Katrina drew this Scottish symbol up, placing the Thistle within a Braid of Eternity. Coop’s wood carving represents the eternal tenacity of the Scots!
There is a wood burned variation. Please be aware it will probably be created for you specifically, add an additional 7-10 days for production.
MEANING: There are a few myths of how the thistle became the savior of the Scottish. One of the stories was in a time when Vikings where invading land and plundering villages. During one dark and silent night, the Vikings were preparing for battle (by sneaking through the fields) while the Scottish clansmen lay resting under a starlit sky. To approach the Scots, without raising alarm and forewarning of their arrival, they chose to take off their shoes so that they could quietly move across the land.
Unfortunately, (for the Vikings) they did not know that the fields were home to thistles and when the Vikings stepped on the thistles the tough spikes of the thistles bore deep into their feet, causing the (brave...hurmph) men to cry out in pain and agony (like wee littles). Of course, these cries awoke the sleeping Scottish, who were able to fight off the advancing Vikings without much of a battle.
In the other version of the legend, it was Danes trying to sneak up on a castle and a moat full of thistle...the hopping about and crying like wee bairns part is the same <grin>, and once again...a Scottish victory.
Either way, being such a wonderful defense against barefooted barbarians was definitely a good enough reason to make it a national emblem. In addition, it also bares characteristics to the Scottish, such as their toughness and not being able to uproot them from their land without a fight.
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 laser’s, 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 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 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.
SIZE: 7 Inches high by 8.25 inches wide.
