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;

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.