Welcome to my Blog
This is a place where the visitors are confronted with their search for a personal touch and where they have an opportunity to get acquainted with a skilled expert, who has turned durability and tradition into a personal passion.
I hope this will become a valued and rich source of inspiration and knowledge. Please Leave comments and enjoy your visit. Please note text and pictures on this blog are Copyright protected.

Saturday 10 August 2013

HERALDIC WOODCARVING | A Family Coat of Arms carved in wood | 100.000 views on YouTube


 Family Coat of arms 
Carved in Wood



“Heraldic wood carving”

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.

 Thanks!

Heraldic woodcarver Patrick Damiaens


100 000 views on Youtube
Heraldic Woodcarving



https://www.patrickdamiaens.info

Translation, Koen Verhees

Thursday 8 August 2013

The BOLAND Family | Crest carved in wood | Family CREST carved on wooden panel | Custom-made



Patrick Damiaens
Heraldic Woodcarver

Heraldic Coat of Arms carved in wood 

BOLAND Family , Netherlands













Boland
The Boland family and the village of Dinxperlo

Nothing is known for sure when it comes to the meaning and the origin of the name Boland. It isn’t one of the oldest family names of the village of Dinxperlo (on the border with Germany). It wasn’t until around the year 1600 that the name Boland first appeared in Dinxperlo. 
The origin most likely lies just across the border with Germany, in and around Bocholt (DE), where it is still a widely spread name. The various forms of spelling of the name are a consequence of the fact that most of the people back then didn’t know how to read or write. The person drafting a deed decided how to spell the name and it was therefore common to write it down the way that it was pronounced at that time. 
A number of variations I’ve encountered so far, are: Bolant(s), Booland(s), Boeland… Bohland is a very common variation in Germany. 
The name Bo-land consists of two parts, of which the second part “land" is widely used on an international level. This might be the very reason that this name is commonly found outside of the Netherlands as well. 
The international character of the name Boland is further emphasized by its use as a toponym throughout northern and western Europe and even beyond Europe.
Does the name in fact have something to do with “land” or “soil” used for a certain purpose? Isn’t it quite striking that the Old Dutch word for farmland “boulant” strongly resembles “boelant” and couldn’t “Bolant” easily be a derivative thereof?
Another possible explanation can be found in the words “vaste grond” (solid ground). The Norwegian-Swedish word “bo” means: established - be housed – reside – live in. In other words, to have a “vaste plaats” (a place of one’s own). Boland, a place of one’s own? In Africa Boland means “hoge land” (high land). In short, it’s anybody’s guess.

With thanks to M W Boland


Carving a heraldic Family crest in wood
Boland Family 

Tree transplanting man, fam Boland line 1









 
 
The heraldic design, Boland Family


 












Carving the heraldic coat of arms in wood


 









 
The BOLAND Family Coat of Arms Carved in wood

The Boland Family

https://www.patrickdamiaens.info


Tuesday 6 August 2013

The Castle of GAASBEEK | The Neo-Gothik and Renaissance style | Neo-style Interiors and Architectural Carving | A Belgian Castle

 
Main entrance,  Castle of Gaasbeek


The Castle of Gaasbeek, Belgium

Visiting Museums and Castles is Probably the main source of inspiration for the Ornamental Woodcarver.
These are places where the craftsman gets his ideas, he is looking for new challenges and always new unexpected surprises, and even after 25 years still feels something new to learn.


E
xploring and studying ,looking at problems and how your colleagues 300 years ago solved them, their knowledge of  tasteful proportions used in the interior decoration and their knowledge of carving techniques.




Historical background

Gaasbeek Castle is located just outside Brussels amidst the gently rolling hills of the Pajottenland. The medieval castle had an eventful past and evolved from a strategic stronghold into a spacious country house. One if its most famous owners was the Count of Egmond. The current building was redesigned in Romantic style at the end of the 19th century thanks to the eccentric Marquise Arconati Visconti .
She decorated the castle as a museum to house her vast art collection and played it like a historical theatre setting. The dream castle which was created at the time is still a bit of a time machine. You can wander through historicising interiors and discover tapestries, paintings, furniture, sculptures and other valuable objects.



 
































 
































More about the building

The first fortified stronghold was constructed in the mid-13th century to protect Brabant against invasions from Flanders and Hainault, but it was destroyed in 1388. The reconstruction, a few external walls of which can still be seen, took two centuries. During the first quarter of the 17th century, Renaat van Renesse ordered the construction of a French garden, a baroque pavilion and a chapel in the grounds. 
In 1695 a wing of the castle was shot to pieces by Louis XIV's troops. From 1887 to 1897 the castle was thoroughly restored in Romantic revival style and has survived in this form to the present day. Marquise Arconati Visconti employed the architect Charle Albert for the reconstruction work. This is how the current dream castle came into being. Today, it is, with reason, referred to as the 'Pierrefonds of Flanders'. 
The building and its historicising interiors together form an exceptional example of how different styles were conceived at the time; the interior was entirely redesigned into a meticulously planned Gesamtkunstwerk. The interiors offer a sampling of architectural revivals, from Gothic Revival, to Renaissance Revival to Rococo Revival.
































In 1921, the last owner of the castle grounds, Marquise Arconati Visconti bequeathed the estate with the castle and its entire contents to the Belgian state. Three years later the castle was opened to the public as a museum, as laid down by will. During the 1980 state reform the castle grounds were transferred to the Flemish Community.









Art treasures
The collection contains the historic household effects as bequeathed by Marquise Arconati Visconti. The heart of the collection dates back to the Scockaert de Tirimont family and remained in the family by inheritance. However, most of the collection was purchased by the Marquise who intended to turn the castle into a museum of the Renaissance. 
The pieces she obtained therefore date mainly from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
The collection consists of about 1,500 objects. Apart from paintings and sculptures it includes tapestries, furniture, ceramics, silversmith's art 





 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Neo Renaissance Style

 

 

Visiting

Opening times and prices

Opening hours

The castle is open from 31 March 2013 through 3 November 2013, every day except Mondays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (last admission at 5 p.m.). Open on public holidays!

Admission fees

Standard: € 8
Visits to the castle take place with an audio-guide and under the supervision of a member of our museum staff. Castle visits thus take place in group. The visit takes about 1 hour.

Website: http://www.kasteelvangaasbeek.be






https://www.patrickdamiaens.info