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Celtic Carving | |||
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Because many people are familiar with the
art created by the Celts in Ireland in the first millennium AD, I call the
abstract knot-work and spiral carving "Celtic," but the sources are actually
broader and older. Sipenitsi Spiral, for example, was inspired by a
design on a pot found in the western Ukraine, dated to 3800 BCE. When
I am the right drifty mood on a grey and drizzly day, the flow of the
interlocking lines in many of the abstract pieces reaches across the
millennia to speak of a continuity of artistic impulse. The unbroken nature
of the lines symbolizes the continuity of the spirit throughout existence,
while the knots represent the ties that bind the soul to the earthly plane. Knot work is fun to carve and I'm learning more than I expected about Celtic history and spirituality in the process. I'll be carving the Book of Kells before I'm done. The latest development is taking a relief carving into full 3D, trialed at the 2005 Ridgway Rendezvous. Expect to be carving more of these pieces. | |||
| I started carving knot work when a builder used 4x4 timbers for my new porches--functional, up to code, and ugly. I thought about swapping them with 6x6s but then decided box columns would allow more flexibility. | |||
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Earlier Work (below) Newer Work | |||
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| View and detail of the boxed columns built for my kitchen porch. They were originally intended for the front porch but the carving got better with every board and so I used them on the side of the house. Of course, the column for the front haven't been completed yet, so I'm not sure I'm ahead. But they'll be better when I do... |
Hall closet door with relief carving. | ||
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| Obelisk
6' tall, about 12" square at the base. Pine, burned and finished with exterior oil. approx. 140#. |
Another view of the same carving. | Celtic Knot
Pine, burned and stained with colored oils. Although the particular knot in the picture has been sold, others are available. $75. |
Dragon 33" tall, about 9" deep. Pine, burned and stained with colored oils. $95.
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| Panel
Pine, burned and stained with colored oils. 48" x 12" x 1.5" Sold. |
Panel
Pine, burned and stained with colored oils. Sold. |
Obelisk 3' tall, about 9" square at the bottom of the carving, mounted on pressure-treated lumber base. Pine, burned and stained with colored oils. Donated to the JC Raulston Gala in the Garden auction, May 2004. |
Mailbox Obelisk
Carved for the Make-A-Wish/YMCA auction at the 2004 Ridgway Rendezvous. Burned and sanded; not finished because of cold weather
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Copyright ©2004 Karen Tiede. All rights reserved. No part of this website, including images and text, may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means, without permission. | |||
