Martin O'Brien Cabinetmaker / carving

Doesn’t a hand written letter mean so much more than a “word processed” one?

Letter Carving & Decorative Carving

Carved Lettering has enjoyed a long and rich history, both as information and as decoration in it's own right. The tradition of incised lettering is still in heavy use in Europe where one can find beautiful examples in churches, public buildings, Goverment Offices and Shoppes. Sadly in America, what is most widely used is sandblasting stencil type letters into a surface which does no justice to this ancient art. Because of the intrinsic beauty of classical letterforms, and their sensual / tactile surface qualities, we think we will have more converts to this sculptural point of view in the near future.

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The lettering is done in paint with brush,prior to carving

Carved lettering can stand by itself in the form of a wall plaque or sculpture, or it can be incorporated into furniture, architectural woodwork, musical instruments, signage. In matters of lettering and design I often collaborate with well-known calligrapher John Stevens. Click here for more info on calligraphy. Machines can cut letters, but cannot achieve the living quality of a hand cut letter.

Alpha & Omega: designed and carved in existing doors for a church Tabernacle.
Toole: relief carving done on a hand made baby cradle.

Carving an Angel Wing to match for a restoration

Above: 2 recent letter-carving projects. Namaste is in slate with 23k Gold leaf and the Neruda quote is rough-carved / relief and allowed to weather naturally. The Lucy stone was done for the beloved family dog. See Gallery for more images.

Ornament match for a chair restoration