White Tara Mantra Wooden Sign

One of my regular customers asked me if I could carve wood. Although I’ve worked with wood in the past, I’d never carved lettering or symbols in this medium. However, this was the result.

This White Tara mantra was carved from a 92 x 16 x 2 cm piece of reclaimed mahogany. I mainly used 0.8 and 1.6 mm Foredom carbide burrs along with some old needle-point burrs (essentially worn down carbide burrs that are approximately 0.5 mm or less).

Once the mantra was carved, I applied two coats of yacht varnish to the wood. After this had fully cured, the symbols were enamelled with two coats of metallic gold 1-Shot. Following the curing of the enamel, I hand sanded the wood (down to 1200 grade) and the piece received a final coat of yacht varnish.

The Tam syllable design is used with kind permission from Tashi Mannox.

A Memorial for Magick the Horse

This piece involved the most carving to date, with a total of 91 letters and Tibetan syllables.

The 3 cm thick Brazilian slate slab was cut by the stone suppliers and measured 71 x 40 cm.

A quick image taken on my workshop bench just after the lettering outlines were finished;

After carving, I applied four coats of gold 1-Shot enamel. Once this was fully cured, I started the process of hand polishing the surface with finer and finer grades of wet and dry paper;

And finally, after a number of weeks, I travelled to Magick’s grave to place the memorial;

A Mani Stone for Nunhead Cemetery

This Mani stone commission was carved from a stone I found in my local river, the Leithen Water (a tributary of the River Tweed). It measures around 46 x 26 x 6 cm and weighs 13 Kg.

It was placed by my customer at the base of a memorial tree in Nunhead Cemetery in the London Borough of Southwark. Nunhead is one of the so-called ‘Magnificent Seven’ cemeteries in London (the others being Kensal Green, West Norwood, Highgate, Abney Park, Brompton and Tower Hamlets).

Hand Carved Mani Stone

A Mani stone commission from 2019.

Hand carved from a natural stone found in the sea off the coast of Cornwall (measuring approximately 24 x 15 x 5 cm).

Mani Stone with Tibetan Snow Lion

This Mani stone commission was carved from a stone I found in my local river (the Leithen Water in the Scottish Borders). I designed the Snow Lion with reference to the Tibetan national emblem. Measuring 46 x 28 x 6 cm and weighing 14 Kg, this was entirely hand carved using my Foredom power carver, and hammer and chisel.

The mantra outline was carved with 1 mm diamond burrs, continually spraying the stone with water during the power carving process.

After the mantra outline was completed, I carved around the syllables with my 6 mm Europ chisel and Tiranti Italian dummy mallet.

The Tibetan Snow Lion was carved using 0.8 mm and 1 mm Eternal Tools diamond ball burrs.

After the stone was washed, the Tibetan Snow Lion was carefully enamelled with gold 1-Shot using a Size 0 Lawrence Micro-Detail brush.

The completed piece.

New Etsy Shop Items

I’ve added many new items to my Etsy shop;

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/HatchBurnCarve

New stone stack pendants (handcrafted from stones found in rivers in the Scottish Borders) including this one from the Tima Water (a tributary of the Ettrick Water);

Click here to see all my stone pendants.

Green, brass and gold labyrinth plaques (approximately 10 cm squared). Freehand carved, polished and enamelled using professional monument/memorial enamel;

Click here to see all my slate tiles/wall plaques.

‘Leaping Salmon’ slate plaques/tiles (©HatchBurnCarve), again, approximately 10 cm squared;

Tibetan Buddhist Om stones;

Click here to see all my Buddhist/Sanskrit stones.

Elder Futhark Rune stones. Individually hand carved and enamelled with either red or copper monument/memorial enamel (supplied in a handmade bag);

Click here to see my Elder Futhark Rune stones.

‘Golden Bee’ slate wall plaques/tiles (©HatchBurnCarve), approximately 10 cm squared;

 

 

 

Hand Carved Mani Stones

A small selection of some recent Mani stones that I’ve been carving. These are hand carved in my workshop in the Scottish Borders from natural stones and sea stones (mantras range from approximately 19 to 25 cm).

I’m the only person in the UK who carves and sells Tibetan Buddhist mantra and syllable stones. I supply Kagyu Samye Ling (the largest Tibetan Buddhist centre in Western Europe) as well as Kagyu Samye Dzong in London and Santosa in Edinburgh.

If you would like me to carve a Tibetan Buddhist stone for you, just get in touch (I usually have a small selection of these in stock, or I can create one for you).

Om Ah Hung Slate Monoliths

These monoliths were cut, carved, enamelled and polished from 2.5 cm thick slabs of reclaimed building cladding. From start to finish, this was a project of intense concentration and precise measurements until their final installation in a garden in Devon.

The above image shows the three syllables chiselled out and in the process of adding relief ‘detailing’ with my Foredom.

The above image shows the Hung syllable after carving the ‘detailing’.

The Hung syllable after polishing and adding three coats of signwriters/monument enamel.

After carefully transporting the three stones over a journey of 400 miles, my wife and I spent around 10 hours digging the trench (in appalling ground conditions!) for the installation. Firstly, the plinths were assembled- these were pre-cut slate slabs and monoblocks adhered using CT-1 construction adhesive;

Once in place and all levels were correct, the trench was filled with concrete;

The ground was returned to the original state, wrappings removed and the stones unveiled;

Om Ah Hung Stones

Hand carved in the Scottish Borders from natural Cornish beach stones.

On sale at Kagyu Samye Dzong, London and also available to order direct from Hatch, Burn, Carve.

 

Tibetan Buddhist House Sign

Tibetan Buddhist house sign (24 x 14 cm). Hand cut, drilled and carved from 1 cm thick slate, and hand painted with gold enamel. Tam syllable design used with kind permission from Tashi Mannox.