1996 Plaque Installation

On July 23rd the plaque for the Form of 1996 was installed in the Lower Dining Room of Coit (Upper).  This plaque is the first of seven plaques to be completed in the Lower Dining Hall – plaques still need to be created for the Forms of 1991-1995 and 1997 to fill the empty spaces there.  Since there are other plaques already hanging in this room, completed by previous carver David Nugent, I have not done a full color painted finish on the 1996 plaque, but  have used a natural colored stain finish to match the surrounding woodwork.

The picture below shows me and Scott preparing to hang the plaque:

Scott is finishing up with hanging the plaque:

And the plaque is in its place above the center name panel for the Form of 1996:

It is a very good feeling to see this plaque integrated with the other plaques in the Lower Dining Hall. I am looking forward to seeing more of those empty spaces filled as the project progresses.
A special thanks to Lauri West for permission to use these photographs.

The Form of 1996 Plaque

Here is a photograph of the plaque for the Form of 1996.  I recently completed the carving, stained and sealed the wood and mounted it in its frame.  It will now be displayed in the Lower Dining Hall of Coit (New Upper) and will hang above the panels that contain the names of all the members of the Form of 1996.  Beneath the photo below is a description of the symbols used in the design.

The central design celebrates the development of the Humanities program and is represented by an owl perched on a book, with pen, pencil and brush behind it.  The owl is a symbol of wisdom, and the pen/pencil/brush symbols represent the arts and literature. The book that the owl is perched on is a symbol for learning and represents the history, philosophy, and religion aspects of the Humanities program. In the upper left corner an ‘at’ (@) key from a computer keyboard is carved to symbolize the first School assigned email addresses for students. The upper right corner of the plaque has a closed book with initials DVH representing the end of Tenth Rector David Verne Hicks’ Rectorship. In the lower right section of the plaque a woman’s symbol with the Roman numerals ‘XXV’ carved inside it represent the 25^th anniversary of co-education at St. Paul’s School.

1996 Plaque Design & Progress

The design stage for the 1996 Form plaque design was completed a few months ago.  After working with the Form Director a list of events was chosen to illustrate the 6th Form experiences of the Form of 1996:

The design elements are as follows:

•  Central Motif:  The development of the Humanities program is represented by an owl perched on a book, with pen, pencil and brush behind it.  The owl symbol is for wisdom, the pen/pencil/brush symbols represent arts and literature, and the book symbol is for learning (history, philosophy, and religion).
•  Upper Left:  An ‘at’ (@) key from a computer keyboard to symbolize the first School assigned email addresses for students.
•  Upper Right: The closed book with initials DVH representing the end of David Hicks’ leadership as tenth Rector.
• Lower Right:  A woman’s symbol with ‘XXV’ inside to represent the 25^th anniversary of co-education.

I am currently working on the carving process – following are a few photos of the progress:

This shows the carving in its current state – it has been roughed out, the background levels established, the rough carving done, and many areas are being worked into their finished state.

This shows a detail of the owl – much of the detail still needs to be worked on.

This photo shows the details of the feet and talons that are being cleaned up.

This detail shows the @ key, the @ symbol still needs to be carved into the surface.

This last photograph shows the symbol for coeducation and the book that will be carved with David V. Hicks’ initials.

I will have this plaque with me at Anniversary on June 2nd, although it won’t be entirely complete.  I will post more pictures here when the carving is finished, stained and sealed.

UPDATE – July 19, 2012: Pictures and details of the finished carving can be seen in the Form Plaque Gallery by clicking HERE.