Chasing Arnold Flaten

 Nunc Dimittis 1983, four panels each 32"x48", oiled red oak collection of Faith Lutheran Church, Coon Rapids MN Commissioned by Faith Lutheran and dedicated to my grandfather, Torkel Sheie, who gave us the gift of craftsmanship and a love and appreciation for wood.  Born in Orteland/Mandal, Norway, he emigrated to the US and lived the remainder of his years on Staten Island NY, where he worked for the ferry system and ran his own business building skis in the shop behind the house.  The shop was magical:  full of raw wood, dry wood, hand tools, old ski posters from Norway and Europe, power tools, ski-building machines that he made himself.. we spend hours in there, and the smell of hickory and ash floods those memories back to this day. It took a little courage to decide to cut through the oak around each image, exposing the wall behind.  It sets each one apart, and I'm glad I did it that way.  The first panel uses the image of the 'sufferin...

This is the 'original' Psalm 16 carving, done in 1977 in red oak for the 40th anniversary of Vincent and Verna Meyer, my in-laws.  The oak was salvaged from discarded pallets and glued up into a panel 24" x 36".  The first design was pretty much unreadable, so I chiseled out the circular text and re-did it with incised text in the modified-Bremen font.  Sanded and re-oiled, it came out OK.   24" x 36" red oak Collection of M. Sheie, 2020 Psalm 16:6   16"x24", black walnut with brass Collection of M. Sheie, 2018 Mary has long waited for some edition of this verse, which was originally used on the headstone of her paternal grandfather, a pastor from Sheboygan, WI.  Long discussion about the use of the text, and since the headstone used the more archaic form, I went with that here also.  It uses three votives with brass accents.  Somehow I always love the moment when I rub in oil after the carving is done, and the wood 'lights up', reveal...

I Am the Light of the World 12"x36", black walnut with brass, 2018 Collection of D. and C. Folin, Minneapolis I experimented with a few different ideas for a 'meditative' piece, one that could be adapted to different locations-- wall-mounted, on a shelf, mantelpiece.. I deliberately pushed the layout in an asymmetrical format, with the votive candles on the right and the text on the upper left.  The brass serves to underscore the text and balance out the design.

Prayer Wall St. Philip the Deacon Lutheran Church Plymouth MN 2017 Oiled black walnut, 68" x 68" Using ancient texts as well as contemporary additions, this prayer is taken from the liturgies of the Lutheran church.  It is divided into four quadrants, reading top left to top right, then bottom left to bottom right. There's something about the sensitivity of this text that has always struck me.. the intimacy and kindness to the poor, the closeness to the human condition while still being Creator of the stars and universe.