REALISATION, CUSTOM-MADE WOODCARVING AND ORNAMENTS. REPRODUCTION OF LIEGE STYLE FURNITURE AND HERALDIC SCULPTURES.
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Patrick Damiaens Heraldic Wood Carver ODINK Family, The Netherlands A Heraldic Family Coat of Arms carved in wood
Patrick Damiaens, Heraldic Wood Carver
Family coat of arms carved in wood
One of my specialties is the carving of Heraldic family coat of arms and Crests in wood.
To carve a family coat of arms in wood is a bit of a personal challenge for me.
Heraldry is a most interesting subject and I always look forward to taking on new
assignments involving heraldic Coat of Arms.
You learn about interesting people that captivate the imagination, all of whom
have their own fascinating life story or family history. And for me personally
it’s always nice to hear that my craftsmanship and quality are greatly
appreciated.
Every heraldic coat of arms is different. Most of the time, it starts with an
example that serves as a source of inspiration in the form of a drawing, an old
sketch or some photographic material delivered to me by the client.
In some cases it occurs that the design for the family coat of arms is not
entirely suited as the blueprint for the carving of it in wood.
This might be
due to the fact that the design is in a format which is a lot smaller than what
the client had in mind (e.g. a large heraldic panel), in which case the family
coat of arms has to be redesigned. If one were to simply enlarge the small
design, the proportions or the composition of the design would be distorted.
Usually
things have to be added to the composition in order to make better use of the
available space. It might also be that there is no logic to how the mantling
was arranged, and it’s entirely possible that the design was never meant to be
carried out in wood. After all, wood has its limitations.
It is equally important that the relief fits the dimensions of the coat of arms.
We always try to resolve these small and sometimes larger issues together with
the client.
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Odink Family
Much has been written and published
about various families named Odink. This pertains mainly to older families both
under the name Odink and Odinck. Characteristic of the fact that the name is
written in different ways is a charter from the 17th century, in
which an ancestor is and in which his surname was written in several different
ways.
The original seal is a house mark in the
shape of the letter V/Roman numeral 5 crossing another V/Roman numeral 5 adorned
with garlands on top and on both sides. Instead of a helmet, a crown is used on
top.
Paper heraldry
The seal stems from a period that’s also
known as “paper heraldry”. In the 17th and 18th century paper heraldry ushered
in a “decadent” period, where they would use contrived and twisted baroque and
rococo cartouches in shield shapes. Artists lost track of the proportions
between shield, crown, helmet and shield bearer and on the shield, they would
depict so many figures that the main characteristic of heraldry, recognition,
was lost.
House mark
A house mark is described by certain
writers as a hereditary family crest for people who weren’t of noble birth. The
ressemblance in shape to the old Germanic runes is striking, yet there is no
historical connection between the two; styllistically house marks are also
related to cuneiform script, but the ressemblance in both cases rest solely on
the necessity to use shapes that were easily carved or applied.
It is often assumed that people who used
house marks were illiterate. But when we take a closer look at Derk Odink (I)
and the time that he and his descendants lived in as well as the circumstances
they were in, and when we take into account the fact that they all used a seal
to stamp their charters, we can safely assume that they were in fact not illiterate.
It is believed that the house mark had
been around much longer, but there’s no way to be certain of this.
Registration
After one of the descendants of the
Odink family found the charter, signed by Derk Odink (III) on 12 February 1793,
the crest was registered according to the heraldry guidelines on 17 February
2012.
On November 22nd 2009 I posted my
first educational wood carving video on YouTube. The idea behind my YouTubechannel was to acquaint people with the art
of wood carving, traditional craftsmanship, and to highlight the wide and
diverse range of applications of ornamental woodcarving.
At first I was a bit skeptical about promoting
my work on YouTube. I wasn’t immediately convinced about the use and added
value of this “new medium”.
However, gradually this YouTube channel gained more
and more popularity across the globe.
Indeed, YouTube has proven to be a
valuable tool, which has enabled me to familiarize people with the métier of wood carving, and the
complexity of artisanal craftsmanship.
100.000 views on
Youtube
In August 2013 my first YouTube video reached
100.000 views, and needless to say I am very proud of that. As the contents of
my uploads are strictly of a explorative or educational, rather than of a
senseless mainstream nature, I am convinced that reaching 100.000 views is
quite an recognition.
This particular video shows the various stages
of carving a Family Crest in limewood. I truly enjoy the feedback, and going
through the viewer comments.
One of my specialties is the carving of Heraldic family coat of arms in wood.
To carve a family coat of arms in wood is a bit of a personal challenge for me.
Heraldry is a most interesting subject and I always look forward to taking on new
assignments involving heraldic arms.
You learn about interesting people that captivate the imagination, all of whom
have their own fascinating life story or family history. And for me personally
it’s always nice to hear that my craftsmanship and quality are greatly
appreciated.
Every heraldic coat of arms is different. Most of the time, it starts with an
example that serves as a source of inspiration in the form of a drawing, an old
sketch or some photographic material delivered to me by the client.
In some cases it occurs that the design for the family coat of arms is not
entirely suited as the blueprint for the carving of it in wood.
This might be
due to the fact that the design is in a format which is a lot smaller than what
the client had in mind (e.g. a large heraldic panel), in which case the family
coat of arms has to be redesigned. If one were to simply enlarge the small
design, the proportions or the composition of the design would be distorted.
Usually
things have to be added to the composition in order to make better use of the
available space. It might also be that there is no logic to how the mantling
was arranged, and it’s entirely possible that the design was never meant to be
carried out in wood. After all, wood has its limitations.
It is equally important that the relief fits the dimensions of the coat of arms.
We always try to resolve these small and sometimes larger issues together with
the client.
The Six family is originally a northern French family
whose descendants settled in Amsterdam around 1586. the latter was the father
of the Dutch lineage whose members in 1815 and 1841 were included in the Dutch
nobility.
The proven lineage begins with Guillaume Six, cloth dyer in Armentieres and
Lille (France). His son Charles, who lived in Saint-Omer settled after the fall
of Antwerp in 1586 in Amsterdam. Also there was the family active in the cloth
and silk weaving. In the 17th century the family became one of the most
important families of Amsterdam and are supplied the city many administrators
and mayors
The family distinguishes two family branches Oterleek and Hillegom, both
descended from Charles Six and named after the properties which came
later into possession of the family. In 1815, Mr.. Cornelis Charles Six
of Oterleek raised in the Dutch nobility, and he became in 1820 the title of
baron by birthright granted. In 1841, Mr.. Henry Six, of Hillegom, enlisted in
the Dutch nobility.
Several
family members were painted by Rembrandt. The name Six is an abbreviation of
Sixtus, a name given to the sixth child of a family.
Jan SIX painted by Rembrandt (1654)
The SIX Collection, Amsterdam Family Belongings, including family portraits, archive,
art, furniture and antiques have been placed in the Six Collection
(Amsterdam).
First we create
a detail drawing of the family coat of arms. The source of inspiration was an
old etching from the 19th century. Over the next few weeks, this
drawing/blueprint will serve as a reference for carving the heraldic weapon in
wood.(oak)
The drawing is redrawn on carbon paperandby a penis applied to thewood. (oak)
A router is used
to remove the wood around the drawing. A relief of 1.2 cm is created to carve
the heraldic coat of arms in (bas-relief).
The actualcarvingcan begin.
This stageis calledmodeling. Many years ofstudies andfull-timeexperienceare crucial.
Carving a family Coat of Arms
Because
of the modeling, the original drawing disappears. During
this stage, the drawing is reapplied on the rough shapes of the coat of arms
with the help of a marker or a pencil.
SIX Family Coat of Arms, Carved in wood , Amsterdam
Theornaments, heraldicdetails andcarvinggets itsproper height.Insight intothe depthsand the reliefof the ornament,and knowledge of themaximum depthof an ornamentare from greatimportance, as well asroutine andexperience in thisart form.The useofplaster modelsand imagescanalso be very helpfulin this stage.
Family Crest in wood
Coat
of ArmsSix: inbluetwoWassenaar, Dutch forenlarging of the Moon, accompaniedwith astar,allof them silver
Wassenaar =The enlargingmoon orcrescent isthe
moonshortly afternew moon.Wassenaar :the wordmeans'increase'. Fromthe northern hemisphere, istheilluminatedcrescent
moonon the right sideofthemoon.
Helmet partly steadily
at. Torse: silver and blue. Crest: the star of the shield.
Manteling: silver and
blue. Supporters: Left a silver horse, right beholding lion of natural color, red
tongue, both on a brown tournament lance, a banner under the shield, with
silver fringe and cords.
Arms Motto: STELLA DUCE (the star directed to Christ) in black letters on a white
ribbon.
