Green Man - macrocarpa.
I have carved many green men, one was a copy of and old French one, but all others are just figments of my imagination. There are many thoughts on what this ancient symbol means. He appears in many forms around the world - sometimes called a 'foliate head'. He comes from a time when humans regarded themselves as part of the natural world, rather than the later idea that nature was provided as a resource for us to use. I like the idea that he reminds us that we are part of the natural world, and that we disregard that at our peril. This green man has 3 cheeky birds hiding in the foliage, and it looks like one has knocked one of the acorns out of its cup. He is finished with a sealer, such that you can stroke him as much as you want without discolouring the wood. It also prevents that grubbiness that a dust build up can cause. I have recently dabbled with colouring with wax, and on this piece the green is only used on the leaves, with a gold highlight to pick out the tool marks. |