Latest news with #carving
BBC News
2 days ago
- General
- BBC News
A mystery carving in a Sussex church which could depict chastity
A historian believes he has discovered the identity of a mystery carving of an animal inside a medieval church in East documents at 14th Century St Andrew's Church in Alfriston record the stone artwork to be a dog biting its tail, but the curled up creature has sparked debate for many carving's true meaning has remained uncertain for some time, adding to the church's rich tapestry of folklore and mystery. But Kevin Gordon, a local historian, says he is now convinced it is a "medieval Christian symbol representing self-sacrifice and chastity", depicting a beaver biting off its own testicles. The carving is to the left of the altar in the medieval church, close to another believed to represent Lewinna, the only female saint from Gordon said: "I was showing a group around and a woman said to me 'that's not a dog, it's a beaver biting its testicles off'."She explained to me that in Christian art a beaver represents self-sacrifice and chastity."He added: "In medieval times people used to catch the beaver for the medicine that was inside its testicles."People believed that if a beaver thought it was going to get caught it would bite its testicles off to escape."I think that's a far better explanation of this creature than Saint Lewinna's dog."I have found plenty of references in medieval manuscripts which show beavers in exactly the same style as the one depicted at Alfriston." In 2024, Mr Gordon persuaded one of the top beaver experts in the country, Derek Gow, to visit the church."He looked at the figure and confirmed it was in fact a beaver and not a dog."The medieval church draws in tourists from all over the world. Mr Gordon believes it is important that people know the truth about its contents. "People coming into the church should be informed about what it is they are seeing."Dogs may be a faithful companion to people, but in Christian art it's the beaver which represents Christian values."
RNZ News
3 days ago
- General
- RNZ News
Lifting the tapu: Maori women who carve
It's commonly assumed that Māori women don't carve. Carving is a tapu occupation with its own tikanga and ritual. Women have often not been allowed to be present while a carver is working. It's a practice that continues on some building sites today. But tikanga varies and changes. The binary gender division with carving has often been broken. Last century, male mastercarvers like Pineāmine Taepa, Cliff Whiting and Paki Harrison taught women in toi whakairo, and women carvers have been written about by everyone from Sir Apriana Ngata to more recently art historian Ngaarino Ellis. But that doesn't mean it's easy. A new collective of wāhine Māori carvers, Te Ana o Hine , is creating a safe environment to support women who want to learn the craft. Te Ana o Hine - which can be translated as the cave of Hine - have recently established a carving studio with Tāmaki Makaurau art gallery Te Tuhi. Today Mark is joined by one of Te Ana o Hine's members, artist and curator Holly Tawhiao. Of Ngāti Tīpa, and Tainui descent, she is a Elam fine arts and Museum studies graduate. Known as a cultural advocate for Hamilton, she joins us from from the Kirikiriroa studio.
CTV News
23-07-2025
- General
- CTV News
First Nations carver to restore five sentimental totems
Vancouver Watch First Nations carver Bear Horne is restoring five totems he originally worked on with his father in Vancouver Island's Brentwood Bay.
CBC
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Her ancestors were carvers, but she's never seen some of their works in person — until now
Last year, Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw artist Lou-ann Ika'wega Neel decided to get serious about teaching herself to carve. "My hands have always wanted to carve, but my mind kept getting in the way. And other people's opinions and thoughts about it kept getting in my way. And now, I don't care. I want to carve. I need to carve," she says in the video above. Neel's great-great-grandfather Charlie Yakuglas James was a well-respected and much-commissioned artist of his era. Many of his iconic works can be seen in museum collections around the world. Her grandmother Ellen Kakasolas Neel was a professional carver who received totem pole commissions from around the world. In this video, Neel visits the Museum of Anthropology at UBC and the Museum of Vancouver to get up close and personal with some of her ancestors' works. "I get so emotional around these pieces because I didn't get to meet my grandparents, and it's like I am getting to spend really quality time with them, knowing that their hands were all over this. I just really feel their energy," she says.
Forbes
01-06-2025
- General
- Forbes
This New Zealand Artist Sculpts Animals From Layers Of Paint
Hannah Jensen Fox, Unbroken - Camargue Horses, 2018, 51 layers (24 liters) of carved acrylic paint, 2600 x 1800 mm Hannah Jensen Fox has carved a niche for herself – literally – by transforming layers of acrylic paint into breathtaking works of art. Drawing from her background in printmaking, she applies up to 80 layers of paint onto custom-made boards and canvases, then meticulously carves through them to reveal intricate images inspired by flora and fauna. This unique technique, developed during her time at Auckland University of Technology, results in textured, topographical pieces that celebrate the beauty of the natural world. From life-size animal portraits to delicate botanical studies, her work captures the essence of wildlife with remarkable depth and detail, as she pushes the boundaries of her medium. She shares the intricacies of her work process. What are the greatest challenges you face when creating your artworks? Self-doubt. I may be a positive person who is often viewed with endless energy, but I too have times when it all feels too much and I'm overloaded with work, trying to be the one-woman band running a business and keeping up with life. Allowing myself to be honest with my clients about what is going on and asking for more time, if needed, is the best way I can manage my workload. I am human after all. Hannah Jensen Fox, Kowhai, 2020, 43 layers of carved acrylic paint, 200-mm diameter board How many projects you work on at any one time and how many artworks do you make per year? Over three years, I can do a total of 200 commissioned works for clients all around the world. I also take a break from commissioned work to concentrate on my own works. It is an ebb and flow of concentrating on my own ideas and then opening up for commissioned works. When I am open for commissions, there is often an influx so I ride that wave. But while I finish the last few commissions, I am layering up the next boards for my ideas to follow. When did you move to Christchurch, why do you choose to live and work there, and what have you been able to achieve there that you wouldn't have been able to anywhere else? I moved to Christchurch in November 2018. I moved to be with the love of my life. My divine soulmate was born and bred in Christchurch, and I joined him there to adventure the beautiful South Island of New Zealand, after spending the previous 32 years in the North Island. It's a bit cooler down here, but mainly it's a quieter life that I surely prefer from the busy city of Auckland. Hannah Jensen Fox, Adaptation - Polar Bear, 2018, 43 layers (12 liters) of carved acrylic paint, 1900 x 1400 mm board What was a memorable project you worked on? One of my passion projects were two huge carvings: one of a rhino carved with blue-and-white china patterns, bringing into conversation the heartbreaking trade of rhino horn to China, and a whale work carved of flowers, a memorial to our dying oceans. 62 liters of paint were layered for these two works. The rhino is 3.3 meters long with 28 liters of paint layered and the whale is 3.6 meters long with 34 liters of paint layered. They are both made up of smaller panels so I could easily handle each piece, and then they are hung altogether. What do you feel is the role of the artist in society? To bring joy, to share stories, to challenge, stretch and push boundaries. A visual voice of history unfolding. What do you hope to achieve or what message do you hope to convey through your art at the end of the day? Mostly I want to bring a sense of joy through my work and how I share it. Sometimes my works have a sad story to go with them. I can only hope they spark some inspiration for the viewer to make changes in their day-to-day lives for more sustainable and healthier choices.
