-themselves-over-to-following/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [We as beings are very contradictory, complicated creatures that work in our best interest and against our best interest. In a certain way, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/we-as-beings-are-very-contradictory-complicated-creatures-that-work/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [I think that sense of always traveling has something to do with anonymity and privacy and pleasure in having a very clear, very reductive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/i-think-that-sense-of-always-traveling-has-something-to-do-with/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [Art is a reflection of everything that impacts your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/art-is-a-reflection-of-everything-that-impacts-your-life/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [I didn't start to be an artist myself until I was 24.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/i-didn-t-start-to-be-an-artist-myself-until-i-was-24/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [When you get older, you're running out of time. You care more about trying to stay on the planet a little longer, so you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/when-you-get-older-you-re-running-out-of-time-you-care-more-about/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [You start with a generic body, but I think the first wall you hit with portraiture is comprised of history and storytelling and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/you-start-with-a-generic-body-but-i-think-the-first-wall-you-hit-with/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [I'm not moving from an ideological standpoint. Sometimes I'm trying to make my life better. Sometimes I'm trying to make my life worse! I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/i-m-not-moving-from-an-ideological-standpoint-sometimes-i-m-trying-to/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [My work life makes much less sense now than 20 years ago. It's Humpty-Dumpty-like in a way; I can't put the pieces back together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/my-work-life-makes-much-less-sense-now-than-20-years-ago-it-s-humpty/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [Prints mimic what we are as humans: we are all the same and yet every one is different. I think there's a spiritual power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/prints-mimic-what-we-are-as-humans-we-are-all-the-same-and-yet-every/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [I think that objects have memories. I’m always thinking that I’ll go to the museum and see something and have a big memory about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/i-think-that-objects-have-memories-i-m-always-thinking-that-i-ll-go/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [Sometimes your personal life is much more significant. Sometimes your work life is more significant. Friends and family, or sometimes the general population, take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/sometimes-your-personal-life-is-much-more-significant-sometimes-your/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) [Explore all 64 Kiki Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) Mak\_786 > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/) [Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/) [Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I had stopped making figures, and then I began making images of animals in nature, which was a way to introduce the figure.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kiki Smith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/i-had-stopped-making-figures-and-then-i-began-making-images-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/i-had-stopped-making-figures-and-then-i-began-making-images-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea6/kiki-smith-10643_animal_i-had-stopped-making-figures-and-then-i_2081233.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea6/kiki-smith-10643_animal_i-had-stopped-making-figures-and-then-i_2081233.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea6/kiki-smith-10643_animal_i-had-stopped-making-figures-and-then-i_2081233.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I had stopped making figures, and then I began making images of animals in nature, which was a way to…” — Kiki Smith", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Kiki Smith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I had stopped making figures, and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/i-had-stopped-making-figures-and-then-i-began-making-images-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/i-had-stopped-making-figures-and-then-i-began-making-images-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```