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Rachel Arbuckle
A new range of 1000 piece puzzles will be available at the end of October which includes some of the favourites that haven't been around for a while plus two completely new ones, Queen Maeve and Carpet Page. A new range of 500 piece & 150 large piece puzzles are now available. The 150's are suitable for ages 7-99. Check out the stunning new Twelve Days of Christmas by Rachel below. Dublin born artist Rachel Arbuckle has always been fascinated by our Celtic heritage. Inspiration found in the intricate knotwork adorning the ancient manuscripts, stone and metalwork, coupled with Rachel's love of a good story, have combined to produce some of the most popular images in contemporary Irish Celtic art. Mythological warriors rub shoulders with ancient historical figures and intertwine with animals, birds and fish rendered in the artist's unique style. Her colours, although modern, emulate the softness of the natural pigments used by the Celts and a discerning eye will recognise shades of both Tuscany, where Rachel currently lives, and the Beara Peninsula, where she thrives on the rugged West Coast of Ireland. Rachel graduated from Dublin's National College of Art and Design in 1990. In 1991 her first designs were launched onto the Irish market. Today her work is available worldwide, bringing a taste of Ireland to the four corners of the earth.
THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS 1,000
piece available end October. A stunning interpretation of the classic Christmas song in Rachel’s inimitable style. It was illegal to be a Catholic in England from 1558 to 1829, so this was written as a catechism song to help young Catholics learn the basics of their faith. Since it sounded like rhyming nonsense, Catholics could sing it without fear of imprisonment. The song had hidden meanings; "true love" refers to God and "me" refers to the church. The twelve gifts also had their meanings. On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love sent to me twelve drummers drumming (the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostles’ Creed), eleven pipers piping (the eleven faithful apostles), ten lords a-leaping (the ten commandments), nine ladies dancing (the nine fruits of the Spirit), eight maids a-milking (the eight beatitudes), seven swans a-swimming (the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the seven sacraments), six geese a-laying (the six days of creation), five golden rings (the first five books of the Old Testament, the "Pentateuch"), four calling birds (the four Gospels, the four evangelists), three French hens (faith, hope and charity), two turtle doves (the Old and New Testaments) and a partridge in a pear tree (Jesus Christ, symbolically presented as a mother partridge that acts as a decoy to save her helpless chicks from predators).
QUEEN MAEVE 1,000 piece available end October. Maeve was one of the great female figures in Irish legends. She was wealthy, powerful, desirable and a formidable opponent in battle. She was said to have run faster than horses, worn live animals and birds on her shoulders and slept with numerous Irish kings, discarding them as they failed to satisfy her. One morning Maeve was lying in bed with her current husband, Ailill. By Celtic tradition, whichever of the couple brought greater wealth to a union became the ruler of the household. So Ailill and Maeve began comparing their possessions. They matched each other torc for torc and cloak for cloak until finally Ailill mentioned his magical great white bull which used to be in Maeve’s herd, but had defected to Ailill’s side of the fence, considering it unseemly to belong to a woman. The only beast in Ireland to match Ailill’s bull was the Brown Bull of Cooley. Maeve vowed to take possession of the animal, and when her offer to buy it was turned down she gathered her armies and set out to invade Ulster and steal it. The result was the Táin Bó Cuailnge, the Cattle Raid of Cooley, a lengthy battle in which many legendary heroes were slain. In the end Maeve did indeed win her bull, but it and Ailill's bull flung themselves upon each other, tore each other to bits and died, leaving Maeve and Ailill’s wealth equal after all.
CARPET PAGE 1,000 piece available end October. A carpet page is a page of pure ornament, looking rather like an oriental carpet, with brilliant colours, active lines and complex patterns. They are commonly found in books in the Insular style, that is, the illuminated Celtic manuscripts produced in Irish and British monasteries from 600 to 900 AD. It has been suggested that the complexity of the ornamentation in carpet pages was believed to confuse evil spirits, thus keeping safe the sacred information contained in the chapters to follow. Some art historians have found ties between Insular carpet pages, Middle Eastern decorative text pages and oriental carpets. In this carpet page by Rachel Arbuckle, the artist has combined the geometric, angular lines of Moorish art with the softer curves and intricate interlacing of the Celts. The central structure of the design is a cross shape which is often found in Insular carpet pages, except in this case the artist has altered the proportions to suggest the four gates of the Tibetan mandala. Dogs, which are used as ornamentation throughout the design, feature extensively in Insular art and appear to have been adapted by Irish and Scottish monastic artists from a style of animal pattern which was found in Germanic art at the time. The result is a contemporary Celtic design which draws on an eclectic mix of styles and cultures, reflecting the possible influences from more exotic climes in Insular art.
COURTING PEACOCKS 1,000
piece available end October. The image of the peacock can be found in many cultures and traditions. The early Celts looked to the beasts of the earth, sky and sea in an attempt to understand life and believed animals taught them how to live in harmony with Nature itself. The peacock appeared as a symbol of beauty, paradise, rebirth, pride and the incorruptibility of the soul. It also tells the story of the heavens and the rays of the sun. As legend had it, the peacock’s flesh did not putrefy, so the Celts considered it a symbol of the Resurrection and everlasting life. Hence, it is widely used throughout early Christian Celtic manuscripts as a representation of Christ.
ST. BRENDAN THE NAVIGATOR 1,000
piece available end October. St. Brendan was born in 486 AD and founded a monastery at Clonfert, County Galway. Brendan travelled widely; he was said to have set sail with a handful of monks on a perilous seven-year quest across the Atlantic in a boat of wood and oxhide. En route, legend tells us that they were raised up on the backs of “sea monsters” (whales), they passed by “crystal columns that rose up to the sky” (icebergs) and they were pelted with “flaming, foul-smelling rocks” (from a volcano). Eventually, the intrepid voyagers arrived at a beautiful land they called the "Promised Land of the Saints", an island which became a standard feature on maps for the next millennium. It is widely believed that St. Brendan the Navigator and his monks had in fact arrived in America almost 1,000 years before Christopher Colombus.
ST. PATRICK 1,000
piece available end October. Patrick, who became the patron saint of Ireland, was born into a Roman ruling family in 390 AD Britain. At the age of 14 he was enslaved by a gang of Irish raiders and spent the next 6 years as a shepherd on a mountain top in County Armagh. A vision of ships persuaded him to escape. He later studied for the priesthood, was made a bishop, and returned to Ireland as a missionary in 432 AD. Many Celtic kings were converted with all of their people. Many legends are told of that time; he banished all snakes (a symbol of evil) from Ireland. The painting uses many other symbols: the shamrock (the Trinity), the harp, peacocks and angels (a calling from God). The conversion of Ireland to Christianity by St. Patrick did not destroy the original culture or cause a single martyrdom; a situation unknown in the rest of Europe.
SIZES OF FINISHED PUZZLES: 1,000
piece: 50 x 66.5cm or 19 3/4" x
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JIM
FITZPATRICK |
CELTIC
LEGENDS |
LEPRECHAUNS |
© M. W. Heasman 1993-2004. All Rights reserved. Patented, Designs Registered & Trade Marks. |
