One really cool thing about being an artist who takes commissions is that I get to participate in the lives of the most interesting people. The projects they ask me to do for them are always deeply personal and often profound.
Earlier this year I received an email from a Catholic Priest who was soon to become the Bishop of Tuktoyaktuk, which is located in the Inuvik region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. He had seen that I had carved a Crozier for the Anglican Bishop of Victoria, and hoped I could carve one for him too.
What made this carving so interesting is that he had his own bit of heraldry that signified his specific calling or vocation as a Bishop. In Latin, the phrase is Veritas et Reconcilio, or Truth and Reconciliation, which we Canadians know from a Commission with the same name. The shield and symbol he had was unique and striking in its simplicity and style.
The broken heart is mended (see the Gospel of Luke, chapter 4, verse 18). The cross has a spear on one side , part of the ancient Roman method of crucifixion (shudder!). The other side has a stick with a sponge soaked in vinegar. This is mentioned by John in his Gospel, chapter 19, verse 19, in which he tells the reader that when Jesus said he was thirsty, the Roman soldiers offered him a sponge dipped in vinegar on a hyssop branch.
The top space of the shield symbolizes the northern ocean that Tuk sits on the shores of, while below it is land with a river flowing through it, which I assume is the Mackenzie River.
I chose a piece of wood that should last forever and handle the weather of the Canadian north: teak. I finished it with the best feeling finish ever – a blend of flax seed oil and beeswax.
My client, the Bishop, is happy because he said it was exactly what he had hoped it would be.
Which means I am happy too!
