Way back in the early 1990's, when we first started making things from copper, this angel came into being...
I drew it out on heavy cardboard and traced it onto the copper... John cut each one out with hand shears.. till his fingers bled, I'm sorry to say... copper edges are sharp and not the easiest to manipulate around all those ins and outs and corners... then they were hammered and the edges smoothed...
We made quite a few... She took care of our whole family for a while... with the sales of her sisters... they fed us... they clothed us... and kept us warm... this is the only one we have left now... and all of those earlier memories are inside her...
We developed a method... to suit ourselves... of patinating copper... to bring out its beautiful verdigris... as you often see in old church roofs... with glimpses of its original color still visible...
...the variations were always different ... always a surprise...
I still find it one of the most beautiful surfaces...
At that time... in our never ending searches for old interesting things, we stumbled across an old church that had collapsed with age and neglect.... long years earlier...
...from this site, we were able to salvage some beautiful weathered wood.. protected under other debris... still sound...and solid... with the grains showing the strength of differing growing seasons, when the tree had more sustenance...
We used portions of this beautiful wood for the bases.. they suited each other perfectly...
We came across this book with its wealth of information on Angels... almost anything, in writing and illustration, you would ever want to know on the subject, I would say... in great detail...
Angels have a reputation as being Divine Messengers... most often they are envisioned as a winged being in Human form... existing as such in the beliefs of the ancient Sumerians, Babylonians, Egyptians, Greeks and Romans.... They are also present in Hinduism and Islam...
In Christian tradition, Angels are spiritual beings... created to act as intermediaries between Heaven and Hell.... what ever you perceive these to be...
and not to forget, the Archangels who are said to protect against Demons...
... connected to Angels are Halos... Scrolls... Cupids... and Musical Instruments...
They say there are Angels to watch over almost everything.... The Moon... The Four Seasons... The Planets... The Hours of the day... The Days of the Week and so forth...
Although to balance things out, under the leadership of the Archangels are the Angels of Punishment... who rule over the Seven Divisions of Hell... again, whatever you imagine that to be...
Particular angels are assigned attributes, such as...
Michael..... the Sword for Judgement
Raphael... a Pilgrim's Staff symbolizing Protection...
Uriel...a Book for Wisdom
and Gabriel... a Lily for Mercy...
There is even an Angel's Alphabet........ an Angelic Script...
... most often... innocence, kindness and beauty are associated with the Virtues of Angels....
...a small copper verdigris Star we made at the time... I love the combination of the two textures...
Many believe Mortals have Guardian Angels to protect them through life...
May you be watched over... wherever you are... whether you believe or not....
I am merely the teller...
.... first two masterly illustrations are by William Morris from his book "The Kelmscott Chaucer"
...."The Four Angels of the Winds" by Durer... "The Angelic Script" and the small woodcut... taken from "A Dictionary of Angels"...
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