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Viking Plaque in Paragon of Design's Pieces

Pendants based on the Scar boat burial burial plaque.

Scar boat burial plaque on one of our handmade re-bindable leather journals.

Plaque seen in a museum in Oslo, Norway. The dragons on this plaque are extremely different from the Scar Burial plaque.

The Templar Cross in Paragon of Design by Skrocki's Pieces.

While we have encountered artifacts left by the Knights Templar in many areas and several countries, the site in Rakvere, Estonia, stood out from the rest. Traveling by bus for approximately an hour and a half from the Estonian capital of Tallinn, we passed through an interesting countryside, including some very intriguing circular Viking burial mounds. The site itself was a partially restored fortress atop a large hill in Rakvere, which gave it a great vantage point over the city and surrounding area. Within its walls lay a veritable treasure trove of artifacts and recreations. From armor to swords to jewelry and plague chambers, the fortress had some of each and more. Much of the site was poorly restored and difficult to reach, but Tanner scaled every available inch of it anyway and collected a great number of photographs that we would later draw on for inspiration. While I was inspecting the artifacts in the lower portions of the fortress, I would catch glimpses of Tanner two stories above me, peeking out of narrow windows or strolling across the walkways between the fortress towers and snapping innumerable photographs. According to our guide, this site was not only once occupied by the Knights Templar but, at a later date, the Teutonic Knights as well, making it all the more special as a location. As some of you know Tanner loves the historically inspired pieces and he will be suggestion some for future collections.

The Book of Revelation and St. John of Patmos in Paragon of Design by Skrocki's Pieces

Wall art based on "The Cave of the Apocalypse" located on a mountain on the Aegean Island of Patmos.

This is believed to mark the spot where John of Patmos received his visions for the Book of the Apocalypse or the Book of Revelation.

Large copper cuff based on the Crown of Thorns plant. Belt buckle based on the Crown of Thorns plant.   Belt buckle based on "The Cave of the Apocalypse" A photograph I took at the Muttart Conservatory in Edmonton of a Crown-of-thorns or Euphorbia milii plant. I used this image to make the Crown of Thorn items you see about that went perfectly with the copper icon above.

The Cave of the Apocalypse entrance.   Mosaic picture above the entrance to the Cave of the Apocalypse. The mosaic depicts John of the Apocalypse dictating his visions to a scribe. In the cave, there was a spot in the rock that had been heavily worn away. This is said to be where John rested his head while receiving his visions. What we remember most from this site was the overall atmosphere of the experience. We began by hiking up a narrow dirt road that wound around the side of the mountain. The heat was intense, and the sun was so bright it washed out the details of the day as we climbed. When we reached the site, pictured above, the pleasant fragrance of incense drifted out through the entrance. Everything, from the colour of the stones, to the scent of the incense, to the view from the mountaintop, added to the sense of something deeply spiritual and special. It was the combination of these sensations that later became the foundation for our artistic inspiration.The cuffs are both sold now, and we may create new ones in the future. They are double anticlastic copper cuffs that sit comfortably along the wrist. The remaining wall art from this series includes two abstract pieces created from my photographs of the Crown of Thorns plant, mounted on red mahogany. These will be available on the online store in the future.

The Palmette and Lotus in Paragon of Design by Skrocki's pieces.

Below- Sterling silver oxidized palm earrings with faceted spinel. With these earring we make the originals in brass and then roll print them onto the sterling silver sheet. The palmette was thought to have originated in Egypt 2,500 years B.C (2) and is still heavily used today in various designs. In our own house we have it on picture frames, light fixtures and multiple other items! Above: our interpretation of the lotus flower from Egypt. Below: Lotus found at Aswan, Egypt. There were two common lotus' often depicted in Egyptian temples and ruins. I am also including the meaning of the Greek lotus because it was popular as well in ancient decoration. The white lotus, pictured above, where the petals are narrowed into tips  was considered a symbol of creation in Egypt and in Ancient Greece it was a symbol of innocence and modesty. The blue lotus (often identified by the flat surface of the petals) was very frequently depicted in Egyptian art. It has been depicted in numerous stone carvings and paintings, including the walls of the famous temple of Karnak. It is frequently depicted in connection with "party scenes", dancing or in significant spiritual / magical rites such as the rite of passage into the afterlife." (3) Please check out out store for all the other palmette or lotus inspired pieces available!!

The palmette is found on hundreds of items from ancient Egypt, Greece, Turkey, and beyond. In more recent times, it appears in both its original form and updated motifs across the world in a wide range of items and architectural designs. In ancient Egypt, the palmette also varied slightly to represent the lily or lotus. According to Wikipedia, “The essence of the palmette is a symmetrical group of spreading ‘fronds’ that extend from a single base, usually widening as they spread outward before ending in a rounded or softly pointed tip. There may be a central frond that is larger than the rest. The number of fronds varies, but is typically between five and about fifteen. In the repeated border design commonly referred to as anthemion the palm fronds more closely resemble petals of the honeysuckle flower, as if designed to attract fertilizing insects. Some compare the shape to an open 'hamsa' hand – explaining the commonality and derivation of the 'palm' of the hand."(1) The above picture shows what remains of Greek palmette leaves. Although the design was common during the 6th century the location of this ruin was not. We had traveled to Sevastopol, on the coast of the Black Sea, in Russia when we came across the excavation which included this piece. According to the information available at the site a group of Greeks  colonized this area during the 6th century. The neat part about seeing this ruins here was that  Sevastopol was off limits to all foreigners and many of it's own people up until the mid 1990s.  We took a small ship the to area and probably over a hundred people came to take pictures and pose in front of the boat. We learned as we were leaving that there was only one other boat that carried tourists to that city since the mid 1990s. Although the above palmette is carved with great skill, many of the other out door artifacts were more of a crude version of the ones we photographed in Greece. Another beautiful example, of the palmette, we came across while traveling  was located in the Ephesus museum. Besides the standard palmette there is the lily or lotus version  we found throughout Egypt.    These ones are for sale on our store.

Introduction to Paragon of Design by Skrocki's blog.

On the left: Brass earrings with the quatrefoil design. Right: Copper pendant with the quatrefoil design. 

This picture from the Great Hall in the Edinburgh Castle contains one of the few quatrefoils in the designs throughout the room. It has inspired several new items that we will post in 2015.   

The focus of this site was the architecture and the structure of the Edinburgh Castle ( a fortress) rather than artefacts, furniture or elaborate carvings. 

Christchurch cathedral in Dublin, Ireland is the oldest of the city's two medieval cathedrals. The cathedral has various medieval patterns, however, since it was heavily restored during the Victorian time it is difficult to determine which designs were original. Whether they are original to the cathedral or not this beautiful quatrefoil faux wall caught our eyes. This site has  inspired multiple items that will be included on future posts.

The picture below shows the quatrefoils decorating a wooden chair in Rakvere, Estonia. This fortress was inhabited by the Templars and, later, the Teutonic knights during it's long history. 

One last photo of a quatrefoil from Utstein Abbey, located on the island of Mosterøy in Rennesøy municipality in Norway. This is Norway’s best preserved medieval monastery. It was established around 1160 and founded during the reign of King Magnus VI of Norway.

To reach this location, we had to take the highway through the Rennfast undersea tunnel, the world’s longest and deepest subsea road tunnel, for about 30 minutes. It was well worth the drive to see such a beautiful site and to hear a recital of Edvard Grieg’s music, who used and developed Norwegian folk music in his compositions, on the more recently installed organ in the chapel on the monastery grounds.

As many of our customers know, we are fans of classical, opera, flamenco, and other world music. Below the picture of the window is an Edvard Grieg piece to listen to. This video happens to be filmed in the Rock Church in Helsinki, which we have also visited.