Created and Sold by Jeffrey H Dean
Mountain Man with Raven - Wall Hangings
Price from $20,000 to $24,000
Creation: 6-8 weeks
Mountain Man with Raven
Fireplace mantle and pierced cherry relief of mountain man and raven. In 1991 I was asked to make a wall piece for the chimney wall in this Linville, NC home.
When seeing the beautiful stonework, my first impression was that I sure didn't want to cover it up. I gazed at it for a while and began to see an appropriate picture in the stonework. I made a full-sized rubbing of the wall to map the grout lines in the masonry.
Back in the studio, I overlaid it with a grid and reduced it to an 8.5″ x 14″ piece of paper on which I could do my design. After approval, I scoured the woods and fields along the mountain roads near our home in the Banner Elk, NC area and found a standing dead cherry tree. I cut it up, preserving the forked branches.
I cut it into forked boards with a homemade chainsaw lumbering jig and had them planed and kiln-dried. I drew the design on the original rubbing, marked the joints, and cut out patterns> I then glued them to the forked boards and cut them out with a jigsaw.
The joints were mitered and spline grooves cut. Parts were then clamped end to end, drilled, and pegged to lock the splines in place. All the edges were then sanded to a refined shape and oiled before fastening to the masonry.
From the owner:
'I met Jeff at Art in the Park in Blowing Rock. He had an impressive portfolio, and as I'd recently built a new home in Linville, I asked him to design a wall sculpture for the tall stone fireplace. He came by the house, and after discussing themes and commenting on the beautiful masonry job, he came up with a design that complimented the stonework rather than hiding it. It is a beautiful piece and was a special part of the house. I enjoyed it for many years, and now, 20 plus years later, the family that currently owns the house comments on it often.'
Fireplace mantle and pierced cherry relief of mountain man and raven. In 1991 I was asked to make a wall piece for the chimney wall in this Linville, NC home.
When seeing the beautiful stonework, my first impression was that I sure didn't want to cover it up. I gazed at it for a while and began to see an appropriate picture in the stonework. I made a full-sized rubbing of the wall to map the grout lines in the masonry.
Back in the studio, I overlaid it with a grid and reduced it to an 8.5″ x 14″ piece of paper on which I could do my design. After approval, I scoured the woods and fields along the mountain roads near our home in the Banner Elk, NC area and found a standing dead cherry tree. I cut it up, preserving the forked branches.
I cut it into forked boards with a homemade chainsaw lumbering jig and had them planed and kiln-dried. I drew the design on the original rubbing, marked the joints, and cut out patterns> I then glued them to the forked boards and cut them out with a jigsaw.
The joints were mitered and spline grooves cut. Parts were then clamped end to end, drilled, and pegged to lock the splines in place. All the edges were then sanded to a refined shape and oiled before fastening to the masonry.
From the owner:
'I met Jeff at Art in the Park in Blowing Rock. He had an impressive portfolio, and as I'd recently built a new home in Linville, I asked him to design a wall sculpture for the tall stone fireplace. He came by the house, and after discussing themes and commenting on the beautiful masonry job, he came up with a design that complimented the stonework rather than hiding it. It is a beautiful piece and was a special part of the house. I enjoyed it for many years, and now, 20 plus years later, the family that currently owns the house comments on it often.'
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