The Goblin Mirror
The Goblin Mirror was my first attempt at carving. It is made from oak, ash and hawthorn—three native trees long associated with strength, protection and enchantment.
Oak proved a particularly demanding material for a beginner, and the process taught me almost as much about sharpening and maintaining my chisels as it did about carving. The mirror’s form was inspired by antique gazing mirrors of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, including those produced by workshops such as Poole and Hadstone.
The finished mirror has the character of something discovered rather than newly made.
The Goblin’s Charm:
I was born of branch and blade,
where three trees dream in tangled shade:
oak for strength and ash for flame,
and hawthorn sharp to guard my name.
Carved where root and shadow meet,
from oak’s old heart and ash’s heat,
with hawthorn set to ward the gate—
a mirror made to trouble fate.
He spoke the charm again and again,
its magic etched in curling grain,
and whispered to the dreaming wood
until it stirred—and understood.
Oak proved a particularly demanding material for a beginner, and the process taught me almost as much about sharpening and maintaining my chisels as it did about carving. The mirror’s form was inspired by antique gazing mirrors of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, including those produced by workshops such as Poole and Hadstone.
The finished mirror has the character of something discovered rather than newly made.
The Goblin’s Charm:
I was born of branch and blade,
where three trees dream in tangled shade:
oak for strength and ash for flame,
and hawthorn sharp to guard my name.
Carved where root and shadow meet,
from oak’s old heart and ash’s heat,
with hawthorn set to ward the gate—
a mirror made to trouble fate.
He spoke the charm again and again,
its magic etched in curling grain,
and whispered to the dreaming wood
until it stirred—and understood.
Goblin Mirror - English Oak, Ash and Hawthorne
All items © Marti Dean. All rights reserved
