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Arvella Mildbrand has been an artist for much of her life, beginning in the 1950s with oil paintings until her most recent endeavor, wood working, Intarsia style. She began working with wood when she came across a scroll saw on sale for $59.00. She learned on that saw and continues to use it to this day.
Arvella could be described as a wood-working purist. All of her wood designs are original creations and none of her pieces are made from stained wood. The colors and textures she attains are derived entirely from the natural woods that she selects. Nearly all of the wood used in her projects are obtained from loggers working in Taylor County, Wisconsin, and include ash, butternut, basswood, cherry, fir, locust, maple, oak, pine, redwood, red cedar, sumac, walnut and burls from various tree species. The red shoes on some of her angels are generally cedar or redwood and they are part of the Arvella's AngelsTM registered Trademark.
There is no "scoring" on the angels, none are cut from a commercial pattern or by using a laser saw. As with all intarsia style wood work, each piece - feathers, sash, gown, clouds, etc. - is cut separately with her trusty scroll saw and formed into the finished product. Due to the time-consuming methods that Arvella uses, it takes a week or more to finish a single medium sized angel and two to three weeks for the large ones! Because of the quality of her work and her attention to detail, Arvella's wood crafts are prized now and, if taken care of, can be passed on through generations.
Notes From Arvella:
My angels are all of my own design. Everything I produce comes from an idea that I have pondered and feel fits the mood of the various angels. There's the "sleeper", relaxing on the clouds, the "boy, and girl", playing with their pet, the "crying angel" that feels the sadness of what life sometimes throws us, and the "angel with attitude" who does not want to hear any more and holds her hands over her ears. The angel with the baby, tenderly holding the infant, the "praying angel" and the "old shepherd" with her staff. Two angels with doves - one with the dove on the shoulder and the other letting it fly away. The angel with flowers, the angel with her feet through the clouds and the angel just sitting on the clouds watching us down here. The "I.V. Angels" were inspired by a visit to a sick friend in a hospital. I wanted to let her know that she was in my thoughts so I created these small "guardian angels" to hang on the I.V. stand next to her bed.
All my angels are made of primarily pure types of wood. I never use any stain. I feel that the colors in the woods are my palette. The local loggers have been so good to me in that when they have a log or board that is "different", they will give them to me to use in my angels. I have used sumac and locust, knots on trees and have found the oddity in this raw material a blessing in disguise. Most people find sumac to be a nuisance. I find it beautiful.
The woods I use are randomly selected. Therefore no two finished pieces are the same. Each is unique
I feel that what I produce, if taken care of, will be around for the next generation. This is my hope.
Intarsia (pronounced intär´sEu) is an art or technique of decorating a surface with inlaid patterns, esp. of wood mosaic. It is similar to inlay, but where inlay is flat, intarsia is three-dimensional. This effect is achieved by a series of steps. First, a two-dimensional pattern is developed on heavy translucent paper. The image is then divided into smaller pieces, much like a jigsaw puzzle. Each piece is designated with a grain line direction, which will help create the dimensional look of the completed work. The pieces are then cut out individually from a variety of wood species that have different colors and grains. The individual wood pieces are shaped and fitted together to form the three-dimensional picture.
Intarsia is thought to have been developed during the thirteenth century Renaissance period in Siena, Italy. The process was derived from the Middle Eastern inlays of ivory upon wood. This art was widely practiced in Italy from c.1400 to c.1600. The fashion for intarsia declined thereafter, although some works in this medium were still produced. Intarsia work was also practiced to a limited extent in eighteenth century Japan, Imperial Rome, Egypt, and Persia.
Thanks to the efforts of Intarsists, such as Arvella Mildbrand, intarsia was revived and improved to the form we are enjoying today.
