Sunday, Sept 22 2024

Gothic Candle Stand - Woodworkers Institute

By A Mystery Man Writer

Gothic Candle Stand Much as I like making thin and delicate carvings in limewood (Tilia vulgaris), it makes a refreshing change occasionally to carve a block of solid oak (QuercusRead More
Gothic Candle Stand Much as I like making thin and delicate carvings in limewood (Tilia vulgaris), it makes a refreshing change occasionally to carve a block of solid oak (Quercus robur) into something heavy, dark and Gothic. As most Gothic carving was done for churches and cathedrals we usually need to adapt the style for domestic use, so I have created this candle stand inspired by the roof bosses found at the junctions of the ribs in a Gothic vaulted ceiling. The Gothic style (see panel, right) uses a wide range of decorative features and medieval carvers rarely made two bosses the same. But despite this wide variation there is an unmistakeable style that distinguishes Medieval Gothic. It is based mainly around stylised plant forms depicted in a fluid and organic style known, somewhat paradoxically, as ‘stiff-leaf’. Although it is indeed ‘stiff’ because it is carved in wood or stone, the effect is of an organic growth creeping along a frieze or wrapping around a boss or capital. This is the look I have gone for with this design. Each…