3D Laser designs and Celtic ideas 30th September

Laser Designs and Celtic Ideas 30th September

Today's 3D class stayed very much in two dimensions. I spent time on the computer working on my Celtic stag design. With some sketches drawn, I started to map out the design on Illustrator CS5. It's a program I've never used before, and I'm not looking forward to working with it again. Getting my head round a new program is something I find much harder to do than learning a new drawing technique. However, I did manage to complete the outline. With only the inner design to sort out, I searched the web for Celtic knot meanings.

I found the meanings of many different knots with the most common being eternity, a never ending loop. Religion played a big role in the Celtic art. One interesting thing was the Pagan law forbidding them to draw anything from the earthly world as it was said to be copying a work of the creator. Therefore it was forbidden to draw humans, animals and plants, but interestingly, angels and mythical creatures were seen as not of this realm. This is why the Celts created these amazing knots to represent the human form.

While I was researching the various meaning of the designs, I came upon one called the tree of life. This knot showed how the Celts prized trees. They were considered the centre of their spirituality. They believed trees were a connection to the world of the spirits and their ancestors, as well as doorways into other worlds. The most sacred of all trees was the Oak tree. It was believed to be the first of all trees. The Oak represented the doorway to another world because the roots reached to the centre of the earth and the realm of Fairy's.

With these ancient Celtic traditions in mind, I decided I'd like to incorporate this tree knot into my design. Just as the Oak tree was the doorway to another world for the Celts, I hoped this course would be a doorway to a new world for myself and my art.