MEANING: What is peace symbol origin? The symbol of peace is formed from the semaphore for "N" and "D" for Nuclear Disarmament. In the 1950's the anti-nuclear movement saw the silhouette of a B-52 bomber in the symbol. Later taken up by the Anti-war activists during the Viet Nam era peace movement, and recently re-invoked: Peace! Coop likes to tell people at the shows, “I have been carving peace signs for 45 years. First they thought I was Hip! Then they said I was nostalgic. Then, they called me camp...but guess what? I’m Hip again!”
SIZE: The Full size is cut as large as we can from one board... usually 10 to 10.5 inches. The Medium size is based on an 8 to 8.5-inch circle. The Miniatures vary 'cause we don't want Coop to get bored! He does them anywhere from about 3 inches to 6 inches. The miniatures are too narrow to keyhole so they will have eye screws and string. If you need a specific size...or a no bigger than size...let us know when you order.
THE CARVING:
Our carvings are single pieces of western red cedar, designed and carved to be wall hangings. Each carving begins as a 1 X 12-inch cedar board. While we use power tools (Scroll Saw, Rotary shaft Tool, handheld detail sanders, etc.), we use no lasers, CNC machines or computer-operated cutting machines. All work is done with our hands and eyes…
We cut the 2-dimensional blanks with scroll and jig saws (double-sized custom orders have to be cut with a jigsaw). Carving is done with rotary shaft tools and disc grinders. The 80-grit sanding is the final phase of the carving process, removing the nicks and gouges from the carving tools, and finishes the shaping of the weave. The next 2 sandings with 120 and then 220 grit finishes the smoothing and polishing. They are finished with Clear Danish Oil to seal the piece, bringing out the grain and the color.
