Wednesday, April 06, 2011

Offa's Spirit


This guy is carved from a piece of wood salvaged from Knighton in Powys while on holiday recently. Outside of the cottage we stayed in some kind tree surgeons cut down some trees and left some wonderful pieces for a carver like me.

For the uninitiated Knighton is situated on the Powys and Shropshire border. Offa's Dyke runs through Knighton and is home to the Offa's Dyke Centre.



Its a large wall hanging piece that offers an imposing presence to any room.


He stands 16" tall and 10" across the span of the forks. The carving itself is 7 1/2" including hair and the face spans the thickness of the trunk at 2 1/2" wide

He is carved from green wood and wont be completely dry for a while yet. Ive left him unfinished to aid the drying out process. Perversely I hope splits and shakes embellish this carving as it dries


The pyrography links this piece to Celtic times through the symbolism here

The image is of two Hawks demonstrating freedom and success


I love the detail that emerged from this carving, the stain highlighting the hair and features. I use a light oak Danish oil to finish


The face is strong and noble


A sturdy wire is attached to hang the carving from


This image in the picture above, again pyrography, is a favourite of mine and links to heraldic imagery.
The photo below shows the piece from the back


One of three carvings done so far. more to come soon.

Your comments as always are welcome

Regards Dave

2 comments:

ChuckT said...

Wonderful as always. LOVE your use of runes, celtic symbols, etc. What sort of woodburner & tips do you use. I'd like to try some of this. Really nice work.

Woodwosecarving said...

Hi Chuck thanks for the comments. The pyrography machine I use is a Peter Child hot wire machine have a look at this blog artonwood.co.uk/
The best machine I've used and so versatile. You can make your own wire tips and spoons to create great images.