Lepus Melangell- A Commission in Honour of the Patron Saint of Hares

‘Lepus Melangell’ (© HatchBurnCarve). Carved from a 32 x 23.5 x 2 cm piece of reclaimed slate. The carved design incorporates the outline of the hare I’ve used on a number of occasions along with a stylised Carolingian cross (consisting of four interlinked triquetras) elongated and compressed to fit within the hare.

My customer also requested a rock art design based on constellations, specifically those around the Pole Star that they see from their garden. With this in mind, the carvings below the hare are based on Polaris (the North Star) with Ursa Major (the Plough or Big Dipper) and Cassiopeia. Once I’d carved the hare and removed the material around it with bull-nose chisels, I had the idea to stipple the entire area to provide more contrast, so thousands of small indents later….! I shared images of progress with my customer at each stage and, after applying gold enamel to the Carolingian cross, they suggested a silver enamel background to contrast this, represent moonlight and continue the night sky theme.

This commission was to reflect my customers love of hares as well as the shrine of St Melangell, near Llangynog in Powys. Melangell was a 7th Century saint who travelled from Ireland to live as a hermit at the site where her church now stands. According to legend, she rescued a hare that was being pursued by a pack of hounds and hid it in her cloak. Following this act of kindness, she became the patron saint of hares. As with many ancient shrines, the site of her church dates back thousands of years before Christianity came to this country. The church sits within a circular churchyard in the Berwyn Mountains, surrounded by 2000 year old yew trees encircling a site of Bronze Age burials.

Stepping Stones for Greener Peebles Community Garden and Scotland’s Year of Stories

Greener Peebles (in the Borders town of the same name) is a Scottish charity that offers over 2500 volunteering hours annually to all ages and all abilities. Through their community garden, they provide free food for all volunteers in addition to pick-your-own days for the whole community. Scotland’s Year of Stories was commemorated in 2022, a year in which stories from, or inspired by, Scotland are celebrated, written, created and read. Greener Peebles was one of the charities that have benefited from community funding and among the many events, they have created a permanent art trail in the garden.

When they approached me to ask if I would create three stepping stones for the garden, I was delighted! My stones form a cohesive link between the entrance to the garden and a piece carved from wood in the pine trees at the back (created by Nik Savage).

Stepping across the stones;

‘I Remember When…’

Towards the trees where you’ll find the wooden seat of the Story Swing and;

‘The sun rose through these pines again’

To create the stones I chose two large slabs of reclaimed Caithness flag stone. I wanted to use a stone that had a textured surface and working (a little) with Caithness stone before, I love the contrast between the natural muddy-brown surface and the almost obsidian or jet-like quality of the stone when it is worked and polished. Using my angle-grinder, I partly cut through the largest slab to form the ‘remember’ and ‘when’ stones, finally separating them using a claw chisel. I randomly ground and cut the edges of all three stone with my claw chisel and angle-grinder to give them a more ‘natural’ look and feel. Following this, I started sanding and polishing- from 80 grade with my Makita finishing sander, another two grades using this, then onto hand sanding with wet-and-dry paper down to 1200 grade.

The lettering I choose was based on the Book of Kells quill formations from the George Bain Celtic Art book. After drawing the individual letters and getting the visual spacing correct between each one, I transferred the words to the stone slabs using white carbon paper. I was finally ready to start carving and thoroughly enjoyed this. Much time was spent keeping my chisels sharp due to the hardness of Caithness stone These stones are really the first large V-cut lettering pieces I’ve done and despite the riven (uneven) surface, the hardness of Caithness stone and the letter style, my client and I were very pleased with the final result.

On site, the stones were aligned in respect to each other, trenches cut and levelled, and the bottom filled with a thick bed of Semi-dry mortar mix.

Oak and Slate Reliquary or Ashes Casket

This was commissioned by one of my regular customers in NYC. Made using oak with a carved slate lid inlay (14 x 9 x 9.3 cm). The slate was carved with the name in Elder Futhark runes along with a cup-and-ring/rock art design based on Aquila (the eagle) constellation.

I had an old 1940s jewellery box that belonged to my grandparents- it was beyond a state where it could be restored, though I saved the brass hinges for a special project and decided to use them for this magickal box. The other brass components (screws and hasp/staple) were bought new. After trying various solutions to age them (vinegar, bicarbonate of soda, etc.), the method I finally used was to soak them in Mr Muscle drain unblocker! I found that this gel produced a lovely deep patina on the brass within minutes.

I’d like to thank my friend Doug for his woodworking skills in helping me with the routing of the lid and ensuring an even thickness of the oak with his planer-thicknesser.

Relief Carved Elder Futhark Runes- An Enabling Set for Blind and Partially Sighted

In March 2022, I received an email asking if I would consider making a set of Elder Futhark runes for a person who is fully blind. They explained that the problem with using standard runes is they had to run their nail through each to interpret which one it was.

Working closely with my customer, we determined that the best option would be a relief carved rune on each of the 24 stones with a contrasting textured background.

I made this set using stones found at the confluence of two rivers in the Scottish Borders (the Leithen Water and River Tweed) that were collected in the liminal days between Yule and Hogmanay 2021. Each stone is around 4 to 5 cm and the surface of each rune was made smooth using wet and dry paper to provide a greater contrast in tactility against the ‘textured’ area. The feedback I received was wonderful and humbling “I don’t know how I can express my gratitude for these beautiful stones. I am blown away with the quality and the workmanship- I can feel every rune, every line and every swirl. Thank you again and again” It was an absolute pleasure working with this customer and being given the opportunity to create something enabling in this ableist society we live in.

I’ve been commissioned to make another set of these enabling runes and if you have difficulty using or reading standard sets, please email me (hatchburncarve@yahoo.co.uk) or use the contact form in the ‘About Me/Ordering Items’ section on this website.

Reclaimed Oak Key Fobs

A commission for a set of wooden key fobs for a house in France that I made from pieces of reclaimed oak (10 x 3.5 x 1.5 cm).

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I used 0.8 and 1.6 mm tungsten carbide burrs to carve the outlines and letter interiors before sanding and shaping the wood. The letters were painted with metallic copper 1-Shot enamel, areas of ‘over-painting’ sanded and the fobs were finished with beeswax.

Pictish Boar Wall Plaque Commission

As well as making the ‘Vinum Cibus Vitae’ plaque for The Lunesdale Arms in Lancashire, the owners also commissioned me to make a Pictish boar plaque to adorn the walls of the restuarant.

This was made using a large reclaimed roof tile (40 x 25 cm) complete with the original nail holes. The boar was freehand carved with 2.1 mm diamond ball burrs and enamelled with two coats of metallic gold 1-Shot (a professional enamel used by signwriters and makers of stone memorials).

Pictish Hound Plaque

I was commissioned to make one of my Pictish/Celtic hound plaques with the brief that the dog should be sleek and slim (like an Italian greyhound) had to include a triskele within the design.

Below is the finished piece (design strictly copyright HatchBurnCarve) – this was carved from a large reclaimed roof slate (40 x 25 cm), the carving enamelled using white 1-Shot and finally hand sanded and polished to give a high-sheen surface.

Labyrinth Plaques

These labyrinth plaques are based on the carving found at Rocky Valley in Cornwall. After many many years of longing to visit Cornwall, I finally visited the site in July 2013;

To make my labyrinth plaques, I start with piles of thick reclaimed roof slates, cutting 10 cm blank squares with my wet stone saw. Once these have dried, I smooth the surface with an angle grinder and sander. The labyrinth design is transferred to the slate and carved using 2.1 mm diamond burrs. After carving and washing, I apply two coats of monument/memorial enamel, leave this to cure for a number of days, then hand-polish the slate surface down to 1200 grade.

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As these are very popular with my customers, I try to keep a stock for sale- just follow this link to my Etsy shop.

I often make these as commissions in various sizes, such as this one below that I made for a customer in Germany;

Vinum Cibus Vitae

This sign was commissioned by the owner of The Lunesdale Arms, a restaurant/pub in Tunstall, Lancashire.

Made from a piece of reclaimed 1 cm thick slate, the final piece measured 60 x 9 cm. The motto ‘Vinum, Cibus, Vitae’ translates as ‘The Wine, The Food, The Life’.

Above is the starting material and the plaque on my easel just after finishing the lettering, and below is a close up of the finished piece.

Scottish Elder Futhark River Rune Stones

In the liminal, cold and misty days between Yule and Hogmanay 2020, my wife and I visited a large stony riverbank where the Leithen Water meets the River Tweed in the Scottish Borders. We carefully and respectfully collected a number of stones of sizes that would be suitable for runes.

Back in the workshop, I sorted sets of stones according to size and in preparation for carving. Each stone is then individually hand carved using various diamond burrs. I include a blank stone with each set which can be used, or not, depending on your view of this.

Once the sets have been carved and washed, I then make the bags from a stack of material we have and finish these with 2 mm green cord.

My customers have left some lovely comments about my runes;

“Absolutely how you want runes to be. Immaculate craftsmanship & amazing energy to the stones.”

“…exceptional quality.”

I usually have sets available to buy in my Etsy shop- just follow this link.