Míle
bliain ag fás
Na mílte bliain ar lár
is ansin dá bharr
na seoda donna cláir
C O Háinle
Celtic Roots have adopted this Irish saying to describe the beauty and history associated with bogwood which
has been hidden in Irish bogs for over 4000 years and which has now come into
our hands to be transformed into individually sculptured pieces.
Loosely translated, it means;
One thousand years standing, thousands of years laid low, and then, at last,
the brown timber treasures....
We appreciate
the beauty of the Irish landscape, the people and the culture. We use
naturalmaterials found in Ireland, hand crafting each piece. We develop
unique precious gifts.
The carvings we create in the Celtic Roots studio draw on the attractive, credible
and relevant aspects of Ireland, in particular the midlands of Ireland, its people
and their culture to develop a distinctive personality for our work.
Everything we do is clear and simple focusing on three core aspects:-
• The symbol of Ireland as a country
• The symbol of Irish craft
• The distinctive and important product attribute of ancient bog wood.
We are
true to ourselves, and our craft by always being…
Passionate - Passionate and as proud as the land, deep as the bogs and lakes.
Mysterious as the silvery mist and as mellow as the light. Soft and soothing
as the rain and water. Immeasurable as the proud standing stones and as old as
time itself. Full of energy in the sounds all around us. Colourful
as the mosaic landscape. Our pieces bring together past and present Ireland.
Elegance
in its most pure and honest form is at the very heart of all the pieces
we make. Our artists use the lines and elegant shapes of the Irish
landscape as well as the fluid lines of the flowing water and the soft
and natural
colours of the landscape's rich palette.
Nothing can match
the precious nature of something so natural and ancient and steeped in history
as our pieces. Each piece is individually handcrafted from a unique piece of
ancient material.
The Celtic
Roots symbol has been carefully considered and created to capture the
elegant, precious and passionate qualities of Celtic Roots. The symbol
has been hand drawn to produce a clean, quality handcrafted result.
It is reminiscent of a 'wood curl' which represents the natural and
traditional nature of what we do. Each sculpture carries the marque
on the underside of each piece.
Click Map for Larger View
The
Celtic Roots studio is a co-operative company, representing our own
young artists, who create sculptures and unique gifts in bogwood. We
have completed commissions on behalf of some of Ireland's top companies,
organisations and government departments. Many Heads of State around
the world have received the work on visits to Ireland or abroad and
now own the
work of the studio.
The studio has developed a complete commissioning service for awards, sanctuary
art, life size indoor and outdoor sculptures, including water features. Examples
of these pieces can be seen near the small village of Ballinahown, Co. Westmeath
- the home
of the studio.
The Celtic Roots studio was established in 1991.
Bord na Móna had plenty of the old bog timber on the side of the bogs
and wanted to do something worthwhile with it. With Michael Casey and our small
team of apprentice wood carvers we set up a
complete training programme and workshop.
In 1997 we moved on to become a self-sustaining business using the co-operative
model. At this time we also moved our office and showroom to Ballinahown in Westmeath
to help develop the
commissioning and retail aspect of our work.
From this small beginning we have gradually evolved to where we are today, creating
original sculptures and unique gifts.
We love to work the bog oak, yew and pine and to appreciate the wealth and beauty
of it, and create elegant and dramatic forms from its roots and tree trunk remains.
The craftsmanship is a celebration of our rich Irish heritage and unspoiled environment.
The inspiration is the natural hinterlands of the midlands. We are very proud
of the new tradition that we are creating with this ageold
material.
We strive for perfection and excellence in each unique creation. We similarly
are committed to providing a service of the highest quality for all customers
and to responding individually to each of
their requests.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who supported us down
through the years, it
is really appreciated .
