I received a request for a Celtic Cross as a memorial at home for his wife’s parents.

The straight lines and design elements presented a number of challenges for me.

My usual approach is to sketch a broad design – begin work and if the stone takes me in a different direction or requires something else – then so be it.

But I couldn’t do that with this. It required meticulous preparation in terms of measurements angles, width and depth, and proportion – before I even considered the design elements.

And there were a number of design elements requested…. A Celtic Knot, Roses, Fish hooks, Hearts, Paua, the colour turquoise, ….we managed everything except the colour.

I simplified the knot to allow room for the roses on the bottom. I joined the fish hooks to form hearts, and placed them on the circle. And we included the paua as a border around the plaque.

It's quite a large cross, as I wanted plenty of depth to allow for the design elements, and for it to be structurally robust.

After completing the knot and the roses, the plain circle looked quite striking and I called to suggest we leave it plain foregoing the hearts. He said ok, but the lilt in his voice said a lot more….so I added the hearts – and was glad I did.

The various depths, sharp lines and features create amazing shadow in the direct sunlight.

Thanks Steve for trusting me with this very heart warming project of yours.

 

 

Brett Keno
New Zealand Stone Carving Artist and Sculptor